Whirlpool WP2188542 Dual Water Inlet Valve OEM Part

Fix was very easy, I ordered a replacement dual water inlet valve from appliance parts pros .com and waited just a few days for order to be received. After I received the order, I got my tools out and pulled the refrigerator out from the wall. Unplugged the power cord form the wall, turned off the water at the valve in the wall, grabbed my nut driver and removed the cardboard backing on the lower side of the back. I checked that the part that I received to wee if it matched the original part, which it did. I used an adjustable wrench to disconnect the water supply line from the valve. I then took off the 2 screws holding the valve to the refrigerator with my nut driver, this allowed me to access the water lines that went to the door and the ice maker. I only needed to use my fingers to unscrew these 2 water line connections, as I disconnected one of the water lines I went ahead and connected it to the new valve in the matching location then I disconnected the other line and connected it to the new valve. I then disconnected the power cables, again one at a time. I disconnected one power connection and plugged it into the new valve to match how it was and then the other power cable. The old valve was now free from any connections and I was able to remove it completely out of my way. I then attached the new valve to the refrigerator using the same 2 screws that held the old valve on. I plugged the power cord back in and turned on the water to test the door water dispenser. all working like it should be. I cleaned up my mess and a little bit of water that dripped out of the main water line as it was set aside during project.

Although the problem ended up being the valve, it took quite a bit to finally figure that out. Because the valve was leaky, water would drip into the ice maker and freeze there on the intake pipe, eventually blocking that pipe with ice - hence the leak. It was a simple fix once I had the valve, but one thing to note: The repair video shows the valve with push to lock connectors for the water out, and the technician in the video says to cut off the end of the tubes (which have a plastic compression fitting). I did that, then noticed that my new valve did not have push to lock fittings, it used compression fittings like my old valve. Fortunately I was able to re-use the plastic nuts I'd cut off. I wish I'd noticed the connectors were different from the video before I cut the nuts off. Here's the full story of how it was diagnosed. The water line to the cold water outlet has a push to lock connector in the water line just below the freezer door. It was wet, so I thought that that was the cause of the leak. No, it was only wet because the fan blew water over it. While pulling the fridge away from the wall, the copper intake pipe cracked so I had to replace that. I eventually called Sears and they sent a technician who immediately diagnosed the problem as the valve. $129 and money well spent. He asked if I would like for them to replace it so I said yes - only fair, they diagnosed the problem, let them fix it. $522 - what? OK, go ahead. Part was ordered and a date was set. The part wasn't available so it was back ordered. A week after they were supposed to have come back to install the valve, it was still back ordered. Cancelled that and ordered the part from an online parts place which said it was in stock. A week later, it still hadn't shipped so I cancelled that and ordered from Appliance Parts Pros who came through and delivered. The fridge was fixed that evening.

Pulled out the duel water inlet valve and got the part number off of it and ordered a new one. it arrived in one day and installed in about 3 mins. fired it up and works like a champ.

Replaced old Dual Water Inlet Valve. Turned off water supply. Unplugged refrigerator. Removed two 1/4 inch screws with nut driver. Removed both water lines going from Valve to fridge. (By Hand) Removed line going from wall to Valve with Adjustable wrench. Unplugged both Wire harness. (Nice that they are two different sizes so you can't mix them up.) Reversed the order to install the new one. One note: I did add some Teflon tape to the new unit for the water supply. Real easy to do. Did NOT have to cut water lines as the new valve was threaded so they just screwed back on. Did NOT have to separate the two housings as the unit was all in one unit. Thank You.

Replaced the dual water inlet valve and now it works great!