Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

refrigerator water dispenser picture

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If so, you can attempt to repair the issue on your own or call Gold Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Fishers, Indiana.

There are a lot of reasons for the water dispenser in a refrigerator to stop working. Again, some suggestions are going to sound a little strange. However, something as obvious as a power switch on the refrigerator has been the reason before. Be sure to check the more obvious potential problems prior to moving forward with refrigerator repair. Let’s begin to tackle this appliance repair problem and see all of the solutions we can reference for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

The reason for a broken water dispenser is usually either an installation issue, a filter problem or frozen water lines:

New Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just installed a new refrigerator for your kitchen with a water dispenser, but it’s not working. The water dispenser has to be connected to the home’s water line. That might be the issue.

If your new refrigerator is replacing a previous refrigerator that didn’t include a water dispenser or ice maker, there is a possibility that you do not have a water line running to this area. Most of the time a water line is usually run from underneath the house either in a basement or crawl space. You can buy this line at nearly any home repair store and they’re pretty simple for the typical homeowner to install. Usually they have come with a built-in water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you need to relocate the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

If there’s an attached water line, is the valve turned on? The valve handle needs to be in line with the hose. And, is water going through the pipe that you have installed to connect the water line? Simple and common questions, but items that need to be accounted for.

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

When the water line is connected, usually there is air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the dispenser lever to get the air out of it is needed.
Filter Issues

On some of the refrigerators, there are different filters. These filters can “expire”, clog or freeze. All filters are dependent on the style and type of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it will cause slow filling or no flowing. It is suggested that your filter is replaced every 6 months. Changing filters in a refrigerator can be challenging. If you run into problems, go online or call us and learn the right process to replace 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 up, which might lead you to believe that the water dispenser on the refrigerator isn’t working right. You will want to read the directions if nothing is working. To be certain it is not air trapped in the water lines, depress the dispenser arm for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might be the reason for the problem as well on some refrigerators. If the water tank freezes it will start to leak onto the food bins. Small amounts of food inside of the fresh food bins will cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES