The short answer
On the PX 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.
The observable tells
- 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.
- Water under the crisper drawers, on top of the liner floor — The drawers sit in a shallow tray of water and the salad greens spoil early because the humidity never drops.
- A pool of clear water at the front of the base, below the door — It reappears within a day of being mopped up and is at cabinet temperature rather than warm.
- NEAR MISS - an oily film in the water — Oil means the sealed system is open. Stop, unplug the cabinet and call a technician; this is no longer a drain question.
- 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.
Ranked causes for these models
- 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.
- Fill valve failing to close fully — Rare here and easy to confirm: the water arrives on a fill schedule rather than a defrost schedule, and the ice maker makes hollow or oversized cubes at the same time.
- 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.
What to check first, second, third
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Power down first
Safety
Cut the power first. Once the panel is off you are working beside the evaporator, where a sharp fin and a thin aluminium tube are inches apart and neither forgives a slipped tool.
Models in the PX family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| PX30 | bougerv:refrigerator:px |
| PX40 | bougerv:refrigerator:px |
| PX50 | bougerv:refrigerator:px |
Where the owner fix ends
Owner territory ends where the diagnosis needs a meter. If the checks in the order above leave you with a component you would have to test electrically, that is the point to stop and let somebody with the schematic take it.
Other pages for this family
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