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To reset a Viking ice maker, lift the wire signal arm, switch the breaker off for a minute, restore power and lower the arm. Then give it a full day to refill.
Source: https://duvalviking.com/timber-notes/how-to-reset-viking-ice-maker/

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- How to Reset Your Viking Ice Maker

power · October 26, 2026

# Resetting a Viking ice maker: the wire arm, the breaker and what a dark display means

![Two hands sliding a white plastic ice bin out from beneath a wire shut-off arm, a small heap of crescent cubes in the bin and dark floor tile below](/img/icemaker-bin-333.webp)

While that wire arm is held up, the ice maker reads the bin as full and stops making cubes.

On a Viking built-in refrigerator, the ice maker’s on and off control is the thin wire signal arm, so a reset is a short sequence rather than one button. Lift the arm until it clicks into the up, off position. Switch the refrigerator off at its breaker for a minute or two, turn it back on, then lower the arm to on. Leave it alone for a full day before you judge the result. If the arm is down, the freezer is cold and water is reaching the unit, yet the display stays dark or the tray never fills, the reset is not the issue and something has failed.

## The wire arm is the switch

That arm rests on the ice in the bin and tells the ice maker when to stop. Hanging down means on; raised until it clicks means off. Viking’s 5 Series manual puts a lowered arm first on its list when no ice appears, ahead of a cold freezer, an open water valve and a dry supply line. A tall bag of frozen peas or a bin slid back in crooked can lift the arm and stop production with no warning on the display.

To use the arm as a reset, pull the bin out, flip the arm up, wait a minute and push it down again. A clump of fused cubes under the arm will hold it up whatever you do, so clear any jam first, softening stuck ice with a warm damp cloth rather than prying at it with a knife.

## Cycle the power at the breaker

If the arm is down and nothing changes, restart the electronics. On a built-in, the plug often sits behind cabinetry, so the panel breaker is the practical switch. Turn it off, wait one to two minutes so the control fully drains, then turn it on. The display should wake and the compressor should start soon after.

While you are at the panel, look at the circuit itself. Viking calls for a 115 volt, 15 amp dedicated circuit on its FDREIC integrated all-refrigerator, and one sharing a breaker with a microwave can trip it. A breaker that will not stay on is an electrical fault no reset will cure. Summer thunderstorms in Mandarin can drop and restore power several times in a minute; afterwards, a breaker cycle is the first thing to try.

## Lockouts that make a working ice maker look dead

Two settings stop ice on purpose. Sabbath mode on a 5 Series built-in begins with the bale arm raised until it clicks; the owner then presses ACTIVATE CONTROLS and holds it together with DISPLAY OFF for three seconds, three beeps sound, and SAB lights on the display. If you see SAB, the ice maker is off by design. Leave Sabbath mode using the steps in your manual, then lower the arm.

On 7 Series integrated models, holding VAC and ALARM together for 3 seconds switches showroom mode on or off. In that mode only the interior lights work; cooling, ice and fault codes are all shut off. A unit that lights up but stays warm after someone has been pressing buttons may simply be in showroom mode, and the same hold brings it back.

## Separate ice machines restart on their own

A standalone Viking ice machine needs no manual reset after a water interruption. That covers the FGIM5151 and FPIM5151 clear ice units and the FGNI515 and FPNI515 nugget units. When the Check Water light flashes blue, the machine has lost its supply. Open the shutoff, straighten a kinked line or finish the plumbing job, and the control picks it up by itself, since it looks for water every 20 minutes and resumes making ice once it finds it.

The Time to Clean light on the FGIM5151 is a different matter. It comes on after 6 months of use and stays lit until the ice-making system has been cleaned, so cycling power will not clear it. Viking wants that cleaning done at least once a year, and twice is better.

## Give the reset time before you judge it

An empty bin an hour after a reset proves nothing. A freezer that warmed up during an outage has to get cold again before the ice maker will cycle, and that can take overnight. A VEIL integrated freezer needs 12 to 24 hours after activation to start, then turns out only about 10 cubes every two hours. A newly installed 5 Series can take 24 to 48 hours. Throw out the first batch in each case: one bucket on the integrated units, the first three full drawers on a new 5 Series, and the first drawer after the unit has sat unused for a long stretch.

## Signs the problem is a part, not a setting

Symptom | Likely cause | What you can check | When to call |

Arm down, still no ice after a day | Water supply or a frozen fill tube | Valve open, line not kinked or leaking | Tray stays dry after 24 hours |

Display completely dark | No power or a failed control | Breaker on, outlet live | Power is there but the screen stays blank |

A 5 Series display reads oPn or Shr | Its sensor alarm has tripped | Clear it with ALARM OFF | No temperature shows afterwards |

Check Water flashing blue | Water supply interrupted | Restore water, wait 20 minutes | The light keeps coming back with water on |

A screen that stays blank with the breaker on points to a power supply or control failure. An ice maker that hums or starts to turn but never finishes a cycle usually has a worn motor or heater in the module. For the 5 Series sensor alarms, Viking is direct: if ALARM OFF does not bring the temperature back, get a technician out right away, because food safety is now at stake.

An $80 diagnostic measures voltage at the control and at the ice maker, which separates a dead board from a dead module before any part is ordered. If testing shows a failed board or touch panel, plan on $380–$1,030 as the typical range; the firm figure follows the diagnosis. Our Viking refrigerator repair page covers other refrigeration faults, and if the ice is fine but tastes off, see the note on stale ice.

Booking Flat $80 diagnostic, credited toward the repair when you approve the work.

You get a written estimate before anything is opened up or ordered.

Call (904) 822-9883

Referenced
- Refrigeration
- Mandarin
- Old Mandarin
- Julington Creek

What the work runs to

## What does storm damage to a control cost to put right in Mandarin?

Everything starts at the same figure: $80 for the trip and the
diagnosis, taken off the repair the moment you say yes to it. What the repair itself comes
to depends on which of the bands below the fault turns
out to sit in — $180 at the shallow end, $1,030 when the costly component
is the one that has gone. That is settled standing at the appliance, never over the
telephone.

Viking repair price bands in Mandarin, parts and labour, in US dollars.
Member of the job | Parts and labour |

The visit and the diagnosis | $80 flat, and it comes off the repair |

Igniter or burner assembly | $200–$530 |

Oven thermostat or heating element | $180–$550 |

Control board or touch panel | $380–$1,030 |

Refrigeration fan or defrost system | $250–$640 |

Bands, not quotes. Nobody here reads you a number down the telephone: the firm figure goes into
your hands in writing once the appliance has been looked at, and the invoice matches it.
90 days on labour, 365 days on parts, genuine OEM parts only. The whole book is on the pricing page.

Straight answers

## Two questions this note gets asked

### Where is the reset button on a Viking ice maker?

On Viking built-ins such as the 5 Series, the reset is done with the thin wire signal arm beside the ice maker, not a button. Raise the arm until it clicks to switch it off, wait a minute, then lower it to switch it back on. For a deeper restart, turn the refrigerator off at its breaker for a minute or two first. Separate Viking ice machines like the FGIM5151 resume on their own once water returns.

### Why is my Viking ice maker still not working after a reset?

Usually because the control was never the cause. Confirm the arm is down, the freezer is properly cold, the water valve is open and the supply line is not leaking, then wait a full day, since a warm freezer can need overnight to chill. A blank display with the breaker on, or a sensor alarm that returns after ALARM OFF, points to a failed part that needs testing.

### Can the reset switch on a Viking ice maker be replaced?

Yes, though usually as part of the ice maker module rather than on its own. A snapped signal arm or a switch that no longer responds generally means a new assembly. Have it tested first, because a closed valve, a frozen fill tube or a failed control can look exactly like a dead switch from the outside.

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Ironwood Appliance Service is an independent appliance repair company. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Viking or its parent company. All brand names and model numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used only to identify the appliances we service.
