The short answer
A leak on the CRRK family splits cleanly into two stories: clear water that appears after a defrost cycle, and clear water that appears whenever the ice maker fills. The first is a drain, the second is a supply fitting, and telling them apart by timing saves pulling the cabinet out for nothing.
What you observe
- Frost on the food in the top drawer and water below it — Air is moving through a gap that should be sealed, condensing on the food and running down.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Likeliest causes first
- 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.
- Drain trough misaligned after a shelf or panel refit — Ranks high wherever a previous repair went in. The trough is a friction fit on these cabinets and it does not click, so a panel put back a finger-width out sends the water past the port entirely.
- Defrost drain blocked or frozen at the port — Ranked first on this family: the drain port sits at the back of the freezer floor and ices closed before it clogs, so the failure builds quietly over weeks with no warning.
- 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.
The order the layout dictates
- 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.
- Time the puddle against the ice maker — Switch the ice maker off for a day. If the floor stays dry, you have moved the fault to the supply side without opening anything.
- 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.
- Check the drain trough alignment under the rear panel — Only after the drain port has been cleared: if water still misses the trough, the trough is the fault rather than the ice.
Before any panel comes off
Safety
Unplug before servicing, and leave the door switch alone. It cuts the fan when the door opens so that nothing is turning while your hand is inside; it is not the thing to defeat to make a test easier.
Models in the CRRK family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| CRRK04001 | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
| CRRK04001B | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
| CRRK05001 | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
| CRRK05001B | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
| CRRK06501 | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
| CRRK07501 | bougerv:refrigerator:crrk |
When this becomes a service call
Book the visit when the fault repeats after a full defrost and a full reset, or when the same part fails twice. A repeat failure is usually a second fault driving the first, and diagnosing that from the outside wastes a weekend.
Nearest pages of this class
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
