What is happening, in three sentences
On a BC cabinet the defrost drain is the first suspect for any water found inside, and it is also the one an owner can often clear. Before that, though, check the cabinet is level and that the door is closing, because both misdirect condensate and both are free to fix.
What the owner sees
- Water at the back, near the wall — On a cabinet with a water supply this is the line or its connection; without one it is the pan.
- Water on the kitchen floor at the front of the cabinet — Either the pan has overflowed or cracked, or condensate is running down the outside of the door.
- Water pooling under the drawers inside the cabinet — The signature of a blocked defrost drain: the melt has nowhere to go, so it collects at the lowest point inside.
- NEAR MISS — water plus a cabinet that is no longer cold — That combination is a cooling fault with melt as its symptom, and the cooling article is the right place to start.
What it usually turns out to be, in order
- Cabinet not level, so condensate runs the wrong way — The channels inside a refrigerator rely on a slight tilt backwards to work. First on this family because it needs nothing taken apart — on a cabinet this size it is a look and a listen, and excluding it costs less than five minutes.
- Drain pan cracked, displaced or overflowing — The pan sits over the compressor so its heat can evaporate what collects. It ranks second on BC rather than first only because the cause above it is quicker to exclude, not because it is rarer.
- Door seal letting warm damp air in — A gasket that no longer seals admits room air, and that air gives up its moisture on the first cold surface it meets. Third on this family, and the rank where the cause stops being obvious from the doorway.
What to check first, second, third
- Where to begin on this model group — The first checks are the ones that can be made with the cabinet standing where it is; moving it comes later and only if those are clean.
- Check the cabinet sits square and slightly back — A spirit level across the top, or a door that swings open on its own, tells you in seconds.
- Pull the cabinet out and look at the pan — It should sit square on its bracket and be damp rather than brimming. Note whether it is cracked or merely displaced.
- Test the seal with a strip of paper at four points — A strip that pulls out without resistance shows where the air is getting in, and that spot is usually where the water is worst.
Before you touch anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Nothing on this page requires the sealed system to be opened, and nothing on it should be read as permission to do so: the tubing is under pressure, and cutting or unbrazing it is licensed work with licensed tools.
Models in the BC family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| BC-160OD | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-46 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-47 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-50 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-65 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-70 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-71 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-90DAN | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-90OD-DC | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
Where the owner fix stops
Call when the next step would need a meter, and call earlier than that for three things: a breaker that will not stay in, a plug or cord warm to the touch, and oil at any joint in the tubing. Everything above those lines is owner work and most of it needs no tool at all, which is why the order puts it first.
Other BC problems we cover
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
