What you are actually seeing
- Condensation on the outside of the cabinet or on the door
- Water pooling under the fresh-food drawers inside the cabinet
- A sheet of ice under the crisper drawers
- Not this fault: Water with a soapy or dirty look
Ranked causes on a Contoure refrigerator
- Cabinet tilted forward so the drain runs the wrong way — Ranked here because: an RV is level only when someone levels it, and several of these appliances will not work correctly out of level
- Water supply line, connection or shut-off leaking — Ranked here because: a few hundred miles of road vibration loosens connections, fasteners and plumbing joints that would never move in a house
- Drain pan cracked, dislodged or overflowing — Ranked here because: a coach installation is tighter than any domestic one and the venting and clearance shortcuts taken during the build show up as faults later
- Door not sealing, producing condensation inside — Ranked here because: a door latch and gasket that has been slammed by road motion is a routine finding
- Frost melting from a manual-defrost cold plate — Ranked here because: coach appliances are used intermittently and stored for months, which produces its own fault pattern
What to check, and in what order
- Put a level on the cabinet front to back and set it slightly higher at the front
- Dry the floor completely, then look at where the water reappears — front, back or inside
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice
- If there is a water connection, close the shut-off valve and watch the floor for a day
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- If there is a water connection, close the shut-off valve and watch the floor for a day — Tools: none — Estimated time: a full day
- Find the drain outlet in the trough at the bottom of the evaporator area and flush it with warm water from a turkey baster — Tools: turkey baster, warm water — Estimated time: about twenty minutes
- Unplug the cabinet, pull it out and look at the drain pan under the compressor — Tools: flashlight — Estimated time: about ten minutes
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
When to call a technician
the leak is at a pressurised supply fitting, because a weeping fitting becomes a burst one the drain will not clear from the inside and the evaporator panel has to come off the drain pan is cracked or the leak is somewhere in the sealed area
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages for the refrigeration, cooking and laundry lines Not this fault: model-specific pages once the model and serial label is read
Links: - [Common CONTOURE Refrigerator Problems](/blog/contoure-refrigerator-problems) - [Common CONTOURE Dryer Problems](/blog/contoure-dryer-problems) - [Common Contoure Microwave Problems](/blog/contoure-microwave-problems) - [CONTOURE Refrigerator: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/contoure-refrigerator-abnormal-noise)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
