Fridge water dispenser failed during winterization

[lwerman]

Hello all,

2016 Winnebago Adventurer 37F with Whirlpool WRF540CWBM00 fridge

I always winterize using an air compressor.
This time I also installed an IRVWPC water pump controller. Finished & tested the controller, all good. As highly recommended, I sanitized the entire fresh water system using bleach, including the fridge water dispenser & ice cube maker. The bleach water did come thru the dispenser.

After dumping the bleach water & refilling the water system, I ran some fresh water thru the faucets & then switched to the air compressor at 30psi to blow out the lines. All went well except for the fridge. I am no longer able to get any flow thru the cold water dispenser. When I press the water dispense button I can hear a little new noise in the fridge but no water or air comes out. It has always worked in all the prior years. I tried reseating the fridge water filter bypass cap to no avail. The water drain on the back of the fridge blows out water & air ok.

I suspect something has become blocked or damaged in the fridge water system, possibly by the bleach water.

Anyone have any experience along this line? Will I have to pull the fridge to service this issue?

Thanx........Len

[Morich]

I've not worked on that frig in RV use but I think it will be very near the same.
I used a search to find info that model number and found info on a site which I find handy for appliance repairs as they give some good info as well as videos which we can often consider reliable.
This site:
https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDet...5#relatedMedia
Far right for both the ice maker and water being out?
But that is a point not mentioned. Do you know if both are out as that would look toward a stopped up line feeding the frig rather than an individual frig part?

Considering you note a different sound, it may be a water valve has stopped moving and is setting there buzzing instead of opening? Hard water minerals dried in it maybe?

Yes, I would assume the repair to require pulling the frig.
Check the videos and I'm thinking number four may fit as the switch seems to give the sound, so likely doing it's share?

[lwerman]

Richard,

Thanx for the info. I don't know if both the water & ice maker is OOS as the water stopped flowing mid winterization. Interestingly though, the water flowed during sterilizing & stopped after, when I also pulled the filter & installed the plug between these two steps. The videos you found also presented another possibility of the water filter head failing which make more sense to me considering the timing.

Without pulling the fridge I can do more testing now that I understand the piping. No matter if it's the head or the valve I will have to pull the fridge.

Thanx again.........Len

[Morich]

Sometimes it just needs to be firm that we have to do what we don't want to do??

Hope it heads you in the right direction even if it is not what we want!