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On the VX cabinets a puddle is almost never the sealed system. It is meltwater that could not reach the drain pan: the defrost drain freezes, the cycle water backs up over the evaporator tray and spills at the lowest point of the liner. That is a different first check from the brand-generic advice to look at the water line.
What you observe
- NEAR MISS - water dripping down the outside of the door — That is condensation on a cold surface in a humid kitchen, not a leak. Check the seal and the room rather than the drain.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Ranked causes for these models
- 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.
- Water supply fitting weeping at the shut-off — Second on cabinets that have been moved. A compression fitting that has been flexed once will weep, and the drip runs along the floor to the front where it is finally noticed.
- 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.
- 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.
Working the fault in order
- 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.
- Pull the cabinet out far enough to see the base pan — Do this second because it takes two people, but it settles the pan, the fitting and the shut-off in one look.
- Run a sheet of paper around the door seal — Where it slides out with no drag, the seal is not sealing, and that is the leak that is not a leak.
- 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.
Safety first
Safety
Power off at the breaker before any panel is lifted. Water and mains share a small space at the base of these cabinets, so dry the floor before you kneel on it and keep the cord out of the puddle.
Models in the VX family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| VX28 | bougerv:refrigerator:vx |
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.
Related faults on these models
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