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Old 03-05-2020, 02:26 PM   #1
texastwostep
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Samsung Refrigerator Freezing Up

I'm hoping someone has run across this before, and can help me out a bit.

We have the Samsung french door residential refrigerator, model RF18HFENBSR in our 3661RL. It worked fine until December when the evaporator fan started making noise. We had ice build up on the evaporator coils until the fan was hitting it, and then was eventually stopped by the ice. Repair guy came out and defrosted the refrigerator, replaced the thermistor, defrost heater, and drain tubes. Worked fine for 2 months.

Yesterday, same problem again. I popped the panel inside the refrigerator off, confirmed massive ice jam, defrosted it, and it's working again. Local repair guy declined to work on it, said it's a known problem and that Samsung has no fix for it. Called Samsung, have a beer handy, and finally got transferred to a tech who seemed to know what he was talking about. Says the issue is the leveling. The frig needs to be off the wheels, and have about a 2 degree slope front to back.

So, because the frig is hard mounted to the slide, I would probably level by setting the trailer on a 2 degree slope left to right.

The questions are: is it really this simple? Has anyone else had this issue?

Thanks in advance.
Walt
 
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Old 03-05-2020, 04:12 PM   #2
Lilrube
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Had same problem last Sept. Had tech come from Mr appliance in Goshen ind. Replace auto defrost line on back wall of unit. Covers by my extended warranty. Problem solved
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Old 03-05-2020, 04:19 PM   #3
texastwostep
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Is the auto defrost line accessed from inside the fridge?
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Old 03-05-2020, 05:16 PM   #4
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About 3 years ago we bought a Samsung refrigerator $2800. We have had people from two respected independent dealers in the last few months come to our home and another who didn’t come out tell me the same thing. If it breaks don’t even call or try to have it fixed we can’t get parts for it. Buy a new one don’t waste your money. Two delivery people from the same dealer brought out a new range and ask how long have you had that’ ‘three years’ ‘you got a good one we pick them up all the time that lasted less than a year’.
If it really breaks try to get it fixed but don’t be too disappointed if you can’t. And all three told me LG was almost as bad.
Lynwood
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Old 03-05-2020, 05:19 PM   #5
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Yes it's behind that center piece. They replaced that cover with the part.
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Old 03-05-2020, 05:21 PM   #6
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The repair man also used a heat gun to completely clear up the ice before installing the new part
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Old 03-05-2020, 05:23 PM   #7
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Mr appliance is a Nationwide company
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Old 03-05-2020, 07:37 PM   #8
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So, if it cannot be fixed, is there a brand you would recommend?
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Old 03-06-2020, 06:19 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by texastwostep View Post
So, if it cannot be fixed, is there a brand you would recommend?
I wouldn’t worry about it just be aware this could be a problem when it does break. Then I would go to a good independent Applance store with the dimensions and see what they recommend.
I do know a woman that had one cost over $4000 and lasted less than a year and went bad. She couldn’t get it fixed and had to replace it.
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Old 03-06-2020, 11:01 AM   #10
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I have a similar Samsung (with a Kenmore name tag on it) we bought several years ago from the local Sears scratch and dent store. We thought it was a good buy and it has been a good fridge. We bought an extended warranty. The fan started making a noise when it was 12 to 14 months old. Technician came out, removed the shelves and guts so he could take the back panel off to get to the ice on the coils (see pic below). I think this may be the same thing you are experiencing on your RV fridge. I am not advocating fixing it yourself as described above - but I watched the guy do it and took pics so I could do it if it happens again. I thought the pic would be helpful to this thread.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:32 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Mikendebbie View Post
I have a similar Samsung (with a Kenmore name tag on it) we bought several years ago from the local Sears scratch and dent store. We thought it was a good buy and it has been a good fridge. We bought an extended warranty. The fan started making a noise when it was 12 to 14 months old. Technician came out, removed the shelves and guts so he could take the back panel off to get to the ice on the coils (see pic below). I think this may be the same thing you are experiencing on your RV fridge. I am not advocating fixing it yourself as described above - but I watched the guy do it and took pics so I could do it if it happens again. I thought the pic would be helpful to this thread.
Without seeing pix of the OP ice on his evaporator, cannot say for sure if he has the same issue as you. Mike, your problem looks like either a sensor cutting off the defrost cycle too quickly or worse a restricted capillary tube or low refrigerant charge (freon leak). Walt's issue may be a drain freezing up, but if that were the issue, Walt would have had ice and water under the crisper pans. Another thing that might cause his, is a "no defrost" condition caused by a mother board fail or the air vents in the cover being totally clogged preventing air flow and thus frosting up the entire evaporator. Generally, the normal defrost cycle will clear that every 12-18 hours. Leveling should not be an issue in the Montana unless the 5r is sitting really out of level.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:40 AM   #12
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Whoever says these Samsung reefers are not worth repairing are full of baloney. They are very repairable and parts are readily available. Also, a 2 degree slope front to back would not be an issue for the defrost drain. If you can make sure the drain is clear (hot water or slight air pressure), then add a heat probe to the drain - search water under crisper drawers.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:50 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by texastwostep View Post
Is the auto defrost line accessed from inside the fridge?
Not sure what the "auto defrost line" is. The sequence for defrost is: PCB (motherboard) monitors run times, door openings and the length of time heater was on during the last defrost cycle. From that info, decides how long to wait b4 initiating the next defrost cycle (6-36 hours). When that cycle is initiated, the fans and compressor are shut off and the defrost heater is switched on (separate for frzr & reefer compartment). The length of time the heater is powered is determined by a small bean sized thermistor attached to the evaporator. When that thermistor reaches a preset resistance, it tells the PCB to shut down power to the heater. There is then a short dwell period with nothing powered up to allow the melt water to run down the drain. The PCB then powers up the cooling cycle again.
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Old 03-12-2020, 05:35 PM   #14
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My question, I do not have a drip pan, so where does this water drain too?
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Old 03-12-2020, 05:55 PM   #15
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masterdrago, thanks for the info. About the only thing that has not been replaced is the motherboard. The 2 degree tilt to the rear came straight from Samsung, easy enough to accomplish. If that does not help (and I have my doubts), I will get a tech out for the motherboard, I guess.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:30 PM   #16
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My question, I do not have a drip pan, so where does this water drain too?
If it's a Samsung 3 door less than 10yo, both evaporators have an aluminum formed one piece back plate/drip pan that has a hole for the drain water to exit the cooling compartment and be diverted to an evaporation pan in the compressor compartment under the unit.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:52 PM   #17
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Thank you for the draining question.
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Old 03-12-2020, 06:55 PM   #18
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masterdrago, thanks for the info. About the only thing that has not been replaced is the motherboard. The 2 degree tilt to the rear came straight from Samsung, easy enough to accomplish. If that does not help (and I have my doubts), I will get a tech out for the motherboard, I guess.
Two months is about how much time would go by b4 a defrost failure caused the evaporator to frost up again IF the unit were running and left unopened - as in no door openings. Would be good to see a pix of the frosted evaporator. If it has been a couple of weeks, it might not hurt to take a look now. I know it's a PIA to remove shelving and the rear cover/fan assembly. It's tough to get to the MB since it is under the unit back corner in an enclosure - have to pull out and get on floor behind unit. Also a couple of rubber drain tubes to pull loose and make sure they are clean. See link for parts pix.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9jwf5y3wh7...agram.jpg?dl=0
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Old 03-12-2020, 07:01 PM   #19
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You can actually remove the little sensor, stick it in a tightly packed glass of crushed ice with enough water in it to slip the sensor down into and read it resistance from this chart. Should read around 13k ohms or if room temp ~5k ohms.
https://appliantology.org/gallery/im...r-thermistors/
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Old 03-12-2020, 07:34 PM   #20
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About 3 years ago we bought a Samsung refrigerator $2800. We have had people from two respected independent dealers in the last few months come to our home and another who didn’t come out tell me the same thing. If it breaks don’t even call or try to have it fixed we can’t get parts for it. Buy a new one don’t waste your money. Two delivery people from the same dealer brought out a new range and ask how long have you had that’ ‘three years’ ‘you got a good one we pick them up all the time that lasted less than a year’.
If it really breaks try to get it fixed but don’t be too disappointed if you can’t. And all three told me LG was almost as bad.
Lynwood
Man, I keep hearing this story all the time. As an X-reefer repair guy, I can tell you I carried a ton of parts on my van for both Samsung and LG. Our retail customers bought a s*** load of those foreign made over engineered reefers. They were very reliable and repairable. Easy to fix. Easy to diagnose. And parts easy to get if not on truck. They did make a few that were some Aggie's wet dream that were sometime beyond repair - 4 door butane twin compressor models. They have since learned their lesson. They're many techs that do not want to learn to fix them. Many have a phone app that you can put the phone near the hinge to run diagnostics. I'll take them any day over a GE Cafe model or the new Whirlpool models. Give me a good old Amana/Maytag/ - now owned by Whirlpool but without the Whirlpool logo.
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