Fridge Repair Made Easy

Just for the sake of argument, let's say you have a fridge. You know, one of those cold boxes where you put things you want to keep around for awhile. Like sandwiches. And mayonnaise. And milk, if you have the stomach for it.

So you're happy with your little cold box because it keeps things nice and cold, including the double-chocolate fudge ice cream you bought at the store even though you couldn't really afford it (and if your kids find out, it's going to be vanish in an instant). It's a nice box. White. Cold. Boxy.

Then one day, it starts leaking down inside the not-quite-so-cold section (the section beneath the very-cold-section). And you are afraid that something has gone drastically wrong with your fridge. Something bad. Something fatal. After all, dripping usually means that something is melting. And melting usually indicates that something is not quite as cold as it is supposed to be (unless it is Spring outside, and the melting something is the icecicles which go from your roof to your driveway, in which case you really want them to melt).

You put little glass bowls in the not-quite-so-cold section to catch the drips of water, but this pathetic attempt at 'fixing' is nothing more than a band-aid, a patch, a delaying action. It won't work for long (unless you like puddles in your fridge). So now you have to get serious. It's time for Fridge Repair!

And I'll show you how to make it very easy.

In the Very-Cold Section, Before

First, take everything out of your fridge and put it in your teenaged son's room. This will guarantee that nothing goes bad, because the fridge will need to be turned off for awhile and it will not be able to keep things cool. If you happen to have a second fridge lying around, you could put all the stuff in the other fridge, but why go to all the trouble of plugging it in and putting all the stuff in it when your teenaged son could take care of it for you? Besides, once he's done with it, you'll have a good excuse to go out to the grocery store and buy newer, fresher stuff. You didn't really want to eat all those leftovers anyway, did you? (Stop fussing about the ice cream already! You can always buy more.)

Once all the clutter is out, pull the fridge out away from the wall and unplug it. You don't want to be taking things apart inside the fridge with the power on. Really.

Oh! You'll need some tools, too. Get a good socket set. Better yet, get one of those 1/4-inch hand sockets. You know, the one that looks like a screwdriver except it has a socket on the end instead of a flat blade or Phillips cross. Most fridges use socket screws to hold the paneling on. Yours is probably not an exception.

Tray Removed

Open the top fridge door, the one in front of the very-cold (or was a minute ago) section. Take out the tray in the middle. (You won't need the socket to do that.) It might be a bit tricky because you can't just pull it straight out. You have to pull up on one side - the one opposite the ice tray - and kind of angle it up as you pull it out. Don't force it. It's not rocket science.

Ice Maker Removed

Now take out the ice maker. (You'll need the socket for that.) There are three screws holding the ice maker in place: two above and one below. You may have to stick your head inside the fridge to see where they are. Do NOT get your head stuck in the fridge. That would be very embarrassing.

Note that you'll also have to un-plug the electric cable which goes from the back of the fridge to the ice maker. This may be tricky, as you have to press something on the connector to get it to release. I can't help you there. I don't know what kind of connect you might have, exactly. Do I look like a mind-reader to you?

Bottom Plate Removed

Now you can remove the bottom plate. There are (typically) four socket screws which are holding the bottom plate down. Use the socket drive to get 'em out. Then the bottom plate should come right up after this. You may have to wiggle it a bit. Or not. Depends on how much ice cream has managed to find its way between the bottom plate and the section footer. Or ice. The bottom plate is metal, though, so it should be relatively easy to wiggle it free.

Don't whap it with a hammer to loosen it. You might damage something. Note that I didn't list 'Hammer' in the list of tools.

Ice Maker Cable Protector Removed

There's this little piece of plastic up there by the hole where the ice maker cable comes through. The "Ice Maker Cable Protector", I call it. (I have no idea what the manufacturer calls it.) You should probably remove it now. Why didn't I have you remove it before the bottom plate? I don't know. It just didn't occur to me.

When you remove it, notice that there is a wire clip attached to the metal of the rear protective cover. That provides a ground connection to the rear protective cover so that anything connected to it is also grounded. You'll need to remove it in order to remove the Rear Protective Cover. Don't ask questions! Just do it!

Rear Protective Cover Removed

Now you'll need to remove all the screws holding the Rear Protective Cover on. There's only two of 'em. Not that difficult.

Once you've removed the screws, the Rear Protective Cover can be finagled off. Carefully. You don't want to bend any of the condensor coils!

Now you can see it all, the machinery behind the madness. Er, coolness. The evaporator coils, which fill with freezing liquid; the fan which blows the air through the coils, the catch plate below the coils where the water drips during the defrost cycle and then drains out. The weirdly-shaped styrofoam blocks which seem to be plugging up the air vents.

Oh, good grief! Take those silly things out. But don't break 'em. You'll need to put them back in later.

Where did the styrofoam things go?

You might see now that there are two little screws holding the evaporator coils to the back of the fridge. You'll need to finagle the socket driver back between the coils (carefully!) to loosen 'em up. That will free up the coils to move forward, because you'll need to get it out of the way (slightly) in order to proceed to the next step. But be VERY CAREFUL with those coils. The fins are very thin and you don't want to bend 'em because that will block the airflow and cause a local cold spot which may result in a block of ice forming on the coils. Bad, bad, bad. Also, don't break any of the coils! You'll lose all the refrigerant and have to buy a new fridge. Or worse, file an EPA statement.

Once the coils have been moved SLIGHTLY out of the way, you can remove the metal drain pan -- the metal liner thingie underneath the coils. That's the drain pan.  You might notice that it's covered in ice - or very cold water. You might need to blow hot air in there. After all, that's the problem, isn't it? Something isn't draining down the back tube, instead filling up the bottom plate and dripping down into the not-quite-so-cold section. I suspect the drain hole is clogged.

Drain Pan Removed, Ready to Clear Drain!

Grab your handy-dandy hair dryer now and blast the used-to-be-freezing section with hot air. Melt all the ice. Does it drain out? No? Well, you've found the problem. The main drain hole - which goes down into a tube that runs from the used-to-be-freezing section to the bottom of the fridge where the hot evaporator coils can dry up all the water - is clogged. Hmmm... clogged with what, though? Do you notice a lot of debris that is floating around on the catch plate? That's probably it. See, it only takes a little bit of debris to clog up the hole -- just enough to cause a minor obstruction, back up the water a tad, and then freeze. Kind of a stupid design, if you think about it. The defrost heater is the long tube wired in underneath the coils. Since it can't heat down inside the drain tube, any obstruction will cause problems.

But if you use the hot air to melt the ice, then heat up the resulting water so that it drains down the tube, it will generally drive all the debris all the way to the bottom of the fridge, and then you're home free.

If you are able to mop up most of the debris-filled ice/water beforehand, all the better. You really don't want the debris to go down the drain tube if you can help it, because that might clog things up later on. You're better off to catch it in a paper towel or something and toss it in the garbage.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not under any circumstances hold the hot air blower near any plastic surface on the fridge. The trim panels on the side are plastic and will deform under the heat of a blow dryer. ANY PLASTIC SURFACE WILL DEFORM IF HEATED TOO MUCH. So focus the hot air on the metal surface of the bottom of the very-cold section of the fridge. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!

(Unfortunately, I speak from experience...)

Once the clogged drain hole has been un-clogged of ice and debris, it should flow easily and you can then put everything back the way it was. Just go in reverse order. And don't forget the styrofoam tubes! They're there for a reason.