I have a Whirlpool sided-by-side refrigerator with ice & water in the
freezer door. Recently the water dispenser has started leaking. The problem
is definitely not that the dispenser switch is being pressed as I have
physically disconnected the switch for testing.

With the switch connected I press a glass into the dispense. The water
dispenses. I physically disconnect the electrical switch (that the glass
ultimately presses) but several drops of water continue to drip. Sometimes
it is just a few drops, other times it is enough to eventually overflow the
collector tray at the bottom of the dispenser. Always though it is just a
drip, a few drops at a time, not the full water volume as while filling a
glass.

Is this a common problem? What is the usual cause (a solenoid)?

If it is a solenoid (or other part) where is the most common place to locate
it (the door, freezer body, etc)?

Thanks

On Apr 15, 3:04*pm, "Jack B. Pollack" wrote:
I have a Whirlpool sided-by-side refrigerator with ice & water in the
freezer door. Recently the water dispenser has started leaking. The problem
is definitely not that the dispenser switch is being pressed as I have
physically disconnected the switch for testing.

With the switch connected I press a glass into the dispense. The water
dispenses. I physically disconnect the electrical switch (that the glass
ultimately presses) but several drops of water continue to drip. Sometimes
it is just a few drops, other times it is enough to eventually overflow the
collector tray at the bottom of the dispenser. Always though it is just a
drip, a few drops at a time, not the full water volume as while filling a
glass.

Is this a common problem? What is the usual cause (a solenoid)?

If it is a solenoid (or other part) where is the most common place to locate
it (the door, freezer body, etc)?

Thanks

A single grain of sand in the solenoid can cause the dripping you
describe. Do you have a filter in the water line input to the
refrigerator? If so, have you ever replaced the filter cartridge?
Taking the solenoid apart is one way, or you could try to reverse
flush it while the coil is energized, or buy a new one.

"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
On Apr 15, 3:04 pm, "Jack B. Pollack" wrote:
I have a Whirlpool sided-by-side refrigerator with ice & water in the
freezer door. Recently the water dispenser has started leaking. The
problem
is definitely not that the dispenser switch is being pressed as I have
physically disconnected the switch for testing.

With the switch connected I press a glass into the dispense. The water
dispenses. I physically disconnect the electrical switch (that the glass
ultimately presses) but several drops of water continue to drip. Sometimes
it is just a few drops, other times it is enough to eventually overflow
the
collector tray at the bottom of the dispenser. Always though it is just a
drip, a few drops at a time, not the full water volume as while filling a
glass.

Is this a common problem? What is the usual cause (a solenoid)?

If it is a solenoid (or other part) where is the most common place to
locate
it (the door, freezer body, etc)?

Thanks

A single grain of sand in the solenoid can cause the dripping you
describe. Do you have a filter in the water line input to the
refrigerator? If so, have you ever replaced the filter cartridge?
Taking the solenoid apart is one way, or you could try to reverse
flush it while the coil is energized, or buy a new one.


That makes perfect sense as I live in an apartment building and the building
turned off the water yesterday,
When they turn it back on there is a lot of gunk in it.

I'm going to try to run a lot of water through it, maybe it will wash out.

If I have to replace it where is it most likely located?

Thanks this was really helpful in at least understanding what happened.

The fellow is having trouble finding the solenoid, I think
reverse flush while energized is a bit too much to ask at
this point.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"hr(bob) " wrote in
message
...

Taking the solenoid apart is one way, or you could try to
reverse
flush it while the coil is energized, or buy a new one.

The water line connects to it..... As the pellican with the
colored beak said while selling Fruit Loops, paraphrasing.
"Follow your hose, it always knows....." I hope you're over
forty, and have a sense of humor as salubrious as mine.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jack B. Pollack" wrote in message
m...

That makes perfect sense as I live in an apartment building
and the building
turned off the water yesterday,
When they turn it back on there is a lot of gunk in it.

I'm going to try to run a lot of water through it, maybe it
will wash out.

If I have to replace it where is it most likely located?

Thanks this was really helpful in at least understanding
what happened.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
The water line connects to it..... As the pellican with the
colored beak said while selling Fruit Loops, paraphrasing.
"Follow your hose, it always knows....." I hope you're over
forty, and have a sense of humor as salubrious as mine.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


"Jack B. Pollack" wrote in message
m...

That makes perfect sense as I live in an apartment building
and the building
turned off the water yesterday,
When they turn it back on there is a lot of gunk in it.

I'm going to try to run a lot of water through it, maybe it
will wash out.

If I have to replace it where is it most likely located?

Thanks this was really helpful in at least understanding
what happened.




I did find it. The bigger problem now is getting to it.
It requires moving out the refrig and I live in a small apartment where
things are so tight they had to put the floor molding on after the refrig
was installed. So pulling it out is going to be a real headache.

I'm really hoping that just letting it run with hose attached to it and
draining into the sink will flush it out.

I hate it when people build the appliances in like that. One
time I was servicing a side by side, built in like that.
Needed to put a hard start kit on the compressor. They had
to saw through the drywall behind the unit, which was at the
cellar stair case, so I could stand on a higher stair, and
wire in the hard start kit.

Good luck about flushing out the valve.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jack B. Pollack" wrote in message
news
I did find it. The bigger problem now is getting to it.
It requires moving out the refrig and I live in a small
apartment where
things are so tight they had to put the floor molding on
after the refrig
was installed. So pulling it out is going to be a real
headache.

I'm really hoping that just letting it run with hose
attached to it and
draining into the sink will flush it out.

On 4/16/2011 9:18 AM, Jack B. Pollack wrote:
"Stormin wrote in message
...
The water line connects to it..... As the pellican with the
colored beak said while selling Fruit Loops, paraphrasing.
"Follow your hose, it always knows....." I hope you're over
forty, and have a sense of humor as salubrious as mine.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


"Jack B. wrote in message
m...

That makes perfect sense as I live in an apartment building
and the building
turned off the water yesterday,
When they turn it back on there is a lot of gunk in it.

I'm going to try to run a lot of water through it, maybe it
will wash out.

If I have to replace it where is it most likely located?

Thanks this was really helpful in at least understanding
what happened.




I did find it. The bigger problem now is getting to it.
It requires moving out the refrig and I live in a small apartment where
things are so tight they had to put the floor molding on after the refrig
was installed. So pulling it out is going to be a real headache.

I'm really hoping that just letting it run with hose attached to it and
draining into the sink will flush it out.


Any way you can set up an IV drip of vinegar into the input side? I gave
up on my dispenser- my water is so mineral-laden it clogs up in a month,
and those damn filters are expensive around here. (Not to mention, idiot
furnace guy blocked the filter in basement ceiling with a new duct
run...) Anyway, I turned off icemaker (almost never use ice anyway), and
have just let the thing sit. I may get around to fussing with it
someday. I suppose after I clean it out, I could feed it from other side
of water softener to get around the mineral problem, but ice and water
would taste nasty then.

If this fancy fridge (that came with the house) dies, it is getting
replaced with a big-box entry level special. Not a fan of side-by-sides
anyway. I'd rather have a freezer that a frozen pizza fits in without
bending.
--
aem sends...

"aemeijers" wrote in message

stuff snipped

If this fancy fridge (that came with the house) dies, it is getting
replaced with a big-box entry level special. Not a fan of side-by-sides
anyway. I'd rather have a freezer that a frozen pizza fits in without
bending.

I hear you. We bought a minimum sized fridge because we're waiting to sell
(arf, arf) and I have to use karate on the frozen pizza. Over the edge of
the table and boom!

I also agree - spend the money on CU FT rather than doodads. I had to
disconnect the ice-maker one on the old unit for two reasons. It was alway
clogging and it would always wake up my wife in the middle of the night when
it dropped a load of ice. I couldn't hear a thing but I got poked awake
anyway. )-: The only thing I might spring for is a door open alarm.

With a small freezer full of folded pizzas, it's easy for the door to not
close tightly enough to seal. That's a very hard condition to detect unless
you have switch contacts of some sort right at the opening edge of the door.
I've been able to monitor door openings and closings with an X-10 "EagleEye"
RF PIR sensor. It sends a signal when it detects lights on or off but only
transmits when the box is open (the refrigerator acts Faraday cage when
closed so no RF escapes it).

Why am I doing this? It's going to enable me to calculate some basic cost
figures about how much juice is used as related to # of door openings a day.
My preliminary results show the opening/closing cycles *really* affect
electrical usage. Unfortunately, the current system doesn't track the
length of time the door is open for each day. I'll have to hardwire a
sensor. Fortunately, those plugs for water lines to ice-makers make great
access ports for sensors!

This way, I can figure out if I need to mount clear plastic "bellows" to the
door (with a reach in-port) to save money on electricity if the market
collapses again.

Dan Lanciani got me thinking in a recent thread about refrigerators
"freezing up" if you're away for a few days. That seemed to imply that the
thermostat never reached its base point when there are a substantial number
of openings and closings per day. Another thing I've noticed is that door
openings are especially "costly" (relatively speaking) in very humid
weather. That makes sense because any air pulled into the unit when opening
a door has to be both cooled and dehumidified.

What I would like to do is to figure out where I should move the thermostat
to when we're away for a few days to keep the fridge from freezing up
without being too high to keep food safe. Next time we go somewhere I will
have a recording thermometer (actually RatShack RS232 capable meter with
thermocouple probe attached to a PC) to watch what happens to the unit's
temperature while we're away. Right now, all I have is an RF dual
compartment sensor RF thermometer with settable (but very anemic sounding)
alarms that doesn't record

All this pizza talk has made me hungry. Time to unfold a DiGornio
Thin'n'Crappy (TM) Pepperoni Pizza (after seeing somewhere that the
preservatives in pepperoni have been implicated in cancer).

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/16361276/ns/today-food/

Is *nothing* safe to eat anymore?

If you take a single piece of pepperoni from a pizza, is it a
pepperonectomy? Once a single piece is removed, does it become a
pepperonus? If it hits the floor does it become a pepperonite? If it's on
a Japanese pizza is it pepperonium? If these words upset you, are you a
pepperonophobic?

--
Bobby G.