The version worth reading first
On the ABMY family a puddle that appears and disappears is a different fault from one that is always there. The roster is one base number, ABMY171E, carried twice in the parts data. 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.
How it presents
- A steady wet patch at the back low down — Constant water points at the supply line, a compression fitting or the inlet valve rather than at the defrost side.
- 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.
- Water only after the ice maker has cycled — Timing that points at the fill valve or the fill tube rather than at the drain.
- NEAR MISS - an oily film rather than clear water — Oil in the machine compartment means the sealed system is open. Stop, do not run the unit, and call.
What it usually turns out to be
- Blocked or frozen defrost drain — At the top because it is self-reinforcing: a slightly restricted drain freezes a little more each cycle, so the fault accelerates quietly until water appears where nobody expects it.
- Water supply line, fitting or inlet valve weeping — Here because it is the leading cause of floor water and an uncommon cause of water inside the cabinet, so where the puddle is decides whether it applies at all.
- Ice maker fill tube or valve dribbling — At this position because it produces ice before it produces water, so a sheet under the bin is the early warning for a puddle that has not arrived yet.
- Condensation from ambient humidity or a blocked air path — At the bottom because its signature is seasonal: it rises and falls with the weather and with how often the doors are opened, which nothing mechanical does.
- 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.
Work through this in order
- Establish exactly where the water appears — Under the crispers, on the floor in front, or at the back low down. Each points at a different system and the three rarely overlap.
- Look for ice on the freezer floor — Ice building at the base of the freezer compartment is the same blocked drain caught one stage earlier.
- Check whether the water is clear or oily — Clear and thin is water. An oily film in the machine compartment means the sealed system is open, and the unit should be stopped.
- Body: This sequence is set by access. Everything visible with a drawer out comes before anything that needs the unit pulled away from the wall, and the machine compartment comes last.
Before you start
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before any panel comes off; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. If water has reached a light fitting, a control board or a connector inside the cabinet, leave it isolated and call rather than powering it up to see what happens.
Models in the ABMY family — The roster this page covers, taken from the model spine. Every listing in the roster shares one number series, so the access notes below hold across the roster. A starred entry in the table is the same base number recorded a second way in the parts data; treat it as the same platform for this fault unless your own parts diagram says otherwise.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ABMY171E | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abmy |
| ABMY171E* | arctic-wind:refrigerator:abmy |
When to stop and call
The owner line on this roster is the fitting and the liner panel. Clearing a drain from the cabinet side, checking seals, repositioning a pan and drying a floor are owner work. Opening a pressurised supply line or removing the rear liner to reach the drain heater is not.
Other pages for this family
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