Why Is My LG Refrigerator Leaking Water?
An LG refrigerator leaking water onto the floor usually traces back to the defrost drain. On this LTCS20020S/00 in Garden Grove, the drain line was clogged, so meltwater backed up and spilled out. I cleared the line, serviced the unit, and replaced the dead evaporator fan motor, part EAU65058313.
Why is my LG refrigerator leaking water from the bottom?
The water is almost always melted frost that never made it to the drain pan. Frost builds up on the evaporator coil during normal operation, and a few times a day the defrost heater melts it off. That water is supposed to run down a small drain opening at the base of the evaporator, through a hose, and into a pan near the compressor where it evaporates.
When that drain opening plugs up with debris or freezes shut, the meltwater has nowhere to go. It pools in the freezer, works its way past the liner, and shows up as water on the kitchen floor. Customers usually describe it as a leak, which is fair, but nothing in the sealed system is leaking. It is defrost water taking the wrong path.
What did I find on this LG LTCS20020S/00?
The customer called about a small refrigerator that was leaking water. The drain line was blocked, which explained the water. While I had the freezer opened up and was working on the drain, I found the evaporator fan was not running either.
So there were two separate faults on the same unit: the plugged drain and a fan motor that had quit.
What does the evaporator fan actually do?
It pulls air across the cold evaporator coil and pushes it through the freezer and into the fresh food section. The compressor and coil make the cold, but without that fan moving air, the cold stays trapped around the coil. The freezer may still hold temperature reasonably well while the refrigerator side slowly warms up, because the fresh food compartment depends entirely on air being blown to it.
On this job I replaced the fan with a new DC motor assembly, LG part number EAU65058313, and cleared the drain line so defrost water can reach the pan again. I also serviced the unit while the panel was off.
What can you check yourself?
Start by looking for a sheet of ice on the freezer floor or water sitting under the crisper drawers. That pattern points at the defrost drain rather than a water supply line. You can also open the fresh food door and listen: on most refrigerators the evaporator fan runs when the doors are closed, so it should wind down shortly after you open the door and start again when you close it.
Wiping up the water and checking the floor under the unit tells you whether it is still coming back. Anything past that means pulling the rear freezer panel, working around the defrost heater and wiring, or touching the sealed refrigerant system, and that is work for a professional.
FAQ
How do I know if my refrigerator drain line is clogged?
The clearest sign is ice forming in a flat layer on the freezer floor, usually toward the back where the drain opening sits. In the fresh food section you may see water collecting under the crisper drawers before it ever reaches the kitchen floor. Food stored right against the back wall can also freeze to it. If the water shows up on a repeating cycle every day or two, that timing matches the defrost cycle.
What happens if the evaporator fan stops working?
The refrigerator compartment warms first while the freezer stays colder, since the freezer sits closest to the coil. Milk and produce spoil faster, and people often notice the cabinet has gone quiet, because the fan is one of the sounds you hear when the doors are closed. Some fans announce the failure by buzzing, ticking, or grinding for weeks first. Others simply stop, which is what happened on this LG.
Can a clogged drain and a bad evaporator fan happen at the same time?
Yes, and they share the same small space behind the rear freezer panel. The drain opening, the evaporator coil, and the fan are all within a few inches of each other, so a technician who opens that panel for one problem is looking straight at the other. That is why I check fan operation on any drain repair instead of closing the panel back up and leaving.
Need this looked at?
If your LG refrigerator is leaking water, pooling under the drawers, or cooling unevenly, we cover Garden Grove and the surrounding area. Call and we will diagnose the drain and the evaporator fan in the same visit.
