Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not dispensing water? If not, you can try to repair the issue by yourself or call Lancaster Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Lancaster, California.

There are many reasons for a water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work anymore. Again, some of the reasons might sound a bit crazy. However, something as simple as an on/off switch has been the culprit before. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential problems before moving forward 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.

The cause of a water dispenser not dispensing is usually either an installation error, a filter failure or frozen water tubes:

New Refrigerator Installation Problems

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

If your brand new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that did not feature an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a possibility that you do not have a functioning water line near this area. Most of the time a water line is commonly run from under the home either in a basement or crawl space. You can get this type of water line at just about 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 should need to move the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

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

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

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

On some refrigerators, there are different filters. These filters can “expire”, clog or become frozen. All of the filters are dependent on your model and type of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it will cause slow filling or no flowing. It’s recommended that your filter is changed every 6 months. Changing filters can be hard sometimes. If you have problems, go online or call us and learn the proper process to replace a filter.

One idea is to fill up the filter with water prior to installation. A lot of time the water filters will take a long time to fill, which could cause you to assume the water dispenser on the refrigerator is not working right. You should read the owner’s manual if nothing is working. To ensure it’s not air trapped in the water lines, depress the dispenser lever for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank could be the cause of the problem as well in some models. If the tank freezes it will begin to leak onto the fresh food bins. Low amounts of food in the fresh food bins can cause freezing to happen.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Refrigerator Not Cooling
• Refrigerator Noisy
• Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?