Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator broken? If not, you can attempt to solve the problem on your own or call Able Reading Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Reading, Pennsylvania.

There are many reasons for the water dispenser in a kitchen refrigerator to stop working. Again, some of the suggestions could sound a little strange. However, something as simple as an on/off switch on the refrigerator has been the culprit before. Be sure to inspect the more obvious potential problems before proceeding with complicated refrigerator repair. Let’s start to tackle this appliance repair problem and see all of the causes we can come up with for a broken water dispenser.

The reason for a broken water dispenser is commonly either an installation issue, a filter failure or frozen water tubes:

Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just purchased a new refrigerator with a water dispenser, but it is broken. The water dispenser must be hooked up to the water line. That could be the cause of the problem.

If your new refrigerator is replacing a prior refrigerator that didn’t have an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a chance that you do not have a functioning water line near this area. A water line is typically run from under a house either in a crawl space or basement. You can get this line at almost any home repair store and they’re pretty simple for the typical homeowner to install. Usually they have include a water shut-off valve, which is important so that if you ever need to move the refrigerator, you can shut off the water.

If you have an attached water line, is the valve on? The valve handle should be in line with the hose. And, is water going through the pipe you have installed to connect the water line? Obvious and questions, but things that need to be accounted for.

If you removed the refrigerator doors during installation it is possible the water dispenser might not be plugged in. Review the manual to find the wire harness for that particular refrigerator. Ensure that it is plugged into the refrigerator.

If the water line is connected, most of the time there is air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the dispenser lever to get the air out is necessary.
Filter Problems

On some models, there are different filters. These filters can “expire”, become clogged or freeze. All filters are dependent on the model and type of refrigerator. If the filter is clogged it might cause slow filling or no flowing period. It’s suggested that your filter should be replaced every 6 months. Changing filters in a refrigerator can be hard sometimes. If you run into problems, go online and learn the proper process to replace a filter.

One idea is to fill the water filter with water before installing it. Typically the water filters need a long amount of time to fill up, which might cause you to think that the water dispenser on the refrigerator is not working right. You will want to read the directions if all else fails. To be certain it’s not air trapped in the water lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser arm for about 5 minutes.

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

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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