Samsung Refrigerator Leaking Water

The first thing to do is try and figure out where the water is coming from. There are three basic leak sources: the defrost system, the ice maker, and the water dispensing system. Leaks in the freezer will always result in sheets of ice or an ice bucket with a large amount of solid ice in the bottom.

• Before you do anything else, check any water containers in the refrigerator for pinhole leaks. These can be very frustrating and can be mistaken for other kinds of leaks.
• Your next move should be to turn off the water supply to the fridge.
  • If you don't have an ice maker or water dispenser, then the source for leaking water is either a container or the defrost drain. Go to Plugged Defrost Drain to start.
• If you do have a water supply to the fridge, turn it off and see if the leak stops. If it does, you know that the problem has to do with either the ice maker (likely) or the water dispensing system.
  • Go on to Ice Maker Leaking to get started.

This is the first place to check when a refrigerator is leaking. It is a chicken or egg problem. Generally, the leak will show up inside the freezer and fresh food compartments—or sometimes just one or the other, depending on the fridge. You may find a sheet of ice building up in the bottom of your freezer. It may be debris or ice plugging the drain. Let's look at ice first.

Bottom freezer models with dual evaporators (Twin Cool in the fresh food section) can frequently suffer from these plugs in the Fresh Food evaporator drain and often have water in and under the crisper or produce drawers.

Bottom freezer models with single evaporators will also ice, but the tube is short and near the condenser, which keeps it warm. They may be more prone to debris plugs at the bottom of the tube. This may be because the water doesn't come from as high up as a top freezer model, which helps push debris clogs through.

In top-mount freezer models, water frequently drips from the vents at the top of the fresh food compartment. So, the upper shelves get wet, and then the lower shelves. The defrost drain in these models is long, runs behind the back wall of the fresh food compartment, and is more prone to freezing because it is in a cooler environment.

A turkey baster is very handy for getting hot water onto the spot you need to melt ice. It can also remove standing water.

You can try setting up a forced defrost. If you can't remove the evaporator cover, don't force it; there may be a huge ice buildup. It may be simpler to just empty the fridge and do a manual defrost. Your defrost system may not even be working.

• You will need to remove the evaporator cover to check the drain tube. If your refrigerator has dual evaporators, you will want to check both evaporator drains. Start with the compartment that has the water buildup.
• At the same time as you check the drain tube, you will want to remove any ice buildup you find on the defrost coils. This is a sign of either a failing defrost system or perhaps the door was left open, possibly only a small amount for a long time.
• Use a steamer to remove ice on the evaporator coils. Do not use a heat gun, and avoid a hairdryer, as you can inadvertently warp plastic components unless you use great care. Further, a steamer is faster.
  • If you don't have one, use large bowls of hot water placed in the bottom of the compartment. Have sponges or towels ready to soak up the water.
  • Bowls of hot water will take time too, be prepared!
• If the drain has frozen, you may want to consider taking a piece of wire and hanging it off the defrost heater and into the drain tube. Samsung refrigerators have a small piece of metal that hangs down into the tube a short distance to prevent freeze-up. Often, it is found to be too short, but you can get a longer one to help prevent freeze-up.

If the defrost drain looks fine as far as ice goes, pour hot water down the drain to flush it. If the hot water overflows. You may have a debris plug.

On many Samsung refrigerators, a rubber "duckbill valve" is located in the drain tube, usually forming the joint for the tube when it enters the machinery compartment. They are prone to catching debris and plugging or sticking shut. They also get stiff with age and don't open properly to allow condensate to flow out.

• You must open the rear machinery cover and check the drain tube for clogs.
• You can cut the restraining cable tie (if present) and remove the tube to check for a clog. You might also want to use a piece of solid wire on long tubes (top mount freezers) that can't be removed with the tip bent over on itself to keep from puncturing the tube.

Here's a video showing icing taking place on the fresh food evaporator in a dual evaporator unit. Note the care removing the Ice. Wood pieces are probably safer than pliers to remove ice.

If the drain checks out, move on to the next item.

You may notice a puddle on the floor that seems to come from or extend under the refrigerator. Your defrost water tray under the fridge may be cracked, and leaking when the defrost cycle runs.

• Remove the bottom grille on your fridge.
• Pull out the tray and inspect it for cracks. You might want to fill it with water and set it down to see if it leaks.
• No leaks; go on to the next item.

A number of things can cause a leaking ice maker. Generally, ice maker problems result in a buildup of ice in the freezer or ice bucket.

Some in-door ice makers may leak, and the leak will run down the inside of the door and end up on the floor. Water collecting in the fresh food compartment near the bottom of the door with the ice maker in it is a sign of this.

Move from item to item below to check for possible leak sources.

Your ice maker may be overfilling. This may be a setting issue, or the fill valve is struggling to close. Low water pressure can cause this, as well as debris in the valve.

If the water doesn't flow into the ice mold when filling, the only outcome is a leak.

This happens more frequently with Samsung refrigerators, and two main issues are a bad fill tube heater or low pressure. Low pressure causes the fill valve not to shut completely (water pressure helps to hold them shut), and they leak. The leaking water freezes in the tube and either blocks it or deflects the flow, and you get a leak.

• You need a minimum of 20PSI at the fill valve.
• Look for self-piercing valves that are installed by clamping onto a water supply line, and the valve has a barb that pierces the line. (notorious for causing pressure loss).
• Look for a kinked supply line to the fridge (especially copper tubing), which will lower pressure.
• Replace the water filter, as an older filter can contribute to pressure loss.
• Check the water inlet valves to make sure they are opening fully.
  • You may want to detach the outlet tube from the valve and compare the flow to the inlet side.
  • Shut off the water when you disconnect the inlet side, or you will have a huge mess. Then, turn it back on with the inlet tube in a bucket and check the flow.
• Go on to the next item.

If you have hard water, a mineral buildup can cause the water to be deflected when filling and leak into the freezer. Here is a video.While for an LG unit the principle is the same.

This is common, as Samsung fill tubes are longer and require alignment. If possible, observe the fill cycle. If it looks good, proceed to the next item.

Twist-tray-type ice makers can have issues with cracked trays as they age and get brittle. The twisting action can crack them, so they leak when filled.

Observe the unit in operation using a test button usually found on the side of the unit, and check for leaks.

If ice becomes stuck in the ice maker (another Samsung issue), it will cause the water from filling it to run over and down into the ice bucket. You can try cleaning everything up, but in some cases, the problem is that humid refrigerator air gets into the ice maker "room" (the little box with the ice maker in it) and causes ice buildup from condensation. If your ice maker is located in the fresh food compartment, it may likely suffer from this problem. You can seal the ice maker "room" with RTV silicone and close the gaps that allow this air to enter.

If you don't find any problems with the ice maker, move on to the next item.

When the dispensing system leaks, it frequently forms a puddle on the floor. Leak sources include the filter cartridge seal, the spout, cracked valve bodies, fittings, and damaged tubing.

The spout can drip. This is directly related to a failing inlet valve. These are electrically operated but can leak if the water pressure is low. Some are mounted in the lower back side of the unit, in the machinery compartment. Others are in a compartment inside the door where the dispenser is located. Follow the bullet points in Frozen Fill Tube.

The solenoid water inlet valves can also crack and leak or can wear out so that they don't open fully. Then the valve won't close. A constant dripping is a sign of a bad valve; replace it.

Another source of leaks is the supply tubing. You may have leakage from the fittings on the tubing. The door hinges where the tubing passes through can also be a source of leaks. The tubing may rub over time and develop a leak. Inspect all of the tubing that you can reach, both fittings and tubing. Replace any defective portions.

If everything seems in order, monitor the fridge for several days.

Occasionally, the cause is hard to determine. Before you replace the control board, reset your fridge by unplugging it, waiting 10 minutes, and then plugging it in again.

Ben's Appliances and Junk has excellent videos on several Samsung Fridge Problems. Here are two very helpful videos:

This one covers a lot of ground and shows how to repair leaking water caused by defrost system issues, like a plugged drain or ice buildup. It's an excellent video! It is long, but it's well worth watching the whole thing.

This one goes into problems with Samsung Refrigerator Defrost system issues from the standpoint of a fan making noise. Deals with ice buildup

Running a forced defrost cycle on your Samsung refrigerator requires you to enter service or test mode. There are a number of button press combinations to do this. Once in that mode, you can activate the forced defrost cycle. On a unit with two evaporators, you will want to do a forced defrost for the refrigerator or fresh food compartment evaporator (usually indicated by "rd" on the display and continuous beeping). Some dual evaporator units will only do a forced defrost of both evaporators. This is indicated by no rd appearing, only Fd as you scroll through the modes.

Here are some button combinations for entering the Service or Test Mode:

Freezer+ Lighting together for 8 seconds

Power Freeze + Fridge for 8 seconds (Models with controls on the upper portion of the refrigerator rim inside the doors) Use the Fridge button to advance the modes as described below

Energy Saver button + Fridge (Power Cool) button pressed simultaneously for 8 Seconds

Fridge + Flex Zone on inside control located on the sidewall of the fridge inside the door. Use the Flex Zone Button to advance the modes as described below.

Once you are in this mode, you have 15 seconds to press another button, which will start the "manual mode." You can just keep pressing that button until you get to Fd or rd, depending on what you want. With a dual evaporator unit, you should force defrost the fresh food portion (rd); with a single evaporator or some dual evaporators that don't offer rd, you want Fd. If you go too far, it will cancel the operation. Just start over if that happens