Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

image of refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If not, you can try to solve the issue on your own or call Houston Appliance Repair NOW for refrigerator repair Houston, Texas.

There are many reasons for a water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work anymore. Again, some of the suggestions could sound a little strange. However, something as obvious as a power switch has been the cause in some instances. Be sure to inspect the more obvious potential problems before proceeding with complicated refrigerator repair. Let’s begin to cover this appliance repair issue and see all of the solutions we can reference for a broken water dispenser.

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

Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just installed a brand new refrigerator with a water dispenser, but it’s broken. The water dispenser must be hooked up to the home’s water line. That could be the reason for the problem.

If your new refrigerator is replacing an old refrigerator that did not feature an ice maker or water dispenser, there is a chance that you don’t have a functioning water line running to this area of the kitchen. A water line is commonly run from underneath a home either in a basement or crawl space. You can acquire this type of water line at nearly any home repair store and they are pretty easy for the typical homeowner to install. Typically 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 you have a water line, is the valve on? The valve handle should be lined up with the hose. And, is there water going through the pipe you have used to connect the water line? Simple and basic questions, but items that need to be confirmed.

If you had to remove the refrigerator doors during installation the water dispenser may not be plugged in. Review the owner’s manual to see the wire harness for the particular model of refrigerator. Be sure that it’s plugged into the refrigerator.

When the water line is connected, most of the time there is air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the water dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out of it is needed.
Filter Issues

On some of the household models, there are different filters. These filters might “expire”, clog or freeze. All of the filters are based on your style and brand of refrigerator. If the filter is clogged it can cause slow filling or no flowing at all. It is recommended that your filter is changed every 6 months. Replacing filters in a refrigerator can be challenging. If you run into issues, go online and learn the proper process to replace a filter.

One suggestion is to fill the filter with water prior to installing it. Typically the water filters can take a long amount of time to fill up, which could lead you to believe that the water dispenser on the refrigerator isn’t working. You should read the owner’s manual if nothing is working. To be certain it is not air trapped in the water lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser lever for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might also be the source of the issue as well on some refrigerators. If the tank freezes it will begin to leak onto the fresh food bins. Low amounts of food inside of the fresh food bins can cause freezing to occur.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES