How To Replace A Refrigerator Water Inlet Valve (With Video!)

Frustrated with a fridge that won’t make ice or dispense water? Before you call in a costly repairman, take a look at the often-overlooked water inlet valve—a small part that could be causing big problems. Our step-by-step guide, complete with an easy-to-follow video tutorial just below, will show you how to replace this faulty component all by yourself, saving you time and money.

Once you have identified the part needed for your fridge, search below using your specific refrigerator model number to identify the exact part needed:

You might think that when your fridge refuses to make ice or dispense water, it’s a problem with the dispenser, itself, but that’s not always the case. Look a little lower. Your troubles could lie at the bottom of your refrigerator, right at the point where water comes in. A damaged or faulty water inlet valve can stop a dispenser or ice maker from working at all. Don’t let the prospect of digging into your refrigerator deter you, though. Replacing this part is quick and easy, and we’ve got a guide right here to walk you through the process. Let’s get started!

What’s Wrong With My Refrigerator’s Water Inlet Valve?

The main cause of a faulty water inlet valve is a failed solenoid. When a solenoid fails, it stops water from passing through the valve. If this is the case, you may have trouble with your ice maker, dispenser, or both, as water is not reaching them. For particularly old inlet valves, the plastic parts may degrade and begin to leak. This is not as common, but could potentially be a cause of leaking from the back of the fridge.

Finding The Right Valve For Your Refrigerator

To find the right part, you’ll need your appliance’s model number. Your refrigerator’s model number will be in the manual for sure, but if you don’t have that on hand, you can search by model number in the search box above or on AppliancePartsPros.com

Check for your model number in the following places:

• On the exterior door or sides of the appliance
• Inside the door or on the door frame
• On the interior ceiling of the freezer or refrigerator compartment
• On the inside wall of either compartment
• On the fridge floor, beneath the crisper drawers
• Behind the kickplate at the bottom of the appliance

As you’re looking, you may find that newer OEM water inlet valves don’t look exactly like the water inlet valve that’s in your fridge. Newer valves tend to come with push-to-lock fittings and don’t use nuts or compression fittings. Provided the part is a genuine component from the manufacturer and your refrigerator model is included in the compatibility list, the new valve should work.

How To Replace A Refrigerator Water Inlet Valve

The steps laid out in this article and the companion video were completed on a Whirlpool refrigerator. Even if you have another brand or model of refrigerator, though, this guide should still help! If something in our guide doesn’t line up with your refrigerator, refer to your appliance manual for specific instructions.

Before You Begin

Disconnect the refrigerator from power by either unplugging it or flipping the corresponding circuit breaker. Never complete repairs or maintenance on an appliance that is receiving power! For this job, you also need to make sure you turn the water all the way off, which you can do by turning the water valve beneath your sink. Even with the water off, you should lay a towel down. There will still be water in the hoses and the inlet, itself, and it will spill out as you disassemble the parts.

Tools Needed to Replace the Fridge Inlet Valve

To complete this repair, you’ll need a few specific tools, but nothing too specialized!

• A compatible replacement water inlet valve
• Work gloves
• A towel and, optionally, a bowl to catch water leaks
• Phillips and flathead screwdrivers
• A nut driver
• A wrench (we used a ½ inch wrench for this job)
• A razor blade

How to Replace a Fridge Water Inlet Valve

1. Remove the rear access panel from the refrigerator. It may be made of cardboard, but you should still take care not to damage it if you can. It is likely held in place by a few screws.
2. Disconnect the copper water line. That’s the copper tube that sends water to the inlet valve. You can loosen the connection with a wrench, and then pull up on the tube to disconnect it. There may still be water in the line, so be sure to point the tube over a towel or into a bowl or other receptacle to catch any leaks!
3. Remove the mounting screws holding the old water inlet valve in place. There should be two of them holding the metal bracket to the fridge frame.
4. Pull the valve out of the refrigerator and disconnect each wire harness. These connectors should be color coded, but if they aren’t, make note of which goes where. The connectors are different sizes and will need to be plugged back in on the proper terminals.
5. Disconnect the 3 water lines connected to the main valve. You should be able to loosen and remove two of these by hand, but will need a wrench to remove the compression fitting. Also note that water will probably spill out when you disconnect the hoses, so have that towel ready to catch it. Pay attention to where each hose is connected, too. Like the wire harnesses, there are two different sizes of water line hose. On our test refrigerator, there were two 5/16 lines and two ¼ inch lines.
6. Pry the two parts of the valve apart. The water inlet valve consists of the larger main valve and a smaller component. Both are mounted to a metal bracket that is actually two separate brackets pressed together. You can pry these brackets apart by wedging a sturdy flathead screwdriver into the seam between them.
7. Take a look at your new replacement water inlet valve. Now that the old valve is removed, compare the two of them, as the newer valve may look a bit different. Newer valves have push-to-lock fittings. Rather than using a nut to secure water lines, on a valve with push-to-lock fittings, you simply push the hose into the valve and then pull up on it to secure it into place.
   
   If your new water inlet valve has these push to lock fittings and your old valve did not, you’ll want to prep the water line hoses:
   1. You can try to pull the nut off of each hose, but they may be stuck on. Even if they come free, there may be divots in the hose.
   2. The hose opening should be flat with no jagged edges. Use a razor blade to cut it cleanly if there are rough edges on the opening, if the nut or compression fitting is stuck on, or if there are dents, divots, or ridges in the hose from the fitting. Don’t cut off too much. You can cut the hose right below the nut
   3. Make sure the opening is perfectly flat. If it is angled, use the razor blade to carefully shave off excess and flatten it.
8. To install the hoses:
   1. If you have a valve with push-to-lock fittings, push each one straight into its corresponding valve. The hose should lock into place. You can gently pull on the tube to double check that it is secure. To remove the hose if you need to for any reason, press down on the fitting ring to release it and pull on the tube. If you have a valve with traditional fittings, simply tighten each nut into place.
9. Pass the smaller valve that you disconnected earlier between the two translucent hoses. This will make it easier to mount it back into place later.
10. Reconnect the wires to the valve. Double check to make sure each wire is connected to the proper terminal. Since you haven’t put the valve back in place yet, you shouldn’t have too much trouble reconnecting the wires. However, if you do, there is a block mounted to the refrigerator frame that you can remove to provide more give on the wires.
11. Slide the valve back into place in the refrigerator and reinstall the mounting screws. Because you had to pry the two valves apart earlier, the mounting screws will hold the two pieces together, so make sure that both valves are in place before rethreading the screws.
12. Reconnect the copper water supply line and turn the water back on. Before you use the dispenser or ice maker, run two to three gallons of water through to test for any leaks and flush the system, clearing bubbles out of the line and any dust from the part itself. If there are leaks, you’ll have to take the valve back out, inspect the tubes for damage, and reseat them before testing again.
13. Reinstall the back panel and plug the refrigerator back in. You’ve completed this repair!

Where To Find Us 

If you need any replacement parts for your appliances, you can enter your model number at AppliancePartsPros.com to locate and order them quickly. Most orders arrive in just two business days, and we have tons of great information in our repair help section and YouTube videos to help you troubleshoot.

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