word choice - When should I use "see" vs. "refer"?

I have this question on using see and refer in technical documentation especially for cross-references information.

I use see when mentioning another section in the same document, for example, for more information on xyz, see section abc on page nn-mm.

I use refer when asking the reader to see an external document or any appendices, for example, for more information on xyz, refer to the ABC Guide or for more information, refer to Appendix A.

My colleagues and I have a disagreement with this logic. They seem to prefer see for everything. As a cross-reference is more like a footnote and also acts like a footnote.

Is my logic correct?