PART 4 How to Fix a SAMSUNG RF 267 Refrigerator Not Cooling Icing and Freezing DIY repair 

Pro technician here, The Refrigerator is built by Samsung. Several fixes for this problem. To easily remove the evaporator cover use a steamer instead of a hair dryer. Or you can just shut the power off few a few hours. If the unit has a clogged drain then blow it out with the steamer or use hot water to clear the drain. The very bottom row of evaporator fins need to be pushed flat against the coil so water can drip into the pan properly, there was a design issue with this. Also check for any foil tape they may have peeled and clogged the drain hole, remove it , it is not necessary. make sure that the metal hole is in alignment with the plastic drain hole. You can add the additional wire to go from heater into drain hole, but bending the lower run on the evaporator coil will solve the problem. If you have ice forming on the complete coil, then check continuity on the heater assembly. If there is ice only forming on the upper right portion of the coil then replace the thermistor, it has just lost its value slightly and is not staying in defrost long enough for the coil to thaw properly. It looks like a white bullet shaped object with two yellow wires and it clips on the evaporator tubing in the upper right hand corner. This will permanently resolve your issues. JMCWATCHDOG

This is a permanent solution, so seat tight and enjoy my analysis. The root cause of the problem is ice built up and then clogged up the cold air vent holes and jammed the fan. There are multiple reasons for ice build up: 1. Where did the ice come from? To minimize the ice we need to keep moisture inside to the minimum, which means covering up glasses of water, milk, opened sod cans, soup, cut open water melon, mango, fruits, wet vegetable, raw meat, etc. . The humidity inside the refrigerator is quite low, and so anythings that can be dried up will release moiture and this will form ice, and too much ice will out win the defrost heater short heating cycle (short cycle to achieve the Energy Star) and the net result is a slowly ice build up. 2. The other moisture source is the bottom Pantry tray that collected water. You need to pull out the pantry and clean this bottom tray every month or so, or after a spill from trays above. Any liquid spill not cleaned up will ended up as ice inside the fan box -- no magic about this. 3. The bottom drainage hole is clogged up with ice. Once this happened, every degrost cycle will release the water down into the bottom Pantry and pool there. This water then evaporate and form ice inside the fan box eventually. (Hint: to melt the drain hole ice fast, fill up the "pond" above the hole with water then place a 15 watts soldering iron hot tip into the water and make sure to keep the hot tip from directly touching the plastic part. Add more water if the "pond is dried up. The hot water will melt the ice and clear up the drain hole. You need to keep an eye on this and remove the iron as soon as the hole is cleared. So how do we solve these problems? It is unrealistic to have zero moisture inside the refrigerator, but if we can keep it to the minimum as I pointed out in (1) above, and with a modification to the design that prevents the drain hole clogged up then the problem will be eliminated permanently. To solve the problem (3), I used a 6 inches long, 3mm diameter copper (or aluminum) wire, wrapped around the black heater pipe (just above the drain hole and running across left to right) 3 turns, and extended the wire down into the drain hole. If you don't have large gauge wire then just use two smaller gauge wires, wrap them on the left and right side of the heater pipe and extend the wires down into the drain hole about 1.5 to 2 inches. I used to fix the iced up fan every year, but after implementing the 3 steps above, it has been running over 2 years and still no problem. My unit is RF266AB. Brian

Hi to all you Samsung refrigerator owners. For the past year or two my coil has been freezing up about every 2 to 3 weeks. I have found that the heater is working and sending water down under my crisper. Now after this melting of the coil water builds up at the bottom of the coil and then freezes because the little metal piece is not long enough to keep the drain hole open. What i did is loosen the heater coil and pull it all the way down to the bottom of the metal cover at the bottom. The coil is touching the metal cover at the bottom and the little metal piece is now deep in the drain hole. I have not had any water under the crisper for 3 weeks now and no fan noise. Also not sure this made a difference but i took the white sensor an attached it to the pipe to the left of the original position. Good luck Samsung frig owners. Jimmy

I really appreciate you taking the time to post this...We took the plunge and bought one of these fridges at great expense thinking that we were getting a high end unit..Before we ever got the thing paid off we've had to have a technician out twice for the same problem.. Now that we have paid this thing off, we are on our own for the repairs, and here yet again the fridge stops cooling.. But with your help I think I can get this thing going again.. I'll never buy a Samsung product again..Gonna buy yet another fridge, and move this one to the mancave, at least if it stops cooling my beer wont go bad...LOL

You totally saved my sanity! Perhaps you've saved my expensive refrigerator as well. I mopped up tons of water under my deli drawer on my RF 268 Series Samsung frig that looks just like yours. I found it only after water poured into the freezer when I opened the drawer at 11pm Friday January 31, 2015. I continued to mop up water for the next 5 days not wanting to call service on Saturday and having company until Wednesday. My brother-in-law suggested I try google. Your series just popped up today. For now, the water is no longer gushing out under the tray and I thought I was going crazy. Without being able to identify the source, I'm afraid I will face it at any given moment again. Now I need to set aside time to follow you wonderful videos to defrost it. As you & others warn, I can expect to face it many times during ownership. You totally rock!

Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I had water collecting under the bottom drawer and figured it was coming from this area but couldn't figure out how to get that panel off. Once I defrosted it, and got it off, I found the drain clogged/frozen. Unclogged it, checked the fan (thanks for that tip), and put it back together. Didn't have as much ice as you but there was some. Couldn't of done it myself without you. Really appreciate it.

It's 4 days to Xmas and 5 days till I go camping for a week and of course the Samsung fridge has stopped. You have saved me $100 so huge thanks Jake. I didn't have much time so I used a gas blowtorch (carefully) to speed up the defrost! My model is a side-by-side but same concept.There was also some piece of food in the rear drain that needed clearing.

We came home from vacation and found out that the people watching our animals had bought us breakfast for the next morning, but forgot to shut the fridge all the way. This video was a life saver at 1am and fresh off a flight with 2 kids. Thank you so much. Thomas

Thank you so much! I will go through these steps and see if I can avoid buying a new fridge.

I just went through this whole process. The videos and commentary have been extremely helpful! Everything is cleared. Additionally I will clean the coils in the back that are fairly caked with dust. You can get there by removing the lower back panel. The air flow vent is on the right on mine if you are looking at the back. Just remove some screws and the whole panel comes off. I also ordered the special part to wrap around the heater coil. It is a few days away. Somewhere I read that a copper wire might do the same trick. My thought was that all of this looks like aluminum so instead of copper I thought to just cut an aluminum can in a strip and wrap that around the heater coil. Though the heater coil may be copper??? I also read that the lower fins needed to be pushed flat to the coil so that water drips into the little trough. Most of these were mangled probably form ice formation already. So I pushed the front ones that extend forward past the trough flat. The turkey baster worked great to final clear the drain. Just used it to spray hot water in a couple times. Key there is to squirt the same water in and out til it gets cold. Then suck out the cold water with the baster and do again with hot water. Took me three times but the third time the water just disappeared... I am not quite sure where it goes. I think it goes in the lower coil area which I started to take apart. Looked like it too has wiring that makes pulling it out complicated (same as the top...). Or at least not simple. The coils all looked clean of ice so I just put it back on. If I get 12 months I will be happy (happier). IF not I don't know if the aggravation is worth it. Life it too long to deal with this crap all the time.

Nice job, Jake. Great series that I needed. Appreciate your taking the time to show the "non-repairmen" out here, how to handle their stuff when it doesn't work as it should :)

Our fridge has done the same thing and we unplugged it for about 24 hours and then plugged it back in and it worked...but only for about 5 days before the lawn mower sound (the fan) was going off on it. Not sure what to do now. Sounds like the fan is still working. Going to buy another one, but this time...nothing fancy. It seems the more costly the fridge, the more problems it has. If I have something with an ice maker, I think I'll be satisfied. I hope!

Thank you Jake this is the second time I am defrosting my fridge. Your video has been very helpful.

You may not be a professional fridge consultant but you should be. I have a RF217 which iced up so badly in the freezer that the door wouldn't close. I defrosted the whole thing and got a Titanic sized piece of ice from behind the back panel. No trouble since then - that was 8 months ago. Just recently, the circulating fan in the fridge section began making loud rumbling sounds and I suspected the blades were hitting on ice. I emptied and defrosted the top section and tried and failed to remove the back panel so put it all back together and restarted it. Worked fine for three weeks and then the fan started making noises again. I will now try your hair dryer solution and really defrost the damn thing. Thanks for the video.

Dude all I know is I hit subscribe right after I saw you put that vaseline on the cover! That was awesome!

Thank you sooo much...i followed each video. We purchased a new refrigerator this morning, so hopefully this will stay cold for a couple of weeks...

good video - definitely helped with my RF266. I would have broken the rear panel trying to force it off not realizing it was frozen in place. Mine didn't have nearly as much ice - just the lower ledge where the drain is. Just to clear the drain - thawing - emptying the fridge took about 6 hours - so patience is key. I took Dunne's advice wrapped a piece of solid wire around heating element and stuck it in the drain hole. Time will tell if it works.

THANK YOU LOL!!!!! We did just what you did here in your videos today. Ours is a little different. Different model. But once we got the back panel off to expose the coil element and the fan ect. We saw the ice all over it and they are the worst dam refrigerators going. We will never buy another Samsung anything. Your videos helped really. My husband is an electrical engineer and he knew some things but you really had to count on as you took the stupid thing apart that you were patient and din't break anything. It's all so cheaply built. Fingers crossed it will live for a while longer till we can buy a decent one.

Thanks Jake. Great information. Used your video to fix my Samsung refrigerator issue.

Thanks to your videos our refrigerator is now working again

This was actually really helpful and I too fumbled my way through the same issue. It helped a lot!

thank you for the time you took documenting this. Really helpful and interesting. have a good day

Reallly good info. Exactly what I needed to know about this fridge.

I was able to get a Samsung tech our to fix my frig freezing up. He knew the problem quite well and said that he performs this repair several times a week. He replaced the sensor above and to the right of the evaporator coil and he replaced the entire front plastic cover which also has a sensor in it.

Good troubleshooting, but the real design issue and correct repair is the drain tube which gets clogged on the bottom and than drain tube gets frozen, therefore water overflows and gets on the bottom. To fix the issue you need to remove back bottom cover, remove the right drain hose, once removed, Separate hose from the plug which has two small holes which is clogged, make the holes bigger and reinstall same. You will never have frozen drain and water on the bottom. All the best....EC

great help by showing all this. I did the big defrost, no ice, no funny fan sounds, but now, now the whole refrigerator stinks like an old ice chest. no rotten food, but can guess we have water sitting somewhere in the inner workings? If we leave the doors open for a bit, the smell is less, but it's still there. Is there anyplace on the back that can be opened up to drain out the standing, nasty water?? thanks.

These fridges are HORRIBLE. It is 2020 and I still am having this same issue. These are excellent videos. Samsung should stick to TV's. The don't now anything about fridges.

Thanks so much! Showing what's inside helped me greatly. I did break my styrofoam :(( but it went back together.

Great Job explaining. I have been doing the same thing to my fridge for over a year. I m having to do it more frequent now, about every month or even sooner in the summer.. I am wondering if I have to replace something like Evaporator defrost system?

Worked like a charm, thanks!

Thank you so much, these videos were so helpful!!

The video was very helpful! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the fix works great now.

Is it just not less hassle to clear your freezer contents for a couple of days to defrost? I did this hoping to save the hassle of dismantling but it's still humming. Repair man told me the sealed unit for the motor is likely the problem ... Any comments appreciated?

I tested my fans in freezer area and fridge with a 9v battery and some wires. pull your plug and connect your wires to the red and black prungs. Make sure to test your battery before you attempt. My first battery was dead. stick the battery to your tounge. You will know if it's good or not.

The middle screw at the bottom is stripped from the inside, it just keeps spinning. How can I get it out?

thank you so much ! it was really helpful .

Very helpful! thump up for this

sweet diagnostics!!!

🧲 switches in the top. Tape magnet on switch to bypass.

Thank you

so did you ever find a end solution to the problem

Your series of videos have helped immensely. Guess what I’m doing right this minute? 😂 F***ing Samsung!

i Saw another video on this subject.. you need to replace the heating element that keeps it from frosting, its about 59$

I actually found an easier solution, I was having the same issue with my 2016 Dutch door model...after the warranty expired of course. I tried the manual defrost on my but my computer in the frig must be different and it didn't work, so I just left the top part of the frig doors open for 6 hours; about 5 days after I did that the fan hitting the ice noise came back. Ok, so I defrosted it again for 6 hours, then I decided to play around a bit with the temp settings, first I raised the top part of the frig temp to 40 degrees instead of 38 where I had it, then I raised the middle drawer from the meat setting of 29 degrees to the drink temperture of 33 degrees...so far so good, no ice build up that I can tell for 3 months. I think either Samsung put a poorly designed defrosting capability in their units, or the internal thermometer that is suppose to keep the temp at whatever temp you select is off by a few degrees, so when I had the top part of the frig set for 38 it probably was around 32 to 35, and the drawer likewise was probably running at 25 or so instead of 29.

I'm having this issue now

I paid around $2500 for this model about 4 or 5 years ago. It is absolute trash. I will never buy a Samsuck anything again. My wife and I bought a huge Whirlpool side by side that lasted almost 20 years. Our Samsuck french door garbage was only two weeks old when the first part broke. Samsung should be ashamed to bilk people out of their hard earned money by selling garbage like this for a premium price. I could have bought a better fridge for half the price.

I have taken the panel off and it's pretty much defrosted. The drain still is not flowing so I guess it's still frozen but I am.worried about this piece wrapped in electrical tape. Seems melted. Can anyone help.

I know I'm a Lil late but instead of just hurringing and opening the door to see if fan is spinning you could of just took your finger and pushed in the door button\switch and watch your fan that way without even closeing your door...

This video show how to disassemble the evaporator cover but did not address the problem,. The issue with this type of Samsung refrigerators is the system to defrost the drainage area does not work properly. As the drain gets clog with ice, the evaporator accumulates ice and eventually stop the fan causing the fridge area is no cooling. Some refrigerators can be fixed twisting a well conductor wire through the defrosting heating element and ending ia couple of inches inside the drain hole. My fridge did not work with this wire solution. Please, add comment if you know other possible solution. beside throwing the fridge in the garbage.

just an FYI, this fridge is made by GE (i have the ge Profile version of it), so its not just samsung... its GE...!

the worst fridge ever

This is a known problem for this fridge. The real fix is the drain heater probe kit. (www.appliancepartspros.com/samsung-clip-drain-evap-da61-06796a-ap5579885.html) However that fix repairs the complaint of water in the bottom of the fridge and in the crisper. If you have ice built all the way up the evaporator (like Jake did) you probably have a problem with the defrost heating circuit. It is very common for the defrost bi-metal to stop working in this unit (its a little wire clipped on near the top of the evaporator).

Didn't actually repair anything here, just defrosted it. There is a revised drain strap which can be had for less than 10 bucks, which will actually keep the drain from icing up again. The Samsung part number is DA61-06796A.

We have this same piece of crap fridge. We have to go thru this defrost process every few months. What a pain in the a$$!!!

It used to be said that "you get what you paid for", however my Samsung cost over a thousand dollars and its a piece of junk. Also if it is "energy saver" BEWARE that is a load of crap too! I had to replace an "energy saver" washing machine that cost a thousand dollars and it was a piece of junk too!

The best thing you can do is join the class action law suit against Samsung for this defective design flaw. You might get your money back years down the road. The subsequent poor customer service to protect themselves from great financial loss is really disappointing. Samsung is not looking out for their costumers at all. You buy their product and they give a quick "good bye" regardless of how awful the product is. As long as it can be fixed, Samsung doesn't consider it to be a defective product... Samsung thinks paying $400 every 4 months for a 2-year old frig in order to fix the same issue repeatedly is acceptable. I do not, and I don't think many of you do either. It is not acceptable. It is fraudulent. Keep all receipts, records of phone calls, photos/ videos, etc. and call the number on this website below to join the class action lawsuit. It only costs you a few minutes to tell your story. There's nothing else you can do to fix this lemon. Get it out of your house whenever you can afford to. topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/811-samsung-refrigerator-class-action-lawsuit/

I have a Samsung RF265AB and I have had this problem of ice build-up in the fridge and then not cooling down about 4 times now. I was told by a repairman to unplug the machine and let thaw for 4 days. The problem goes away for about six months then comes back. This design is flawed and I will never buy another fridge like this. When I buy a new fridge I will look inside and If I see this configuration I will not buy it.

I would not call this repair. This is simply defrosting fridge evap and clearing out the drain line. it's a quick temporary fix. need to find actual source of problem... bad thermister... bad insulation... door stuck open.... piece of food stuck in drain line

Your video is helpful but you are not really fixing the problem for good. The build up of ice should not be happening in the first place and this is only temporary. This is a flawed design problem.

I hate my Samsung fridge. I will never buy one again. Do not buy appliances from a company that makes cell phones.

I tested my fans in freezer area and fridge with a 9v battery and some wires. pull your plug and connect your wires to the red and black prungs. Make sure to test your battery before you attempt. My first battery was dead. stick the battery to your tounge. You will know if it's good or not.