Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If not, you can attempt to repair the issue by yourself or call Wright Appliance Repair for professional refrigerator repair Alabama.

There are several reasons for a water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work anymore. Again, some of the reasons might sound a little strange. However, something as simple as an off switch on the refrigerator has been the reason in the past. 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 causes we can come up with for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

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

Refrigerator Installation Problems

You just purchased a new refrigerator for your kitchen with a water dispenser, but it is broken. The water dispenser has to be connected to the home’s water line. That might be the reason for the problem.

If your brand new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that did not have an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a possibility that you don’t have a water line near this area. Most of the time a water line is commonly run from under a home either in a basement or crawl space. You can purchase this type of water line at just about any hardware store and they are pretty easy for the average homeowner to install. Typically they have include a water shut-off valve, which is important so that if you need to relocate the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

If you have an attached 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 you have installed to connect the water line? Obvious and basic questions, but things that have to be checked.

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

When the water is connected, most of the time there is air in it. So, lifting and lowering the water dispenser control to get the air out of it is needed.
Filter Issues

On some models, there are various filters. These filters could “expire”, clog or freeze. All filters are based on the model and brand of refrigerator. If your filter is blocked it will cause slow filling or no flowing period. It is suggested that your filter is changed 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 proper process to change a filter.

One recommendation is to fill up the filter with water before installation. A lot of time the water filters need a long amount of time to fill, which could lead you to assume the water dispenser on the refrigerator is not working right. You will want to read the manual if all else fails. To be certain it is not air trapped in the lines, depress the dispenser lever for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might be the cause of the issue as well on some refrigerators. If the tank is frozen it will leak onto the fresh food bins. Minimal food in the fresh food bins might cause freezing to happen.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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