How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP3796479 / WR17X11843 Evaporator Drip Pan

I watched the video, used only a screwdriver to remove drain pan, took about ten minutes. seen the problem with drain pan. searched part number, ordered new parts with Appliance Parts Pros on Wed at 2pm. Part was at my front door before 10am the next morning. Put all parts back in ten minutes and done. Once again very pleased with Appliancepartspros.com, thank you. 

Drain tray replaced 

Replace drip pan. 

We first did some troubleshooting on line and a quick look behind the evaporator cover and saw the rusty bottom of a tray. We located what we thought was the part. We went to APP to find the part. We watched a video on how to install it which was a HUGE help. It gave us the confidence to do it ourselves. We called AppliancePartsPros to confirm the part number and they helped us order the part. We installed it in 15 minutes and it is working great. Our neighbor had been having a problem with water that they had not identified. They were going to get a new refrigerator. We looked at their refrigerator and it was the drain trough again that had rusted (these are GE profile refrigerators, fyi). They fixed the refrigerator for $23 not $2300. I love your website and your call-in support. The ease of finding a part and then telling you how to install it is a huge benefit and saves us $$$. 

When I first removed the shelves to see where the water was leaking from, I didn't know that one of the shelves had a removable pan glass. As I removed its shelf, the glass fell out and of course it broke. I was able to locate the leak coming from a rusted drain trough assembly. I watched the video showing how to replace it on a GE refrigerator and saw that it was an easy repair. I ordered a new cover pan glass and drain trough assembly. They arrived in good time. The repair was quite easy, and now the problem is fixed and the glass is replaced. What I can't understand is why GE makes the drain assembly out of metal instead of plastic. Knowing the new one will eventually corrode over time, I ordered a second one to have on hand. 

Bought new drain trough and watched video, When I began disassembly, I noticed the ice buildup around side of evaporator. Used hair dryer to defrost. Hardest part was removing/reinstalling the plastic cover over the evaporator. It has a lining of Styrofoam on the back and when I removed the plastic cover, the Styrofoam stayed on the evap. I very carefully took off the Styrofoam itself trying not to break it. It's probably there for insulation. In that area you have to twist, turn, pull up etc.- tight quarters. Easy to break the Styrofoam. Tip - put the Styrofoam back in the plastic cover before putting the whole cover back in. Video was very helpful. 

After watching appliance parts pros detailed repair video I ordered the part and fixed it within 1 hour. I live in Northern California and repair guys are expensive. I am certain I saved at least $200 on the repair and I'm proud to have completed the repair myself. Hardest part was diagnosing the problem which took some searching on the internet and opening up part of the refrigerator to see the rusted through tray. This repair was a medium difficulty repair I would say, I am not very "handy". 

The drip tray under the internal cooling coils was rusted through after 10 years. I replaced the drip tray and coated it with a rust inhibitor before installation. 

Realized that our drain trough assembly was very rusty. Tested water draining down by pouring a little water with a turkey blaster directly down funnel of drain and saw it was stopped up. (Probably by rust). Followed along with repair video step by step. Our refrigerator model was a little different from the one shown on video so it was a little harder to get drain pan assembly out as there is a narrow pipe in front of it, but with a little wiggling it came out. Saved a couple hundred dollars! 

My drain trough had completely rusted through. The repair was easy using just a screwdriver. The how-to video on the AppliancePartsPros website was terrific. In addition, the fridge wouldn't defrost. I am starting by replacing the thermister that is in the coil at the back of the fridge side. Fingers crossed (replaced it before and it defrosted for 18 months before returning to its bad habits.) Longest part of the job was waiting for the fridge to defrost overnight. Actually replacing the thermister and the drain trough took about 30 minutes. Was very happy with APP's shipping... Ordered on Sunday and part arrived on Tuesday - and that wasn't the expensive shipping option. Replaced parts: WR17X11843 (AP3796479) WR55X10025