Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

defective refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If not, you can try to repair the issue by yourself or call First-Class Duluth Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Duluth, Minnesota.

There are a lot of reasons for the water dispenser in a refrigerator to stop working. Again, some reasons are going to sound a bit crazy. However, something as simple as a power switch on the refrigerator has been the culprit in some instances. Be sure to inspect the more obvious potential issues before moving forward with refrigerator repair. Let’s start to cover this appliance repair problem and see what solutions we can cite for a broken water dispenser.

The cause of a water dispenser not working is usually an installation error, a filter issue or frozen water lines:

Refrigerator Installation Problems

You just bought a new refrigerator with a water dispenser, but it is not dispensing water. The water dispenser must be hooked up to the home’s water line. That might be the issue.

If your brand new refrigerator is replacing a prior refrigerator that didn’t have an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a chance that you do not have a functioning water line running to this area. Most of the time a water line is usually run from under a home either in a basement or crawl space. You can acquire this line at nearly any home repair store and they’re pretty easy for even the average homeowner to install. Typically they have a a water shut-off valve, which is important so that if you need to relocate the refrigerator, you can shut off the water.

If you have a water line, is the valve turned on? The valve handle must be lined up with the hose. And, is there water going through the pipe that you have installed to connect the water line? Obvious and common questions, but things that have to be accounted for.

If you removed the doors during installation the water dispenser might not be plugged in. Check the owner’s manual to see the wire harness for the particular refrigerator. Check that it’s plugged into the refrigerator.

If the water is connected, usually there’s air in the water line. So, engaging and disengaging the dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out is needed.
Filter Issues

On some of the popular refrigerators, there are various filters. These filters can “expire”, become clogged or get frozen. All of the filters are dependent on your model and brand of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it might cause slow filling or no flowing period. It’s recommended that your filter is replaced every 6 months. Changing filters in a refrigerator can be challenging. If you run into hiccups, go online and learn the proper process to change a filter.

One idea is to fill up the filter with water prior to installation. Typically the water filters will need a long amount of time to fill, which could lead you to think the water dispenser is not working right. You will want to read the directions if nothing is working. To ensure it is not air caught in the lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser arm for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank could be the cause of the issue as well in some refrigerators. If the tank freezes it will start to leak onto the food bins. Low amounts of food in the fresh food bins might cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES