Stop 4 of 14 Into the ice maker
The Water Inlet Valve
| Blamed | Found |
|---|---|
| The ice maker module, because the mold stays dry | A valve that no longer opens when a fill is called, so nothing reaches the fill tube. |
| The freezer, because ice keeps building behind the ice maker | A valve that does not seal between fills, letting water through that freezes at the fill tube or pools in the bin. |
| The valve, in a house with weak water pressure | A sound valve that cannot work properly on a thin supply; Sub-Zero names low pressure as a cause of exactly that. |
When the complaint is an ice maker that never fills, what we usually find is an inlet valve that no longer opens, or one opening against so little pressure that the fill barely arrives. Less often it fails the other way and will not close, so water keeps coming into the mold or the bin. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell tests it before quoting one, (206) 202-2799.
- Water inlet valve, in one line
- The electrically operated valve on the unit's water supply that opens when the ice maker calls for a fill and shuts when it ends. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell tests it powered, not by guesswork.
- Filed
- Written by
- Marta Fennimore
- Works on
- ice systems and water supply
- Years at it
- 12
- Holds
- EPA 608 certified
Two ways it fails
A valve that will not open is the quiet failure: the ice maker calls, nothing comes, the mold sits dry and the bin empties over a few days. From the kitchen it looks like a dead ice maker, which is why the module so often takes the blame.
A valve that will not close is the untidy one. Water seeps through between fills, freezes where the fill tube enters the freezer, or gathers in the bin and fuses the cubes into a block. Sub-Zero lists a water valve not operating properly among the causes of both.
Why we prove the pressure first
A valve passes only what reaches it, and a new one on a thin supply fills no better than the old. So the shutoff, the filter and the flow at the unit are settled first. Then the valve is powered and watched: open when a fill is called, shut tight when it ends.
Check it yourself, or call
| Check | Who | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Shutoff open and filter seated | You | Either one starves a good valve, and both are quicker to rule out than the valve itself. |
| Take the bin out and watch whether water keeps coming | You | Sub-Zero's own test for a valve that will not stop. If it does, switch the ice maker off and close the shutoff. |
| Valve powered and watched as it opens and closes | Technician | It sits on the unit's side of the supply, out of reach without panels off; this is our test, not an owner's. |
| Anything behind a panel, and any wiring | Technician | Stop there and call Sub-Zero Repair Bothell on (206) 202-2799. |
What it costs
- Ice maker, water valve or supply line $290–$820
Parts and labour, as a range: the part your model takes and the work to reach it settle where inside it the job falls, and you get that one figure before anything is done. $89 gets a technician to the unit and pays for finding the fault; agree to the repair and that $89 is taken back off its price.
Questions about the water inlet valve
- What does the water inlet valve on a Sub-Zero do?
- It is the gate between the supply line and the ice maker. When the ice maker wants water the valve opens, water travels through the fill tube to the mold, and the valve shuts behind it. Stuck shut, it leaves you without ice; leaking, it makes ice where none belongs. Sub-Zero Repair Bothell, (206) 202-2799.
- Is it normal to hear the water valve?
- Yes. Sub-Zero's 500 Series guide lists the solenoid valve refilling the ice maker among the ordinary sounds of the ice cycle, along with cubes dropping into the container. What is not normal is water running with no ice to show for it, or a fill that seems to go on and on.
Where this repair is filed
- Repair Sub-Zero Ice Maker Repair in Bothell
- What it costs Water inlet valve replacement
