I have a Kenmore Elite 106.53603202 side by side with in door icemaker. I am on my second replacement icemaker. First one was replaced in 2012. Anyway, I thought it would be prudent to check the water inlet valves which seem to be working albeit slowly. So, I thought, look up how to check solenoid valves and I got it down to testing with a multimeter to check for resistance. Here I got a bit confused.

My confusion is with the reading I'm getting from my multimeter. I set it to ohms and the only setting there is "x1K". I tested it by holding the prongs together and calibrated it to 0. When I put the prongs on the valve connection, the dial jumped to 0 as when I tested it. Does this indicate that the valve is good or that it is bad? By the way, the multimeter is an analog model Sperry SP-5A. Thanks.

 

Typically those valves are electrically good or electrically bad. That means the solenoid coil is either open or not open. Your test shows the valve is electrically ok. You'd need to use a meter on the Rx1 scale to read exact resistance.

You said the valve seems to be acting slow. Do you mean low water flow ?
If you have a low flow issue..... check for a filter screen where the water line connects to the fridge. Also...... if you are using one of those self piercing saddle valves..... chuck it and install a regular type valve. The pierced point in those type valves clog/corrode and lead to low water flow.

 

Thanks for the reply Pjmax. I did mean low water flow and I will check the filter. I do have a good valve, not the piercing type, so that should be okay. Thanks for the tip.