Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

broken refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not working? If so, you can try to solve the problem by yourself or call Tru Trenton Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Trenton, New Jersey.

There are many reasons for a water dispenser in a kitchen refrigerator to not work anymore. Again, some suggestions might sound a bit crazy. However, something as obvious as an off switch on the refrigerator has been the culprit before. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential problems prior to moving forward with refrigerator repair. Let’s begin to tackle this appliance repair issue and see what causes we can cite for a broken water dispenser.

The cause of a water dispenser not working is typically either an installation issue, a filter issue or frozen water tubes:

New Refrigerator Installation Problems

You just bought 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 issue.

If your brand new refrigerator is replacing an old refrigerator that didn’t have an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a chance that you do not have a functioning water line running to this area of the kitchen. Most of the time a water line is typically run from underneath the home either in a crawl space or basement. You can acquire this type of water line at almost any home repair store and they are pretty easy for the typical homeowner to install. Typically they have include a built-in water shut-off valve, which is important so that if you should need to relocate the refrigerator, you can shut off the water.

If there’s a water line, is the valve on? The valve handle should be in line with the hose. And, is there water going through the pipe that you have used to connect the water line? Obvious and basic questions, but items that have to be accounted for.

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

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

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

One idea is to fill up the water filter with water before installation. A lot of time the water filters will take a long amount of time to fill, which could cause you to think that the water dispenser on the refrigerator is not working. You should read the manual if nothing is working. To ensure it is not air trapped in the lines, we recommend to depress the dispenser lever for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might also be the source of the problem as well on some models. If the tank is frozen it will begin to leak onto the food bins. Limited food in the fresh food bins will cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES