Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

defective refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not dispensing water? If so, you can try to repair the problem on your own or call Spring Appliance Repair NOW for refrigerator repair Spring, Texas.

There are a lot of reasons for the water dispenser in a refrigerator to stop working. Again, some of the suggestions could sound a bit crazy. However, something as simple as an on/off switch has been the reason in the past. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential problems prior to proceeding with complicated refrigerator repair. Let’s begin to tackle this appliance repair issue and see all of the reasons we can come up with for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

The cause of a water dispenser not dispensing is typically either an installation issue, a filter failure or frozen water lines:

New Refrigerator Installation Problems

You just purchased a new refrigerator for your kitchen 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 issue.

If the new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that didn’t feature an ice maker or water dispenser, there is a chance that you don’t have a water line running to this area of the kitchen. A water line is commonly run from under a house either in a crawl space or basement. You can acquire this line at just about any home repair store and they’re pretty easy for even the typical homeowner to install. Usually they have include a built-in water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you should need to move the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

If there is a water line, is the valve on? The valve handle should be in line with the hose. And, is water running through the pipe that you have used to connect the water line? Simple and basic questions, but items that need to be checked.

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

When the water is hooked up, usually there’s air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the water dispenser lever to get the air out is needed.
Filter Problems

On some of the refrigerators, there are different filters. These filters can “expire”, clog or freeze. All filters are dependent on your style and type of refrigerator. If the filter is clogged it might cause slow filling or no flowing period. It is suggested that your filter is replaced every 6 months. Changing filters can be difficult. If you have issues, go online or call us and learn the proper process to change a filter.

One suggestion is to fill up the water filter with water prior to installing it. A lot of time the water filters take a long time to fill, which might cause you to think the water dispenser on the refrigerator is not working. You should read the directions if all else fails. To be sure it’s not air trapped in the water lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser arm for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might be the reason for the issue as well on some refrigerators. If the tank is frozen it will begin to leak onto the food bins. Limited food inside of the fresh food bins might cause freezing to happen.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES