Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

broken refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator broken? If not, you can attempt to repair the problem on your own or call HOF Highland Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Highland, California.

There are many reasons for a water dispenser in a kitchen refrigerator to not work anymore. Again, some suggestions are going to sound a bit crazy. However, something as simple as an on/off switch has been the culprit in some instances. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential issues before proceeding with refrigerator repair. Let’s start to cover this appliance repair issue and see what causes we can come up with for a broken water dispenser.

The cause of a broken water dispenser is typically an installation issue, a filter issue or frozen water lines:

New Refrigerator Installation Problems

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

If the brand new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that did not feature an ice maker or water dispenser, there is a possibility that you do not have a functioning water line running to this area of the kitchen. Most of the time a water line is usually run from under the house either in a crawl space or basement. You can acquire this type of water line at just about any home repair store and they’re pretty easy for the average homeowner to install. Typically they have come with a water shut-off valve, which is important so that if you ever need to move the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

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

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

When the water is connected, usually there’s air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out of it is needed.
Filter Problems

On some of the popular refrigerators, there are various filters. These filters can “expire”, clog or become frozen. All of the filters are dependent on the style and brand of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it can cause slow filling or no flowing period. It is suggested that your filter should be replaced every 6 months. Replacing filters in a refrigerator can be hard sometimes. If you run into issues, go online or call us and learn the right process to change a filter.

One suggestion is to fill the water filter with water prior to installation. A lot of time the water filters need a long time to fill up, which might lead you to assume that the water dispenser is not working. You will want to read the directions if nothing is working. To be sure it is not air caught in the lines, depress the dispenser lever for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might be the cause of the issue as well on some models. If the tank is frozen it will start to leak onto the food bins. Low amounts of food inside of the fresh food bins could cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES