Hello,
I recently had a couple of issues and replaced several parts on my parents Whirlpool top freezer refrigerator. Now water is leaking from the freezer into the refrigerator from where the fan blows cold air into the refrigerator. There's a buildup of dripping ice there one can clearly see. I'm guessing the ice maker is overflowing? It makes ice fine.
Thing is, I replaced the water inlet valve on the back of the refrigerator a year ago? A year ago the icemaker stopped making ice. There was also stuff in the ice. You could see where the ice maker was sloughing off the plastic coating. I replaced the icemaker, and the water inlet valve. It ran like a clock til now.
Six months ago the refrigerator stopped cooling while the freezer had an ice buildup. I was told it was a defrost problem. I replaced the thermostat, and evaporator fan (noisy) in the freezer section, and the cut-off switch in the refrigerator. Everything went back to normal.
After all this work, I notice ice in the chute that delivers water to the icemaker. I can thaw this part out once removing it and remove any ice buildup, but what if it happens again soon? Do I replace the water inlet valve again or could my thermometer be going bad again? I was puffed out when I changed it six months ago. Please help, this has to be something simple with so many parts replaced recently. I have an extra water inlet valve I could put in for a check? Please viewers let me know.

Thanks,
Mark

Thank you for the advice, Sir.
I did just what you said do and did find some debris on top of that drain hole. However after thawing the fridge for 12 hours and pouring boiling hot water down that drain, water still formed in the bottom of the refrigerator. My Whirlpool is a top freezer unit. I next checked the drain pan, which is supposed to catch the overflow or water from the freezer when it goes into defrost mode, and it was dry as a bone. It sits nearly on the floor underneath the bottom refrigerator unit. Now I know there's a clog somewhere?
I read somewhere that the vent that sends cold air into the refrigerator from the freezer can have a part that gets stuck open? Could this bypass the drain and send water dripping into the fridge? Or does it sound like a clog for sure? Since the hot water did not work, what do I do now. If I run something down the drain it will have to be 4 feet long or so to reach all the way to the drain pan under the unit?
Help.

Thank you,
Mark

I really appreciate your help,

Sir:
I noticed a "cup" underneath the drain hole in the schematic diagram showing all the parts to this model of fridge. I thought I was going to have to remove the air vent inside the refrigerator to access it. As it turned out, it was located behind the vent supplying cold air to the fridge, so all I had to do was reach underneath the vent and remove it. It was still frozen over even after I defrosted the fridge, and dumped hot water down the drain in the freezer.. This was why no water was draining properly and building up in the bottom of the refrigerator.
I removed the ice from it and cleaned it up real good. Next I put it back. I thought I fixed everything, but if froze over again overnight? So water is still not flowing into the back of the fridge, and into the drain pan on the floor underneath the fridge? I removed the cup again and got the ice out of it, again. Next, I stuck my finger into the "hole" that goes into the back of the fridge and removed what I could which was ice. I think I will get a "turkey baster", and squirt hot water into this hole in the fridge to see if that unclogs anything from the back of the fridge onwards?
To answer your question, there was debris over the drain hole in the freezer. I removed all that, but it appears due to the water freezing in the "cup" underneath the drain in the freezer, that the clog is further down the line? Say in the inaccessible section in the back of the unit? The catch pan underneath the unit is dry. So I know something is blocking the flow into it. I'll let you know what else I find after I squirt hot water down that hole the "cup" plugs into.
I have an extra water cut off valve that goes on the back-bottom of the unit. Should I replace that as well to see if it solves the water problem. Maybe water is overflowing from the icemaker or something? There's a chute that comes out of the back panel on the inside of the freezer that fills the icemaker. How far should it stick out? Right now there is a quarter inch clearance between it and a plastic piece on the icemaker that prevents water spillage. It looks to me that if that is not setup right water would overflow into the freezer, and have to drain?

Please let me know what you think?

Thanks,
Mark