Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

image of refrigerator water dispenser

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator not dispensing water? If not, you can attempt to repair the problem on your own or call Campbell Appliance Repair for refrigerator repair Arlington, Virginia.

There are a lot of reasons for the water dispenser in a refrigerator to not work. Again, some of the suggestions are going to sound a bit crazy. However, something as obvious as an off switch has been the reason in the past. Be sure to inspect the obvious potential issues prior to moving forward with refrigerator repair. Let’s begin to cover this appliance repair issue and see all of the solutions we can reference for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

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

Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just purchased 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 reason for the issue.

If the brand new refrigerator is replacing a previous refrigerator that didn’t include a water dispenser or ice maker, there’s a chance that you do not have a functioning water line running to this area. Most of the time a water line is typically run from underneath the house either in a crawl space or basement. You can purchase this type of water line at almost any home repair store and they are very simple for the typical homeowner to install. Usually they have include a water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you ever need to move the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.

If there’s an attached water line, is the valve turned on? The valve handle must be lined up with the hose. And, is there water running through the pipe you have used to connect the water line? Obvious and basic questions, but items that have to be accounted for.

If you removed the refrigerator doors during installation it’s possible the water dispenser isn’t plugged in. Check the manual to find the wire harness for the particular model of refrigerator. Check that it’s plugged into the refrigerator.

Once the water line is connected, most of the time there is air in the water line. So, lifting and lowering the water dispenser control on the refrigerator to get the air out of it is necessary.
Filter Issues

On some of the household refrigerators, there are different filters. These filters might “expire”, become clogged or get frozen. All filters are based on your model and type of refrigerator. If the filter is clogged it can cause slow filling or no flowing period. It’s recommended that your filter be changed every 6 months. Replacing filters can be hard sometimes. If you have problems, go online or call us and find the proper method to change a filter.

One suggestion is to fill the filter with water prior to installing it. Typically the water filters take a long time to fill, which could cause you to assume that the water dispenser is not working. You will want to read the manual if all else fails. To be sure it’s not air trapped in the lines, depress the dispenser lever for around 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank could be the cause of the problem as well on some models. If the tank freezes it will start to leak onto the food bins. Minimal food inside of the fresh food bins will cause freezing.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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