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Hi All I have a roughly 2-3yr old Samsung French Door style fridge that leaks water. I first noticed the issue when ice was forming around the freezer bin seals and on the floor. I traced the source of water to what looks to be the evaporator/drainage area. Observations: -Ice maker functions as normal -Refrigerator & freezer temperatures are as normal -No strange sounds -Water seems to drip from the bottom left corner of that panel, usually pretty slowly, but it manages to fill up a decent amount over night -There's some orange-ish build up so it makes me think that it's been going on for a while but maybe only recently got worse I noticed that the panel in the picture was loose and hanging down (no screws holding it in place). What does that cover? How do I remove it to see what's behind it? Thanks for any insight.  This is the bottom left corner of the fridge compartment with the left storage bin removed
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I have a Samsung refrig model SMH7417WE (Inside says RF26VABWP) and it has the same problem. The picture posted looks like mine. I pulled the cover off and it has an electrical connector to what appears to be a heating unit (Defroster or some sort of humidity control). I am guessing the problem is the heating unit or the control for it, although the heating unit tested good for continuity. However, it is almost impossible to find any info on it. I checked with samsung website and their advice is "call a tech".
I don't want to try to fix it by "Easter egging it" so I need some advice also. Maybe someone out there will have pity on us and tell us what to replace or tell me where to look for answers.
I paid a lot of money for this piece of junk and am very disappointed to find they are making everything so hard to find out how to make DIY repair. I won't buy another foreign made refrig. Seems the more they cost, the more they are prone to break.
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I paid an on-line service to tell me that it was a leak at the drain due to freezing up or just plain plugging up over time. I fixed it. I want to give you some additional information concerning where things are located on this model.
The back panel I removed initially was at the lower left side of the refrig behind the veggie drawer (which is the one you have the photo of). Behind that panel is where the water tank that cools the drinking water is located.
The panel that needed to be removed was above it and in the middle (Mine says Twin Cool in the middle of the panel). Once I got it off, I found the cooling coil and just below it was drain hole. If found some of the metal tape that covered the hole was just gouged out and left to clog up the hole (poor factory quality)in addition to the fact it was frozen over. You have to shut down the power to it and take everything out of the refrig in order to get to the screws that hold it together (There are four of them).
I cleaned out the metal foil or tape, whatever it was and used a blow dryer to start the thawing. Then I used towels to mop up the water that will accumulate in the bottom. Then I poured HOT water into the drain area and after about 3 or 4 tries, it came clear. I then used a long thin (about 3/16 inch plastic hose to run all the way to the evaporator pan to ensure it was totally clear.
I also had the orange tint where the water sat and changed color until it overflowed and ran down the sides. That will be a good indicator for anyone having the same problem.
I hope this takes care of your problem.
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Wow, thanks for much for that information! I had read elsewhere about this potential issue too but wasn't sure how to get to the drain. When I opened the back (which was frozen shut, had to use the blow dryer just to get the rear panel off), I noticed the coils had some ice around them and so did one of the wires up top. As suspected, the entire drain area was frozen over. I understand the drain freezing/getting clogged, but is it normal for the coils to have some ice? Is the defrost heater potentially problematic? They weren't completely frozen over..infact it was just the lower ones. I wonder if that's caused by the frozen drain    Originally Posted by: refrigman  I paid an on-line service to tell me that it was a leak at the drain due to freezing up or just plain plugging up over time. I fixed it. I want to give you some additional information concerning where things are located on this model.
The back panel I removed initially was at the lower left side of the refrig behind the veggie drawer (which is the one you have the photo of). Behind that panel is where the water tank that cools the drinking water is located.
The panel that needed to be removed was above it and in the middle (Mine says Twin Cool in the middle of the panel). Once I got it off, I found the cooling coil and just below it was drain hole. If found some of the metal tape that covered the hole was just gouged out and left to clog up the hole (poor factory quality)in addition to the fact it was frozen over. You have to shut down the power to it and take everything out of the refrig in order to get to the screws that hold it together (There are four of them).
I cleaned out the metal foil or tape, whatever it was and used a blow dryer to start the thawing. Then I used towels to mop up the water that will accumulate in the bottom. Then I poured HOT water into the drain area and after about 3 or 4 tries, it came clear. I then used a long thin (about 3/16 inch plastic hose to run all the way to the evaporator pan to ensure it was totally clear.
I also had the orange tint where the water sat and changed color until it overflowed and ran down the sides. That will be a good indicator for anyone having the same problem.
I hope this takes care of your problem.
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Mine is a three year old RF267ARBS and has exhibited this same water pooling problem for about as long as we have owned it. The problem seems to be exacerbated by several factors:
High humidity. More water in the air to condense and freeze. Duh.
Inadvertent adjustment of the freezer temp. The button that allows adjustment of the freezer temperature is in a very poor location, right next to the ice/ crushed/ water selector which gets a lot of use in our house. I have often found that when water pools up under the drawer, the temperature of the freezer has been fumble-fingered down to minus 6 or so....
Poor design. I am afraid that this may be the most pertinent factor, and am considering replacing the fridge altogether.
In the meantime, I will disassemble the back panels tomorrow to inspect for blocked drainage. Not overly sanguine about the outcome.........
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I have the same problem...water leaking into the bottom of the refrigerator (Samsung RF217ABWP). I've found the 2 obvious screws on the bottom sides of the inside panel, but can't find the other that is holding the panel on the back. Any pointers on how to complete the removal are appreciated!!
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Any help that anyone can provide....how to remove the interieor back panel of the fridge? Hoping that I will then be able to stop the water leaking and maybe better regulate the temp within all three levels. Originally Posted by: DIY Mommy I have the same problem...water leaking into the bottom of the refrigerator (Samsung RF217ABWP). I've found the 2 obvious screws on the bottom sides of the inside panel, but can't find the other that is holding the panel on the back. Any pointers on how to complete the removal are appreciated!!
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Can't seem to pull up any diagram for that model.
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Thanks for looking. If it helps it does have Twin Cooling System. I suspect that the somewhere around the big circular "Twin Cooling" is where the add'l holds are. Again, any guidance is appreciated!
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