Water supply problem LG American Fridge Freezer

[bigdavel]

I have an LG GML916NSHV (Product code GR-L24FWSHV) Fridge Freezer, plumbed in with water and ice.

3d ago it stopped providing water, and it appears the ice has stopped being produced, though the ice that is stored is still being dispensed and the dispensing light comes on when the button is pressed whether it’s water or ice selected. When the water dispenser is pressed there is an electronic click, and the faintest buzz but no water.

I’ve checked the supply, and the filter was recently changed, all external water pipework is fine.

With the fridge pulled out, and the dispenser pressed, there is a loud click from the inlet valve.

I suspect the valve needs replacing, but before I search for a part, I wondered whether there was anything else I need to check. If the valve is broken, would it still make any noise?

Thanks

EDIT: added photo of part – multimeter shows open circuit between the red and blue wires, so I assume that confirms the issue?

[electrofix]

i dont do fridges but using logic

you have a cold water function and an ice maker. there will be seperate valve for each one. the chances of both valves failing at once is very low

could be frozen pipe

Dave

[bigdavel]

electrofix wrote:there will be seperate valve for each one.

You would think so, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. There is a single outflow from that valve which runs externally from the base to the top of the fridge where it turns internally as the only water pipe into the fridge. So unless there is another inline valve buried somewhere at the top of the fridge, then there is only one valve.

If it’s a frozen pipe, how do I resolve that? Unplug the fridge for a while??

[electrofix]

well there has to be more control somewhere

the ice cube section fills with water when needed and the water tap is not running at the same and vice versa

cant see the valve being inside the freezer

if things are frozen it will need a total defrost

Dave

[electrofix]

when i look parts up i get 2 valves

the other is like below

Dave

[bigdavel]

Thanks. What part number is that? That is definitely not present on my machine externally. So it must be buried in the door somewhere.

[bigdavel]

electrofix wrote:if things are frozen it will need a total defrost

Logically, I can’t see how it could be frozen The water pipe runs externally up the back of the fridge and then passes into the door at the top hinge. It then runs through the door to the ice and water dispenser.

In this model the ice and water dispenser are housed in the fridge section, not the freezer section. The water pipe never goes near the freezer. It’s a fridge at the top, freezer at the bottom, not side by side design.

[electrofix]

cant give you a part no as some sites hide real part no

when i typed your model both valves popped up

have known some water pipes in unit that have frozen. cant commet on your model as i dont do fridges

follow the water pipe in if you can and it must go to the other valve and then split off to water and ice maker

Dave

[bigdavel]

OK, thanks. Maybe someone who does do fridges will post, but I’ll also contact LG after the weekend and see if they can help.

Back to my original post though – if I’m getting an open circuit across those 2 cables that should signify that the coil is broken in the solenoid shouldn’t it?

[bigdavel]

Found it!

Managed to find an explode view of the fridge. It’s behind an access panel in the door.

[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”src”:”https://i.ibb.co/HCf9WyH/PXL-20230318-135513586.jpg”}[/IMG2]
I get a closed circuit across the purple and across the white which suggests the solenoid coils are intact, yes?

[electrofix]

if you get a reading across solenoids then the coil is ok but they can go internally

expect about 3-5000 ohms or so id you get millions of ohms that would be too high

Dave

[bigdavel]

I got around 1500 ohms.

Do you think this is the more likely valve to have gone? If so what’s the reasoning? Or, do I just need to replace both valves?

[electrofix]

the fact you got that reading probably means the coil ok

well you now need to experiment

what i am assuming is both valve have to fire for the system to work

so you need to operate the cold water feed and see if you can feel the valve operate

if both valve are operating at least you can eliminate an electronic problem

then its which valve. well you have 2 valves on the second unit. if you have lot ice then water at different times then it may be this valve since you seem to have lost both then its more likely the single one

added to the fact you get no resistance on the single valve make it highly likely this has failed

Dave

[bigdavel]

Thanks, I’m going to see if I can bypass each valve in turn to see if I can isolate their activity. Seems like it might be the easiest way to do this in the end.

[bigdavel]

OK, things have progressed…

I was able to isolate the first (single) valve and demonstrated that it worked so ruled that out despite the multimeter testing suggesting it was bad.

The second (double) valve was harder to isolate but when I did, I wasn’t able to get water to flow so, on that basis, despite the healthy multimeter readings, I concluded that was the problem part. The replacement arrived today.

On fitting, though, the issue remained. By chance, I found though, if I depressed the dispenser button and opened the door then for a couple of seconds water flowed when the door was slightly ajar.

So, I started to look at the magnetic door sensor.

When I first started to play around with it, with a magnet, I found that in certain magnet positions I could get the dispenser to work normally, but in its housing it was never in the correct position for water to flow. As a temporary fix, I taped a magnet to it and found that the dispenser worked, though the door alarm and light stopped working (because the sensor reported the door closed). Acceptable compromise, I thought. So, I unplugged the fridge, replaced the wiring with the attached magnet back in the housing and plugged back in, only to find the dispenser stopped working again after the power cycle.

A bit more testing, and I’ve found that now the dispenser works when the door is physically open, but the sensor reports the door is closed (magnet nearby). So, it’s as though the signal from the sensor has reversed. If I put the sensor back in its housing (so it’s near a magnet when the door is closed) then the dispenser doesn’t work, apart from a few seconds when the door is first opened, which is what I witnessed earlier. The light and alarm work normally though – so when the sensor is near a magnet the light and alarm are off, and vice versa.

So, the question is – is this a magnetic door sensor problem or is it more likely that the controller that responds to the sensor is knackered? The sensor isn’t expensive, but as I’ve already shelled out for a new valve I don’t really want to waste any more cash.

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