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On the ABMS family a puddle that appears and disappears is a different fault from one that is always there. The roster is four listings, ABMS141E, ABMS170E and ABMS171E, plus the starred variants of those numbers shown in the table below. Intermittent water follows the defrost cycle; constant water follows the water supply, and telling the two apart takes a paper towel and a day of attention rather than a tool.
Where the water is
- A puddle in front of the unit that comes and goes — Intermittent water tracks the defrost cycle. It appears hours after a defrost and is gone by the next morning.
- A full or overflowing drain pan under the machine compartment — The pan is meant to evaporate what the drain delivers. A pan that overflows means either too much water or too little airflow across it.
- NEAR MISS - water plus a cabinet that is no longer cold — A warming cabinet defrosting itself makes a lot of water. That is a cooling fault and belongs on the cooling page for this family.
Ranked by what actually turns up
- Blocked or frozen defrost drain — First on this roster by a wide margin. Meltwater from the coil is meant to leave through a small drain to a pan over the compressor. Food debris and a slow glaze of ice close that path, and the water then backs up under the liner and appears beneath the crispers.
- Door seal, door alignment or the door left ajar — A door that does not seal admits warm moist air continuously. That moisture condenses on every cold surface it reaches and ends up as water on shelves, in drawers and eventually on the floor.
- Water supply line, fitting or inlet valve weeping — At this position because the tell is continuity: supply water never dries up, where defrost water comes and goes with the cycle.
- Condensation from ambient humidity or a blocked air path — Last among the water causes because it is a condition rather than a failure, and no part fitted will change it.
- Body: This ranking assumes the water is clear. If it is not - if there is an oily film in the machine compartment - none of this applies, the sealed system is open and the cabinet should be stopped rather than diagnosed.
The order to work in
- Pull the unit out and look at the drain pan — A displaced, cracked or overflowing pan explains floor water with a perfectly dry cabinet.
- Follow the supply line to its shut-off — Run a dry paper towel along every fitting. A weeping compression joint leaves a mark long before it makes a puddle.
- Body: This order is built around one free experiment. On the ABMS roster drying everything and watching the timing for a day resolves more leak calls than any tool does, and it costs nothing but patience.
Before you start
Safety
Switch the appliance off at the breaker or unplug it before pulling it out to reach the pan, and dry the floor first. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A loaded cabinet on a wet floor is heavier and less predictable than it looks, so empty it or get help.
Models in the ABMS family — The model roster for this family. This page covers all of it, and nothing on this page is claimed of one listing and not another. The roster carries more than one number series, so confirm the access notes below against the number on your own rating plate before you buy a part.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ABMS141E | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abms |
| ABMS170E | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abms |
| ABMS171E | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abms |
| ABMS171E* | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abms |
When to stop and call
Call once the drain has been cleared and the water comes back, because a drain that re-ices within weeks is reporting a defrost fault rather than a blockage. On the ABMS roster that work sits behind the freezer liner. Call immediately if you find an oily film rather than clear water.
Other pages for this family
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