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Many Frigidaire refrigerator models come equipped with water dispensers. Using them is straightforward enough: you press on the lever with your cup, and cold water comes flowing right out. But what happens when your Frigidaire refrigerator is not dispensing cold water at all?
When a Frigidaire refrigerator doesn’t dispense cold water most common issues related to temperature fluctuations inside the fridge or water tank didn’t have enough time to cool water. Other possible issues related to a frozen or blocked water tank, broken dispenser lever switch, failed water inlet valve, or blocked water filter.
Whatever the case might be, there’s no need to worry. Here, we’ll walk you through each of those possible causes and help you understand what you can do to fix it.
PLEASE NOTE: If the water coming from the dispenser is not cold and somebody was using water right before you, there is a big chance that the water didn’t have enough time to cool.
Because fresh water needs to stay inside the water tank for some time to cool, otherwise it will be the same temperature as tap water.
Another thing to keep in mind that if your fridge has issues with cooling, thus you will not have cold water from the dispenser.
Possible Issues and Solutions
Frozen or Blocked Water Tank
What it is: Your Frigidaire refrigerator is designed to keep a few servings of cold water ready to dispense at all times. Well, almost..
It does that by storing the water in a small, chilled water tank. As soon as you press on the dispenser lever, that cold water will flow out and into your cup.
How it fails: Unfortunately, the water in the tank can get overly chilled and freeze over. That can lead to the rest of the water line leading to the dispenser freezing as well.
How to fix: For this fix, there are no parts that need to be replaced. The goal here is to melt the ice that has built up in the water tank and the rest of the waterline.
Your first option is to let the frozen water tank thaw out by either raising the fridge’s set temperature or shutting it off until all of the ice melts.
However, this is not a practical option for most people who need to keep their food items chilled or frozen.
The second option is to get a frozen water line tool, which is basically a syringe with a long hose. With that, you’ll inject hot water through the dispenser to melt any ice in there.
Avoid using a heat gun or blow dryer, as that might melt or warp the fridge’s plastic parts.
Broken Dispenser Arm or Switch
What it is: The water dispenser on your Frigidaire refrigerator consists of a lever or arm and a switch.
Whenever you push the lever with your cup, it presses on a switch that causes water to flow out of the dispenser.
How it fails: Once you’ve ruled out all the other possibilities listed above, you might have narrowed the problem down to the dispenser itself.
The two usual suspects here are the dispenser arm (or lever) and switch.
If the problem is with the dispenser arm, then it’s possible that it has no contact with the switch whenever you press against it with your cup.
All of the other fridge’s parts might be in good working order, but the failure is caused by the arm itself.
The arm might be trying to activate the switch as it should, but the switch isn’t closing the circuit and allowing power to flow to where it’s needed.
As a result, the dispenser doesn’t do its job of sending cold water into your cup.
How to fix: Fixing this will require inspecting the fridge’s water dispenser closely. If it’s broken, you’ll need to remove the control panel frame and gain access to the arm.
Replacing it is pretty straightforward, as you’ll be removing the faulty arm and sliding the new one in.
The dispenser switch will require you to go a bit further behind the dispenser control panel frame.
They usually have two terminals on one end, which means you’ll need to disconnect it from its electrical connector.
Once that’s done, you can put in the replacement switch and attach the electrical connectors to it.
Close the dispenser panel back up and test the switch and arm to make sure they work.
Low Water Supply
What it is: To keep your Frigidaire fridge’s dispenser continually supplied with water, the appliance is connected directly to your household’s cold water supply.
That water supply comes through a hose that’s connected to the fridge’s water inlet valve, also at the back of the unit.
How it fails: Suppose your Frigidaire unit isn’t dispensing cold water. If that’s the case, then the first thing to consider is that the fridge isn’t receiving any water, to begin with!
Even if there is a supply, that water must also be at the correct pressure to enter the fridge and go where it’s needed.
A lack of water or water pressure could cause there to be no water coming out of the fridge’s dispenser.
How to fix: To troubleshoot and fix this issue, you must first check that there is indeed water flowing from that cold water supply to your fridge.
Close the tap that controls that water supply and grab a bucket. Disconnect the water supply from the fridge and open the tap to see if anything comes out.
If there is water, open the tap all the way to confirm that there’s also enough water pressure. It’s possible that the tap might not have been open far enough.
Failed Water Inlet Valve
What it is: The part that connects the fridge to your household’s water supply is the water inlet valve, also located at the back of the fridge.
That’s an electrically controlled part which controls the inflow of water.
How it fails: Here, there are two possibilities to consider. Firstly, the water inlet valve might fail to open and not allow water to flow in.
Besides that, the problem might be that there’s a blockage at the valve, causing the same outcome.
How to fix: To troubleshoot this, you’ll need to inspect the water inlet valve up close.
Before opening anything, always make sure to shut off the power supply to the fridge by disconnecting its plug or shutting it off at the breaker.
Doing that will prevent injury or electrocution while you work on the fridge.
Next, grab the user manual or technical sheet and keep it close by as a useful reference.
That will help you locate and identify the water inlet valve. Here’s a hint: wherever you connect the water supply to the fridge, that’s where the valve is.
Open the panel there to gain access to the valve and inspect it for any obvious blockages.
If there are none, it’s possible that the part is faulty and needs to be replaced.
To do that, simply disconnect the electrical connectors and remove any screws used to keep the inlet valve in place.
Replace it with a new one and work backwards; replace the electrical connectors, screw the valve back in place, and cover up the panel that you removed earlier.
Blocked Water Filter
What it is: Wherever there’s a water line, there’s almost always a water filter. That’s certainly the case for your Frigidaire refrigerator as well.
Once the water has flown past the water inlet valve, it then makes its way to the filter assembly.
That’s where any impurities, dirt, debris, and anything else is removed by the filter. Then, the filtered water continues its journey towards the water dispenser.
How it fails: It’s quite common for people to forget to clean or replace their water filters.
That’s probably because the filter comes in the form of a sealed capsule, so it’s impossible to see how dirty it really is on the inside.
Unfortunately, water will have a very tough time flowing through that filter once it gets really dirty.
That can prevent the water tank from filling up, causing your fridge not to dispense any water when you push on the dispenser lever.
The likelihood of this being the root cause of your problem is also easy to figure out.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you replaced that water filter? On average, a fridge water filter must be replaced once every six months.
You’ll need to replace that filter more frequently if it experiences heavy use (such as in a large household with many people sharing the fridge) or if your municipal water supply is of low quality.
How to fix: Fixing this is pretty straightforward. What you’ll need to do is purchase a brand new Frigidaire fridge water filter and replace the dirty one with it.
Typically, the filter is located inside the fridge on the top. Shut off the water supply before replacing the dirty filter.
To release it, press on the filter until you hear a click. That means the filter has been released, so you can take it out and put in the new one.
Be sure that the filter is locked in place before turning the water supply back on.
Once the new filter is in place, you’ll want to press on the dispenser lever and let a few cups’ worth of water flow through. That will prepare the filter for use.