What is actually happening
On the CRAS platform the first question is whether the water is cold and clear or has been sitting. Fresh meltwater under the crisper points at a frozen drain; a slow pool at the front of the base pan usually means the pan or its seat has shifted during a move.
What this looks like from the kitchen
- Dripping heard behind the rear freezer panel after the compressor stops — Normal in small amounts at the end of a defrost; a fault when it continues for many minutes or runs down the back wall.
- A musty smell from the base of the cabinet with no visible water — The pan is overflowing slowly into the insulation, and the smell arrives long before the puddle does.
- Water appearing only after the ice maker fills — The timing ties the leak to the supply side rather than to the defrost cycle, and that is the single most useful observation you can make.
- A wet patch behind the cabinet rather than in front of it — That is the fill line, the shut-off or the pan itself, and it means the floor at the front stays dry while the wall behind stays damp.
- A sheet of ice growing across the freezer floor — Each defrost adds a layer because the water cannot leave, so the ice arrives before the puddle does.
What it usually turns out to be
- Ice-maker fill tube icing at the mouth — The tube runs through the door channel on this platform, and a slow fill leaves a bead that freezes, so the next fill sprays rather than pours.
- Evaporator drain heater open circuit — Last, because it is the only cause on this list that needs a meter to confirm, and because it presents exactly like a blocked drain until the drain has already been cleared once.
- Base drain pan cracked or shifted off its seat — Common after a slide-out on an uneven floor: the pan rides the levelling foot, tips, and empties its contents toward the front of the machine compartment.
- Door seal failing so warm air condenses on the liner — Not a leak at all but it reads as one. Humid air on cold plastic makes water where none was plumbed, and the cure is a seal rather than a drain.
What to check first, second, third
- Look at the back of the freezer floor for a rim of ice around the drain port — One look separates the commonest cause from every other one, and it costs nothing but emptying a drawer.
- Dry the floor completely and lay paper towel in three places — The one that wets first tells you the direction the water travels, which is the only way to work backwards to a source under a full cabinet.
- Watch a full defrost cycle end with a torch in the freezer — The slowest check and the most conclusive: you see where the meltwater actually goes instead of inferring it.
- Feel the floor of the machine compartment for damp insulation — Dry insulation with a wet floor points forward to the drain; wet insulation points at the pan.
Power down first
Safety
Kill the power before servicing. Two hazards sit close together in these cabinets: mains at the compressor terminals and a sealed refrigerant loop that must never be opened by anyone without the ticket to do it.
Models in the CRAS family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| CRAS05001 | bougerv:refrigerator:cras |
| CRAS05001W | bougerv:refrigerator:cras |
When this becomes a service call
The service call starts where the wiring does. Checking a fan by ear or a door seal by hand is fine; tracing a circuit behind the liner on a cabinet full of food is not, and a technician does it in one visit.
Related faults on these models
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