Why is My Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working?

Is the water dispenser on your refrigerator broken? If not, you can attempt to repair the problem by yourself or call Cooper Appliance Repair for professional refrigerator repair.

There are several reasons for a water dispenser in a kitchen refrigerator to stop working. Again, some reasons might sound a little strange. However, something as simple as an on/off switch has been the culprit in the past. Be sure to review the more obvious potential issues before moving forward with complicated refrigerator repair. Let’s start to cover this appliance repair problem and see all of the causes we can cite for a broken water dispenser on a refrigerator.

The reason for a water dispenser not working is usually either an installation problem, a filter issue or frozen water tubes:

New Refrigerator Installation Issues

You just bought a new refrigerator with a water dispenser, but it’s not working. The water dispenser has to be hooked up to the water line. That could be the cause of the problem.

If the new refrigerator is replacing an older refrigerator that did not feature an ice maker or water dispenser, there’s a possibility that you do not have a water line running to this area of the kitchen. A water line is commonly run from under the home either in a crawl space or basement. You can buy this line at nearly any hardware store and they’re pretty simple for the typical homeowner to install. Usually they have include a built-in water shut-off valve, which is necessary so that if you should need to relocate the refrigerator, you can turn off the water.


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

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

On some models, there are different filters. These filters can “expire”, clog or get frozen. All filters are based on your model and brand of refrigerator. If the filter is blocked it will cause slow filling or no flowing at all. It is recommended that your filter should be changed every 6 months. Changing filters in a refrigerator can be difficult. If you run into problems, go online and learn the right process to replace a filter.

One suggestion is to fill up the filter with water prior to installation. A lot of time the water filters can need a long amount of time to fill up, which could lead you to believe that the water dispenser is not working right. You will want to read the manual if nothing is working. To be sure it is not air caught in the lines, depress the dispenser lever for about 5 minutes.

A frozen water tank might be the source of the problem as well on some refrigerators. If the water tank is frozen it will leak onto the food bins. Limited food inside of the fresh food bins might cause freezing.