The refrigerator condensor fan had become very noisy. After some initial research, I hypothesized that this was a result of ice buildup. My initial goal was to remove the back panel of the refrigerator to inspect and clean the fan, following these instructions.

However, as the video notes, the back panel is frozen into place, and removing it without damage requires defrosting the refrigerator overnight (and therefore storing refrigerated and frozen food somewhere during the process). This is such a nusiance that it probably makes sense to replace several possible sources of trouble all at once.

As anticipated, I was unable to remove the back panel, and decided not to go ahead with defrosting because it’s a busy week and I haven’t ordered the replacement parts. I was able to remove quite a bit of exposed ice on the back panel and below the defrost drain, and I sprayed a lot of hot water into the air vents hoping to melt the ice inside. It seems to have worked!