Coils behind the freezer continue to "freeze up"

It is most likely that the defrost drain is blocked in the freezer causing the water to drain through the air vents. You will most likely have to remove the rear panel in the freezer and pour hot water in the drain trough until the drain clears up and the water drains down the drain tube. Small particles of food can build up in the drain. Ice forms around the particles and blocks the drain. Sometimes the insulation gets saturated with water and the drain will continue to freeze up in about a month or so. If this is the case there isn't much that can be done except replace the refroigerator

That water is from the melting frost of the automatic defrost cycle. Their is drain in the freezer behind the back wall under the evaperator coil that is blocked, so instead of defrost water draining it's pooling in the freezer or in some case espically on models with the freezer on the top,the water is leaking from the freezer vents into the fresh food compartment.
The way to clear the drain is remove back plate and remove all ice build up and GENTLY make a small hole in drain through then totally flush w/warm water.
The exact location of drain is under the coil behind back freezer plate in the center

Hi maabjcraft,

Have you tried clearing the drain tube?

Your refrigerator has a drain that leads to the exterior drain pan beneath the refrigerator. Occasionally this drain can become clogged resulting in standing water inside your refrigerator. A similar drain exists in the freezer, which when clogged results in ice build up on the floor of the freezer.

The drain is located either on the floor of the refrigerator, beneath the vegetable crisper, or in the wall behind a drain funnel.

Clear the drain by forcing a solution of water and bleach or water and baking soda into it with a basting syringe. If the solution will not flow through, slide a length of 1/4 inch or smaller flexible tubing into the drain tube to push the clog through to the drain pan. Remove the tubing after clearing the clog.

Hope it helps.

Thank you for using FixYa.

I have a Whirlpool Top-mount refrigerator. Whirlpool also manufactures many of the Kenmore refrigerators.

A few weeks ago I noticed a puddle of water on the top right shelf in the refrigerator section. I figured out that it must be the water that forms during the defrost cycle and normally drains down through a tube in the back into an evaporator tray beneath the refrigerator. Something was preventing the water from draining away and instead it was dripping through the overflow holes from the freezer into the refrigerator section.

I emptied the freezer and took off the back panel. It actually wouldn't come off at first because all the water beneath the defrost heater which should have been draining out the drain hole was frozen into one solid block of ice. I used a hair dryer to melt the ice (took a while - be patient) and then took off the panel.

To melt all the rest of the ice in the drain tube I used the hair dryer. To clear out the ice in the drain tube, I used a turkey baster and kept putting down hot water until I heard water making it down to the evaporator tray beneath the refrigerator.

The following mod is "try at your own risk" (I wouldn't do this if you still have warranty coverage - call a tech instead):
I made this modification to prevent the problem from recurring (at least that's the hope): Wrapped a piece of wire (unbent a large paper clip) around the defrost cycle heater and stuck it into the drain hole. The theory is that the wire will heat up every time the defrost cycle runs and will keep the drain hole from freezing shut.

One thing I noticed during this repair concerns the drip pan beneath the defrost heater in the freezer (this is the pan that collects the water that is melted off the coils during defrosting). The drip pan does not seem to be angled properly so that the water will drain normally towards the drain hole. I guess water could remain behind then freeze later. I reported this to Whirlpool.

Hi,
Here is a tip that I wrote about how to fix your freezer so that the drain hole does not keep freezing up.

Water Running in Refrigerator from Freezer

heatman101

Hi.This will normally be caused by a clogged drainage hose or plug. There is a drain leading out of the freezer and another from the refrigerator. In top freezer models, the freezer may drain the water onto the back wall. It actually runs down the wall to the refrigerator floor drain. In other cases, there may be a drain tube leading out the freezer. The refrigerator drain is either located on the floor of the refrigerator, beneath the vegetable crisper, or in the wall behind a drain funnel. In side-by-side models, the freezer and refrigerator will probably each have an outlet to the drain pan under the appliance.

Clear the drain by forcing a solution of water and bleach or water and baking soda into it with a basting syringe. If the solution will not flow through, slide a length of ¼ inch flexible tubing into the drain tube to push the clog through to the drain pan. Remove the tubing after clearing the clog.

There are several sources of water from within your refrigerator. The most likely source for the frequency you are experiencing, "couple of times a day", is the defrost system.

When your refrigerator defrosts, a heater that surrounds the evaporator piping behind the freezer back wall comes on which melts the frost on the coils causing the water to run into a drain below the evaporator. This drain can clog up with foreign particles accumulating in the drain. The clogging can cause the drain to spill over into the floor of the freezer and run out the door along the bottom of the freezer door through the door seal. This will usually leave an ice sheet on the floor of the freezer. If you do not have an ice sheet...the drain is not clogged.

The second method by which water ends up on the floor is a broken pan beneath the refrigerator intended to catch the water as it leaves the drain in the freezer. To test this, use a turkey baster and pump water into the freezer drain at the rear bottom of the freezer behind the wall using the holes in the wall. Watch under the refrigerator to see where the water ends up.

Performing these actions will lead you to the solution.

I am going to assume you have a defrost condensate blockage in the rear of the freezer and behind the rear panel where the evaporator drains condensate after each defros. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The answer to finding the cause of the leak is where we need to begin. Most start in the freezer section behind the rear panel where the defrost condensate is drained during defrost. Sometimes the drain hole freezes over and the water drains down into the freezer creating a large area of frozen water. Other times i happens as the water leaves the drain in the freezer and follows its path to the pan below your refrigerator to re evaporate into the air inside your home. If leaking inside the fresh food compartment then the cup behind the control panel may be over flowing and leaking down the back wall of the refrigerator and will need to be taken apart and cleaned to allow the water to continue down to the pan below the refrigerator. Sludge and dust or even ice may be blocking this line. Below is a link to a page that may help you resolve and fix this. If you have more questions feel free to let me know. [email protected] Thanks, Sea Breeze
click link below
HOW TO FIX A LEAKING REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER

If you have more questions or need help feel free to let me know, Thanks, Sea Breeze
[email protected]

http://servicepartstec.blogspot.com/

http://appliancepartsse.blogspot.com

The answer to finding the cause of the leak is where we need to begin. Most start in the freezer section behind the rear panel where the defrost condensate is drained during defrost. Sometimes the drain hole freezes over and the water drains down into the freezer creating a large area of frozen water. Other times i happens as the water leaves the drain in the freezer and follows its path to the pan below your refrigerator to re evaporate into the air inside your home. If leaking inside the fresh food compartment then the cup behind the control panel may be over flowing and leaking down the back wall of the refrigerator and will need to be taken apart and cleaned to allow the water to continue down to the pan below the refrigerator. Sludge and dust or even ice may be blocking this line. Below is a link to a page that may help you resolve and fix this. If you have more questions feel free to let me know. [email protected] Thanks, Sea Breeze
click link below
HOW TO FIX A LEAKING REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER

defrost drain may be plugged.shut freezer off,melt ice with blowdryer,and unplug drain.drain probably located behind inner back wall beneath coils.