Model #FRS6HR5HSB3, the customer recently purchased this new refrigerator, but was startled by the sounds of running water shortly after installation. Not being familiar with the sounds of a refrigerator with a dispenser, it was first thought that maybe this was just something new to get used to. But the sound kept reoccurring, and finally water started to leak out the bottom on the fresh food side. This was definitely not a normal sound or behavior from their new refrigerator.



The sounds of water dripping are not uncommon in today's refrigerators as it is a normal occurrence to hear water dripping into the condensate pan during a defrost cycle. But sounds of water while the dispenser is in use, or just at randoms times is most likely an indication of something wrong and it should be investigated before any damage can occur.

With water leaking from inside the fresh food section of the unit, the only place it could be coming from is the dispenser water line and filter system. These are put in place to bring water from the house connection, run it through the filter, than into a reservoir to chill the water. This may be an actual water tank, or simply a large coil of plastic water line located behind the crisper drawers, but it's purpose is to provide a chilled glass, or two, of water from the dispenser. As the only source of water, this is where I began my search.

I was fortunate that while speaking with the customer, we heard the water running and I was quick enough to get the fresh food door open to see the problem for myself. Besides the water dispenser, the filter also is used for water going to the ice maker. Every hour or so, the ice maker would dump its batch of ice and turn on the water valve to refill the mold. Each time it did this, water came pouring out of a crack on the side of the filter housing and ran down the back of the refrigerator. An unusual set of circumstances, but at least it was easy to find.

Being an infrequently used part, I had to return later to this customer to complete my repair. The water was still turned off to prevent further leaking during my first visit, so with only a couples screws and water connections between me and replacing this filter housing, the repair went off without much effort. The water was turned back on, and once the water lines were purged of air at the dispenser, water flowed as expected out the fill tube instead of inside the refrigerator.

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