FIXED Slow Drip from Water Dispenser on Sears Kenmore Elite-106.57799700 Side-by-Side Refrigerator

[spta97]

Model Number

106.57799700

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

More than 10 years

Hi everyone,

I'm going nuts trying to trouble shoot a slow drip (say one drip per ~3 - 5 min) from my water dispenser on my Kenmore Elite 106.57799700.

Upon doing research, most people seemed to point to the water inlet valve citing a bad solenoid or build up of calcium deposits not allowing it to fully close.

So I purchased an OEM Whirlpool WPW10159839 Water Inlet Valve and installed it today but the drip remains even after flushing the system.

I then tried the following with no success:
1) Removed the water filter (about 2 months old) and flushed with 2 - 3 gallons of water.
2) Replaced the water filter and flushed with 2 - 3 gallons of water.
3) Disassembled the front panel and soaked the dispenser water nozzle in vinegar (it didn't help but needed cleaning anyway).

I posted a short video of the drip here:

Any ideas on what to check next?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jake]

Take the water dispenser line plastic tubing off from underneath the water inlet valve directly and see if it drips the same there. The water dispenser water line plastic tubing is the larger diameter one.

Jake

 

[spta97]

Hey Jake,

Thanks for the response. Can you confirm you are referencing the valve indicated in the attached?

Assuming that is accurate, it seems this is an effort to determine if the valve is faulty by eliminating anything having to do with the dispenser, correct? Would it be common to get a bad valve?

One more question - are there any concerns with ruining the integrity of the connections at the valves by removing/installing? I cut the lines with a PEX cutter to get a clean end to the tubes and they are already short so I do not want to cut more.

I will give this a shot after work - thanks!

 

[spta97]

Ok so I took off the water dispenser line from the water inlet and put a piece of paper under it (pink in the pic) and did not get any water drips after 15-20 min.

I assume this means the water valve is working ok and the issue is somewhere between that and the dispenser.

However, I’m not familiar with the parts or what could cause this issue.

Any ideas?

 

[Jake]

Ok, then your water inlet valve is good.

So its possibly a problem in the water tank, but its no longer available: 2304880

So the only thing you can do is bypass it, buy some water line tubing at Home Depot, I believe its 5/16" diameter, then run it from the water inlet valve directly under the refrigerator to the underneath of the freezer door where it joins in with the union connector.

Jake

 

[spta97]

Thanks Jake. Can you explain what the water tank does and what will be the impact of bypassing it?

Edit - it looks like my model uses the coil of tubing which I have seen in the fridge side (part #19 in the attached). If something in that coil is causing the issue does that mean it has a leak or possibly a blockage?

I wonder if I should try to bypass the tubing coil to see if it resolves the issue first?

Seems the only issue would be the water is not cooled.

 

[Jake]

I wonder if I should try to bypass the tubing coil to see if it resolves the issue first?

That's what I was suggesting to do, since the reservoir is not longer available. I had this same problem about 15 years ago, and there was some weird issue with the reservoir causing it to keep dripping even after the water inlet valve was replaced.

Its was available back then and after I replaced the reservoir the dripping stopped.

Jake

 

[spta97]

Understood and thanks again!

I got the 5/16” tube and bypassed the reservoIr tonight. It seems to have significantly slowed the drip but I’m not sure it is completely gone yet as I do have a drip forming what seems like one an hour. I’ll have to see what’s there in the morning.

In the event it is still dripping I assume the line in the freezer door would be next to replace and perhaps the right angle connector which goes from the inlet hose to the freezer door hose?

I really appreciate your help and I’m starting to understand how this works. It’s basically like holding your finger on the end of a straw with water in it which traps it in. To further, any minor air leakage (through a hole) would cause it to leak out.

I’ll post back tomorrow with the results.

 

[Jake]

It sounds like its doing better, yes post back in the morning.

Jake

 

[spta97]

No drips this morning! Thanks so much Jake!

I also feel like the water is coming out faster than before since I bypassed the reservoir.

hopefully this is finally fixed but I’ll monitor to be sure.

I suspect the old water valve was not the issue but still cheaper than a service call. I’ll keep it around as a spare part.

Hopefully this can help someone else in the future.

 

[Jake]

Excellent, glad to hear that fixed it.

Thanks for the update!

Jake

 

[spta97]

Thanks again Jake!!!

 

[Jake]

You bet spta97!

Jake