Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not dispensing water? If so, you can try to solve the problem on your own or call Payne Appliance Repair for professional refrigerator repair Michigan.

There are several reasons for a water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work. Again, some of the suggestions could sound a bit crazy. However, something as simple as an on/off switch on the refrigerator has been the cause in the past. Be sure to review the obvious potential problems prior to proceeding with refrigerator repair. Let’s start to tackle this appliance repair problem and see what solutions we can reference for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

The cause of a water dispenser not working is commonly an installation issue, a filter issue or frozen water lines:

Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just installed a new refrigerator for your kitchen with a water dispenser, but it’s broken. The water dispenser must be hooked up to the home’s water line. That might be the issue.

If your new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that did not feature a water dispenser or ice maker, there’s a chance that you don’t have a functioning water line near this area of the kitchen. A water line is usually run from underneath a house either in a basement or crawl space. You can buy this line at almost any home repair store and they’re pretty easy for the typical homeowner to install. Typically they have include a built-in water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you should need to move the refrigerator, you can shut off the water.

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

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

Once the water line is hooked up, usually there is air in it. So, engaging and disengaging the water dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out is needed.
Filter Issues

On some household models, there are various filters. These filters could “expire”, clog or get frozen. All filters are based on your model and type of refrigerator. If your filter is clogged it will cause slow filling or no flowing period. It’s 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 proper process to change a filter.

One idea is to fill the filter with water before installing it. Typically the water filters will take a long time to fill, which might cause you to believe the water dispenser is not working right. You should read the directions if all else fails. To ensure it’s not air caught in the lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser arm for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might also be the reason for the problem as well in some refrigerators. If the tank freezes it will leak onto the fresh food bins. Minimal food in the fresh food bins can cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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