My FRE 196A fridge won't drain.. is there a stopper in the drain. This has been the case since I bought it a year ago. When I pull out the veg drawer water under the drawer spills onto the floor and also down into the freezer section. I have to continually mop the base of the fridge. Water gathers in the drain at the back as if it is blocked. Where should this water be going. Thank you Jillian

Try going further than defrost and draining the hose. There is gunk that builds up and you need to clean that out. Use a pipe cleaner(the fuzzy wires used mostly for art projects. They actually can clean pipes and water lines!!) Also, you can pick up a pack of pellets used for breaking down the "gunk" build up.

Look on the back of the unit for a plastic hose coming out the bottom to a drain pan usually sat on top of the compressor. Bend a straw and push up inside. If it won;t go, there is a blockage, usually ice in the drain. Fully defrost the freezer and blow through the straw until clear.

Hello Tim.

Thanks so much for choosing me for my help with your freezer. I believe you are having one of the most common problems with your freezer as most people have.

No one sit around when they have some spare time and says >> Honey, instead of going to the beach this weekend, lets go pull put out the fridge and freezer and clean it.

Sense you bought it about 3 years ago, and it is slowly getting warmer and warmer and you can hear motor working hard, I would bet it needs to be cleaned. I also would bet, that you have not sense new have pulled it out and took back lower cover off and cleaned it.

Assuming I am correct, this is what you do. First unplug the unit. Store food in a another fridge if you can or maybe a neighbors house until you fix this problem. Now, sense it is 55 degrees now, most likely most the food could be spoiled anyway. So your call on the risk of saving that.

Anyway, you unplug fridge/freezer, as the motor is cooling down, you now pull out fridge and take off lower panel on the rear. Sometimes has tabs, screws , hooks etc.... After you get the rear cover off, then you will notice all kinds of junk in there, fir balls, and just down right dirt. Get yourself a shop vac and start vacuuming all the coil area, and anywhere you can get that dirt and build up out. Even if you have a air compressor hose that will reach to blow it out, or a can of compressed air you can get from any computer section and local store. Anyway, you want to clean it, excuse the expression to the point of you can eat off it. Once you are convinced it is clean, then plug it back in, and fire that baby up, and you will most likely notice quieter motor and cooling down back to normal. Please let me know , Of course you will know instantly when you pull cover off back and if you see dirty and caked up, there is your problem for sure. Thanks Again, Mike

Some kind words with a rating of my help would be appreciated if your satisfied.......

Do you know what parts are needed? Some are available and some are not.

Check the vents in the fridge side and close a little if you can. On the freezer side just for good measure>>>>
Is your circulating fan working?
Sometimes they stick and need a shot of WD 40 and then work
it back and forth a little until it wants to take off again. Keep me informed
and PLEASE give a Thumbs Up for the effort. The Raz Shack

If there is no noise coming from it its poss thermostat or sensor and if compressor is stone cold. If compressor is very hot its sound like a gas or compressor problem.

Hi the problem is with a clogged drain hose that's why all the water. to unclog turn off fridge. pull away from the wall . remove back panel. clean all vents . locate drain tube, by the drain tray. clean out the drain . thanks the appliance doc

Sounds like a blocked defrost drain. By "American" I presume you mean side-by-side.
I had a similar problem with a freezer-on-top style Samsung. The solution to that was to defrost the freezer, remove the false backing plate in the freezer (required removal of the ice cube tray. the panel just pops out with a bit of pulling). The drain hole beneath the freezer coils was blocked with ice. This drain passes down into the fridge and then out the back of the fridge into the evaporation pan next to the motor. There is a collector pan under the freezer coils, this and the drain hole were filled with ice. When the freezer goes into its self-defrost cycle the water collects here and then overflows into the fridge.
I removed the ice with hot water/vinegar mixture (so it doesn't re-freeze immediately) and simultaneosuly used a bit of chiselling with a screwdriver to clear the drain plug. I did this from inside the fridge working up the drain hole into the freezer. The whole job took about an hour.

you have a cloged evap. drain. the rf is defrosting properly but with the drain be clogged the water has to go somewhere which is generally in the crisper draws on top and bottom models. two way to clear up this issue. turn rf OFF for at least 48 to 72 hrs. to allow the drain to de-ice or take matters into your own hands and take the back panel off of the freezer and using boiling hot water pour it down the evap. drain tube until it flows like you just flushed a tiolet

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Yes to both questions.
You do remove the rubber strips to remove the back cover and yes you can run a wire down the drain from the heater. There actually was a repair kit a few years ago for a different brand of freezer that was exactly that, a piece of aluminium strap that hooked to the heater and stuck into the drain.
Make sure the drain is clean also.