Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

defective refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If so, you can attempt to repair the problem by yourself or call Precise Appliance Repair for professional refrigerator repair.

There are many reasons for the water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work. Again, some of the suggestions might sound a little strange. However, something as simple as an on/off switch on the refrigerator has been the cause in some instances. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential problems prior to proceeding with complicated refrigerator repair. Let’s start to cover this appliance repair problem and see what solutions we can reference for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

The reason for a water dispenser not dispensing is commonly an installation issue, a filter problem or frozen water lines:

Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just bought a new refrigerator with a water dispenser, but it is not working. The water dispenser has to be hooked up to the water line. That could be the cause of the problem.

If the new refrigerator is replacing a previous refrigerator that did not have a water dispenser or ice maker, there is a chance that you don’t have a water line near this area of the kitchen. A water line is usually run from underneath the house either in a basement or crawl space. You can get this line at nearly any hardware store and they are very simple for even the average homeowner to install. Usually they have a a water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you need to relocate the refrigerator, you can shut off the water.

If there’s an attached water line, is the valve turned on? The valve handle needs to be lined up with the hose. And, is water running through the pipe that you have installed to connect the water line? Simple and questions, but things that need to be checked.

If you had to remove the refrigerator doors during installation the water dispenser may not be plugged in. Read the manual to find the wire harness for that particular model of refrigerator. Check that it’s plugged into the refrigerator.

When the water is hooked up, most of the time there’s air in the line. So, lifting and lowering the water dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out of it is necessary.
Filter Problems

On some models, there are various filters. These filters can “expire”, become clogged or freeze. All of the filters are based on the style and type of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it might cause slow filling or no flowing at all. It is recommended that your filter be replaced every 6 months. Replacing filters can be difficult. If you have issues, go online and learn the proper method to replace a filter.

One idea is to fill up the water filter with water before installation. A lot of time the water filters take a long amount of time to fill up, which could lead you to think that the water dispenser isn’t working right. You should read the directions if all else fails. To be sure it is not air caught in the lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser lever for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might also be the cause of the problem as well on some refrigerators. If the water tank is frozen it will start to leak onto the fresh food bins. Small amounts of food in the fresh food bins could cause freezing to occur.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

Copyright ©2024  Appliance Repair Demo