| If your Refrigerator is Leaking Check the Following LEAKING FROM BACK If the water is coming from the back of the refrigerator its most likely from the icemaker water valve. To check this you have to remove the back cover and inspect the valve. If it’s leaking replace it. But it might not leak unless its running water. To make it run water you must jump-start the icemaker. Once you jump the icemaker it should start to turn and when it gets to the fill cycle it turns on the valve for about 5 sec. You need to be looking at the valve when this happens (this may take a while because first the ice has to dump but don’t miss it). If the leak comes from the valve just replace the refrigerator water valve. If it comes from the inlet tube (where the water goes into the freezer) replace the valve but first you need to clean out the tube because it’s full of ice. To do this you have to take the tube out. Some twist out, some have screws, and some don’t even come out but if they do it needs to. Once you have it out you can get the ice out with hot water then put it back (note if you just clean out the tube and don’t replace the refrigerator water valve then it will happen again) If it still doesn’t leak after you jump the icemaker, then you will need to watch for leaks while someone runs water through the door (if you have water through the door). If the valve leaks then replace it. Sometimes the line going to the door leaks, if this is so then you can cut the line past the leak and install a coupling then a new length of 5/16 of line. LEAKING FROM ICEMAKER sIf it’s leaking from inside the freezer then it’s coming from the icemaker or the drain. Lets start with the icemaker. If it’s the icemaker there will likely be an ice hanging from the icemaker or just a big block of ice in the ice bin. In any case, it will be obvious. There are a few reasons this will happen: one is the icemaker will stop turning when it gets to the fill cycle. This will happen when the gears in the icemaker break. On GE icemakers that were made before the year 2000, you can see the gears by taking off the cover on the front of the icemaker. However, if the small gear is broke you can’t buy it as far as I know. I have been taking them off of junk icemakers for years. So this part may be hard to find. But if the big gear is broke replace it. Another reason icemakers leak is the fill tube is stopped up and I already discussed this earlier (replace water valve and clean out tube). Another reason icemakers leak is that the water comes in too fast so it over fills the first cube mold. When this happens you will get a few drops of water when it fills. To fix this you have to take the icemaker out and remove the piece on the side of the icemaker. Now take silicone (RTV) and put a small amount around the first cube mold only under the cube separator. Now reinstall the cube separator and wipe off excess silicone and it shouldn’t leak anymore. Another reason that icemakers leak is that the refrigerator water valve sticks after the icemaker goes out of the fill cycle. When this happens the valve stays on and the icemaker keeps on turning, in which case, replace the refrigerator water valve. LEAKING FROM DRAIN: SIDE-BY-SIDE If it’s coming from the drain, ice will be build up around the drain. If you have a side-by-side refrigerator and the drain is stopped up, ice will build up in the bottom of the freezer and water will come out the door. To repair this is easy: first you get all the ice out. I do this by hitting it with a pair of pliers or a small hammer and a screwdriver. Once the ice is out, take a turkey baster and draw hot water into it and shoot it down the drain (you may have to do this a few times). This will force whatever is blocking the drain down. Now take some baking soda, mix it with water, and pour it down the drain. Now your problem should be fixed. LEAKING FROM DRAIN: TOP FREEZER If you have a top freezer and the drain is stopped up, water will build up under the vegetable bin (in fresh food compartment). The repair for this is a little more difficult. First, look to see if it has a drain down the back (a ¾ tube in the middle of the back refrigerator) of the refrigerator. If it does take it off and see if its stopped up. If it is, clean it out and reinstall it. Most likely your problem is fixed. If not, follow these next few steps as well. Now if you don’t have a drain going down the back of your refrigerator then you’ll have to access the drain from inside the freezer. First, take off the evaporator cover (the back or bottom of freezer). Now there will be ice build up around the drain melt it. Next, take a turkey baser, draw hot water into it and shoot it down the drain. You may have to repeat this several times until the water goes down freely. Now take some baking soda, mix it with water, and pour it down the drain. This should fix your problem. LEAKING FROM WATER RESERVOIR If you have a side-by-side refrigerator and water is leaking from the fresh food door, the water reservoir (a big container or a length of water line coiled up to store water) may be leaking. This is where water is stored to cool down. Then when you get water through the door, it’s cool. You will need to take the vegetable bin and maybe the bottom shelf to access it. Once you accessed it, you can look for leaks. It may not leak until you run water, so get someone to run water through the door while you check for leaks. You need to look hard because it may just be a small stream of water. To fix this, you will need to replace the reservoir. If you can’t get the reservoir for your refrigerator then you can use 100ft of 5/16 plastic water line and 2 couplings. The 100ft of water will hold enough water to serve the same purpose. LEAKING FROM CONDENSATION If the leak is coming from the fresh food door on a side-by-side, top freezer or a bottom freezer refrigerator it can be from condensation. This can be caused by a bad refrigerator door gasket or simply by being in a high humidity environment. If humidity is the problem, then you can sometimes fix this by turning the energy saver off. If the refrigerator door gasket is not sealing properly (shouldn’t be a gap big enough to slide paper in) then you may be able to fix it by putting a small film of Vaseline around the entire gasket. But if this doesn’t work or it’s ripped then replace it. Once you do this, the leak should go away in a matter of days. |
