[Mkenney]

Purchased this fridge new on 02/2004 and have never had it trip the GFCI outlet it is inline with once in four years. Within the last 2-3 months I have noticed and icicle forming under the ice maker near one of the bottom screws. As it was not a big nuciance I figured I would get to it later. Starting two nights ago the fridge started to trip the GFCI outlet. I unplugged anything else on that line and was able to determine that the fridge is the source of the grounding. I removed front and rear panels and vacuumed dust, lint and hair but within minutes of restart it would trip again. Ice maker now has more than one icicle coming off of it so it appears to be overfilling and not just a leak. This morning I cut off the water supply and turned of the ice maker and for the three hours prior to leaving it was still running. My question is could the icemaker water issue be the source of the circuit tripping or is that not even possible and the most likely suspect is the condenser overheating. I also saw some websites suggest that GFCI outlets are to trigger happy when it comes to your fridge but I'd prefer to keep it in lieu of my house burning down. Thanks in advance for any help or guidance.

[kayakcrzy]

I also agree with the trigger happy GFI, have you tried plugging the refrigerator in a non GFI Plg. Tom ApplianceEducator.com

[denman]

In most cases a GFI will not protect for a house fire.
That is what your circuit breaker in the panel is for.
It does protect you from a shock if for some reason the appliance frame should go live and you are touching a ground. This only applies if the appliance is not properly grounded (uses a 2 prong plug not a 3 prong) or has a grounding problem.

The GFI checks that the current from power in is the same as the current going out on the neutral. It also checks that the appliances frame ground and neutral are separate. This may be what is tripping the GFI, if water/ice is touching the neutral and the units frame.

GFI's can nuisance trip with any motor as motors age they can produce more electrical noise and this will trip the GFI every once in a while.
Also it is common for GFI's to get older and false trip for no reason.

[Mkenney]

Weekend update. Since cutting off the water supply and turning off the ice maker the fridge has been running on the GFCI outlet with no problems. Now my next task will be to figure out how to remove the ice maker and replace it I guess. Or figure out if the water supply line is the issue. Either way the ice maker needs a good defrosting.

[kayakcrzy]

You know what might be happening is the water tube that goes into the back of freezer might be frozen , and the the water sprays out the back and then runs down the power cord, and it the plug. Check it out. If not it is a good story, and I am sticking to it. Tom www.applioanceeducator.com