How to Diagnose: Ice Buildup
or Water Pooling or Dripping

Removing the Back Panel

A back-evaporator model is one with the evaporator mounted vertically against the inside back wall of the freezer compartment.

Remove everything from your freezer, including all food and any icemaker and shelves.

You will see a removable panel covering the entire back of your freezer compartment. There may be 6 to 10 or more screws holding it on. In some units there is a light socket attached to the panel.

These can sometimes be quite difficult to disassemble. Make sure the power is off the refrigerator before disassembling any lighting circuit.

There may be some styrofoam insulation panels. If so, they may be waterlogged and may break when you remove them. It's okay, just keep them in one piece as much as possible and replace them as best you can when you're re-assembling.

In most typical household refrigerators, the evaporator looks like a group of looped aluminum tubes, usually with fins attached. The fins are sharp; be careful not to cut your hands on them!

OK, you have a side-by-side

Remove everything from your freezer, including all food and any icemaker and shelves.

You will see a removable panel covering the entire back of your freezer compartment. There may be 6 to 10 or more screws holding it on. In some units there is a light socket attached to the panel.

Remove the screws and the back panel. These can sometimes be quite difficult to disassemble. Make sure the power is off the refrigerator before disassembling any lighting circuit.

There may be some styrofoam insulation panels. If so, they may be waterlogged and may break when you remove them. It's okay, just keep them in one piece as much as possible and replace them as best you can when you're re-assembling.