No cold water, again!!

[iceman2k4]

HI, I posted here about 3 weeks ago about my KitchenAid washing machine having little cold water pressure. It was recommended that I change my water inlet valve which I did change. It worked perfectly for the last month but now the cold water no longer works again. This time the problem looks to be a little different, last time I had very little cold water pressure but now there's no cold water coming out at all. Any ideas to what the problem is would be appreciated because I have no clue as to what it could be this time.

[kok328]

Sounds like the same problem only more severe this time around.
Disconnect the inlet valve and bleed the water on to see if your getting water that far in the line.
Chances are you'll find the inlet clogged again.

[iceman2k4]

Wow, I can't believe the inlet valve is clogged that bad again so soon! I mean; one load there was cold water then the next load there was none.Would it clog that fast? Does this mean I need another inlet valve, again? Why do you think the inlet valve would clog again that fast and what can I do this time to ensure it doesn't happen again? Thanks again

[iceman2k4]

[QUOTE=kok328]Sounds like the same problem only more severe this time around.
Disconnect the inlet valve and bleed the water on to see if your getting water that far in the line.
Chances are you'll find the inlet clogged again.[/QUOTE]

One question what do you mean exactly by "bleed the water on to see if your getting water that far in the line."
How far in the line are you talking about? Do I disconnect the line from the valve going into the tub and turn on the cold to see if water is coming out of the valve? Can you explain it in more detail please. Thanks again.

[richapplyguy]

Warning, I pulled a small plastic part out of a water valve: Water valves need water pressure for the shutoff diaphram inside. This plastic part flooded a home!!
Just check your screen again.

[iceman2k4]

[QUOTE=kok328]Sounds like the same problem only more severe this time around.
Disconnect the inlet valve and bleed the water on to see if your getting water that far in the line.
Chances are you'll find the inlet clogged again.[/QUOTE]


Well I took off the inlet valve and it doesn't seem to be clogged this time. Could it be something to do with the dial that selects the water temperature? On the other side of the temp dial(inside the console) is some sort of small square connector that the wires run to the water valve. Is it possible that the square connector on the other side of the dial is malfunctioning? How can I test it? I did a continuity test on the wires and all is fine.
The part on the other side of the dial says:
3348354
1A 125/250 VAC
408 111C

Thanks again

[Piro]

Now that you have opened the console,set the unit control (dial) to call for water and check if the water valve solenoid is receiving Around 120 volts. If yes and no water get through ,problem is the valve for sure

[richapplyguy]

It is common for lightning to follow the cold water pipes to ground and in turn blowing your cold water solenoid. Swap the wires between hot and cold solenoids, select hot water and see if you now get cold water, if so =bad water solenoid.
You also might put a surge protector on that outlet.

[iceman2k4]

Well that's strange. I reversed the wires on the solenoid and tested and I got cold water when the dial was on hot. I turned the dial to cold thinking that I wouldn't get any water but hot water came out!? I plugged the wire back to the way they should be and now cold water comes out when dial on cold and hot when it's on hot setting. What the hell just happened there? Why do you think that happened? Thanks again for your replies and to this wonderful forum and members.

[woodchuck]

Tiny pieces of trash can get in the in the solenoid and it will work sometimes and not at others. You may have cleared it out or it may happen again.

[iceman2k4]

Is there anything I can do to prevent tiny pieces of trash from messing with the solenoid so this doesn't happen again?

[richapplyguy]

You have a intermittant wire connection to the solenoid, the wire that supplies voltage to the cold water valve, or the common wire to it.

[Piro]

Maybee you had a bad connection at the wire terminals of the solenoids(loose or corroded). Could also be an intermmitent open wire inside the insulation.While the system is getting cold water,play with the wires (wiggle) them to see what happens.