Kenmore refrigerator, continuous water dispenser flow

[Greg Sumner]

I have received second-hand a relatively new Kenmore fridge, model "22", side-by-side with auto-ice maker and water dispenser on the freezer door. Unknown model year, I'd say maybe 5-6 years old. Previous owner says he had no problems with it at all.

At first my problem was the icemaker overflowing. I turned off the water behind the fridge until I could look at it. I figured either the tray had water in it already, or the timer was askew. So I removed the icemaker housing and cleaned it out, re-inserted it, and plugged it all back in.

I also ran the water dispenser, to find a new surprise. The water flow doesn't stop, it just keeps coming out. The motor does quit running when I stop pressing the dispenser so the water flows out as if by gravity. It actually stops for a split-second and then comes out again. I let it run a long time to see if a reservoir was built up somewhere, but it keeps coming out until I turn off the water supply valve. The water comes from the wall, goes through a brand new filter and then into the fridge. What's strange is it wasn't doing this before.

Could something have been damaged in the move? If so what should I check first? I have no reason to not believe the previous owner's claim of good operation. I can't really fix the icemaker while the front door is spewing water so I have to tackle this one first.

Thank you, Greg - Seattle, WA.

[jim]

take the plastic off the front of the water dispenser and see if you can find any troubles(trash or broken plastic around the water lever??)... to get to it there is a plastic tray with grooves in the bottom of this tray.. i remove mine(whirlpool) by putting my fingers in the grooves and pulling to me(away from the refrigerator).. it comes out and then you can see the screws on the bottonm(two) remove them and then take out the plastic casing/trim from around the water/ice dispenser).. hope this helps.

[jeff]

Hi,

The "model#" is the one on the model/serial tag....

No motor, the fill valve uses pressure differances on the entrance and exit side of the fill valve to open and close and the house water pressure pushes the water in/through. No motor or pump used.

Poor water pressure to the fill valve(s) could keep the fill valve open, sticky switch in the dispensor would keep power going to the fill valve, bad fill valve may not be 100% closing.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[Dan O.]

The actual *model number* off the fridge's identification plate would be the most help. You can find tips for locating the model and serial number tag on your appliances in the 'Repair Parts' section of my site linked below.

The icemaker and water dispenser fills by means of a solenoid valve and the house water pressure and not any kind of motor or pump. You can read about the water valves used on appliances at the following link:

>If so what should I check first?

I would think one of the first things to check is whether the water fill valves are getting power when they are dispensing but not suppose to. That should determine whether the problem is electrical or not.

If the fill valve is letting water through but are not powered, they may not be getting sufficient water pressure to stay closed, they may be partially clogged with lime and scale, etc. which is holding them open or the water valve may just be defective and need to be replaced.

The latter is fairly unlikely as both the water dispenser and icemaker use different sides of the same valve. It would be fairly unusual (but not unheard of) for both sides to fail at the same time.

JMO

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

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