Okay for everyone wondering. I can confirm this 100% works!! It's a sealing issue. I haven't defrosted my fridge in 4 months! No fan noise no freezing up vents! I was defrosting manually removing everything every 3 weeks. Thank you thank you!
Seems like many people have similar problems with this fridge. Our main problem is the ice maker. It freezes up in the back of the ice maker. It also drips water into your glass before the ice is dispensed. We also had the noisy fan issue like you described. During the 5 year extended warranty that we had they replaced the ice maker 3 times and did the defrost in the back panel as you did once. No more Samsung products for us. Thanks for your post.
I solved my water/ice problem on my Samsung!!!! After a year of this problem and calling SAMSUNG who would not help, I did the perfect repair job!! I threw my Samsung fridge out and purchased a new one of a different brand!!!!!
@@111hutube After reading about the Samsung "back of refrigerator freezing issue", and having an ice maker that has not worked in 9 yrs due to freeezing, we just replaced with a GE refrigerator. I figured we just waste money on repairs to not fix the problem. My new GE counter depth refrigerator dropped in price in one day to $1400. Still was $2,000 for install and THE WARRANTY .
I have a Samsung French door refrigerator that came with the house I bought in 2016. Had this issue recently and ended up calling a local refrigerator guy. He explained, just like everybody on this video has said, that this is an EXTREMELY common issue with Samsung (and he said LG's as well). Had to pay $560 for him to replace the control panel (of which some circuits had burnt out because of the moisture), thermostat and fan. I called Samsung and they said since the refrigerator was out of warranty the only thing they would have done was send their own technician and I still would have had to pay for it out of pocket. If it was under warranty it would have been covered.
I did 3 things. First I changed out the temp sensor, just to be sure, and moved it to the inside then I put the new extended and bigger tab on the bottom of the defrost element and lastly I added 1/4 x 3/16 inch insulation foam tape around the cover. It’s been working great for 2 months now and no freezing issues. The fridge even seems quieter. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thank you so much for sharing those techniques. I'm really glad it seems to be working well for you. I hope you have as much long-term success as we did! Thank you and have a great day!.
I love it when a DIY guy knows more than a Samsung tech, but I think the kids got lost when you grabbed the manual haha. Thanks for all this info. I'm on my 5th tech and still freezes up so I'm going to recommend these steps to the tech. The last time I called Samsung they said they would replace it if the tech couldn't figure it out so I guess I'll get a new fridge if this fails. All in all, I think you are correct about the fan not getting the ice off the coil, once that coil freezes it stars to creek, until it ends up in the ice compartment and then it's game over. I also did here the ticking sound from the ice touching the fan...that's when this all started. Awesome video!
Well, I have subsequently learned not to be so hard on the technicians. It is all Samsung's fault. Samsung will likely only reimburse the service company for performing certain pre-approved resolutions, and it is likely that they will just keep throwing parts at it until they have no choice but to give you a new unit. Thank you for watching! Have a great day.
Hope you got a refund and bought a different brand. The law says if you have 3 service calls under warranty for the same issue, it is a lemon and you can get your money back. No need to do 5 or 6 calls for the same issue.
Legendary. I have been “fixing” this problem for two years and this is the closest to a true repair I’ve seen. I love the format, and including your children is awesome. I want to be your friend!
Spent less than $10 to try this fix over the weekend. If it works I'm going to be so excited because just like others we've been struggling with this problem for the past year.
Thanks a million. I'm doing this as we speak, I'm hoping these steps stop my fridge from over freezing! Wish we me luck and I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes!
Thank you so much for the help! All it took for me was moving the thermistor. With all the “fixes” I’ve tried before, it would start icing up within a couple days. It’s now been about a month with no issues. Again, thank you - and your family!
It's absolutely awesome how you have your kids involved and they actually enjoy it!! I just finished fixing the ice machine problem (hopefully permanently), but while following a link to that part and reading reviews one lady said it fixed her ice maker but didn't fix her issue with water under the meat and cheese drawer. I didn't know what she was talking about so I pulled that drawer out and holy moley there was a lake of water there! I had no clue that was happening! I'd been complaining to my husband for the last year or so that my cheeses were molding fairly quickly, which I've never had a problem with, ever, that just doesn't happen to this cheese lover, so I'm betting it's from that. So that's how I ended up here. First one I watched showed how to change the clip at the draining point and now you've showed the rest. I'm going to do all these things at once and have a permanent fix. Then I can go back to loving my Samsung fridge again!! Thanks so much for the very informative video!
You sir are amazing! I've been defrosting Mt fridge with my wife's hair dryer every 2 weeks for a year! You have no idea how appreciative I am! I will try this TODAY!
I hope it works as well for you as it did for us. Make sure the family is presses both door halves closed after using the fridge, so warm air doesn't enter through a partially opened door. Thanks for watching!
It's been about a month, and no signs of freezing up, so I figured it was a good time to leave a comment. REALLY APPRECIATE this video and all the comments below. We moved into our house in November and the fridge had likely never been defrosted so we had some MAJOR ice buildup. We defrosted with the rD cycle and steamed it back in November. It eventually froze over again. Decided to take it all apart, used a clothes steamer to get everything melted, including huge chunks of ice behind the fan blade. Based on WaffleStaffel's comment, we elected to simply move the thermistor to the location you pointed out in the video. As of today (~30 days later), we've had no issues with freezing and no signs of ice buildup. TL;DR - move the thermistor and fix your fridge :)
I haven't even tried yet to see if this fixes my problem, but I don't even care whether it does. Watching dad with the kids doing this project, being together... this video made my life better today. 💛
Yay! Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I try to involve them in as many projects as possible. If their future circumstances make it prudent to outsource this type of work, that is perfectly fine, but one should never be beholden to others to perform repair and maintenance work. Have a great day!
Spot on. The magnet trick may be the greatest thing I've learned all year. Thanks for taking the time to make such a thorough and easy to follow video. Maybe I can stop living out of the camp cooler now.
Great channel, great video and FANTASTIC parents that are taking the time to teach them so many different things in life to help prepare them for the hardships to come. GREAT JOB!!!
You nailed it! Samsung was no help in fixing the problem. We had to remove water from under the drawers every month for two years. Now, the gurgling sounds are gone too. Thanks for sharing this information. You've helped many unhappy Samsung customers.
1 important thing I also found was that, you should keep the temperature of fridge @ 4 degrees & freezer -17 degrees Celsius. This allows the fridge to turn off more frequently, hence reducing the build up of ice. Most people have -20 & 1 degrees, this is too cold. And eventually ices up
Doing this works just works, just adjust freezer section from the coldeessttt to a cold setting and you should be good. Had to be defrosting manually almost 3x a year. My SBS samsung had lighted bars and not a digital numerical display so i droped it to 2 bars and almost 3 years after no more icing up and the the both sides works as they should. Tip, cover your liquids and no open watermelon in the fridge section.
Thanks so much! Very clear and succinct advice! You must be an engineer - you very clearly have a logical mind - love the way you are teaching your children to repair vs replace!!!
Thank you for this thorough and thoughtful analysis of the various failure modes. I, before seeing this video, took a swipe at examining and correcting my own icing issues. I performed similar treatment and had pretty good luck (over 9 noise free months as opposed to 4 months??) . I, unfortunately, only sealed up (using plumbers putty) one of the three through-wall wire connections. I will seal the other 2 this next disassembly. Also, I wrapped/coiled a 12 gauge solid copper wire (swiped from some Romex I had in garage) around the heating element 3 or 4 times then twisted and placed the ends about 1.5" down into the bottom drain hole you discuss at 15:45 (I found my drain hole frozen over). The aluminum heat sink they designed just doesn't cut it. I did place a loose plastic sleeve around that copper tail to keep it from touching the surrounding aluminum tray (to avoid dissimilar metal issues).This all worked very well. The only trick I totally missed, from your treatment, is to move the sensor over, as you suggest around 13:15. Between the poorly conceived ice maker and these obvious icing issues... I'm really miffed at how Samsung screwed the pooch on this fridge.
Great video! I just started having problems with my Samsung refrigerator in the same area. I just added a heater coil back there that was recommended by a repairman on RU-vid.
I ran through your full troubleshoot today. Tons of ice built up around the fan. After full defrost The fridge is back up and running, I will report back in a month or so to report results. Thanks to you and your amazing assistants for a great video.
If it freezes up just shut it off at the circuit breaker for a two three hours. It’s stays cold in there don’t worry about the food. Been doing it for years.
Hello, TWTH. You asked if anyone tried only one of the 4 fixes, to see if that worked. I have been deicing between 3 and 6 weeks, consistently for a very long time. I finally got up the courage to remove the garbage factory foam and replace it with Great Stuff. That's the only change I made. It's been over 10 weeks, there is no sign of ice whatsoever, there is no fan noise, and there is no ice in the 6 slots in the back of the evaporator cover (where I always find ice when icing occurs). I think this is the single solution that seems to work. BTW, I've watched your video so many times that your tiny humans are probably in college by now :-). Thank you for saving us from buying a new refrigerator, which we almost did. Another BTW, I have a solution to the Ice Maker problem, too, which I stumbled upon some time back. Fill the ice tray, then SHUT OFF the ice maker using the front panel button. Use the ice until the ice tray is completely empty, then turn the ice maker on again to refill. I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and have had NO icing problem, or puddling water, from the ice maker. Once again, it's a delight to watch you working with your kids. You're the sort of dad every kid should have.
Thank you for the video as I have a similar model and it allowed me to see the layout of the components. On a day to day basis I can say that Samsung is a good refrigerator, my wife disagrees and prefers another brand she once owned. I just want to say great video and thanks! For those watching this and if you have reservations on your abilities to work on your unit, then simply disconnect it empty it out and put a small fan in it with the doors open and let it defrost for at least 3-4 days. By then all of the ice will have melted and all needed will be to simply plug it back in. But if you are going to work on it then give it at least 12 hours doing the same and then things will come apart easier. I'm a car technician and yes this stuff is easy to work on. No high tech skills needed here. Just be careful and do not force anything if it isnt coming apart as usually there is a screw that was missed, etc. Good luck to all. I did remove both evap covers on my unit and found that 12hrs defrost wasn't enough to melt the block of ice that formed behind the upper fan. I didn't have any insulation tape that the AC guys use, so I used some black Gorilla Tape (Duct tape) to insulate the uninsulated pipes that freeze up near the upper fan. Ill see how long this fix lasts me. My unit is cooling and working good again now and I will cut the amount of time I allow the doors to remain open during normal use to stop moisture getting in. Good luck to everyone!
Thank you! Your video is the best I found to explain the causes and show the steps to address them. I searched for an entire day watching all the other videos RU-vid suggested and thankfully came across yours.
It’s been a little over a month and so far so good! I replaced the gasket, then foamed the entry point of the refrigerant pipe, but skipped the foam around the electrical connectors. If you wait until the foam sets up a little (or spray with a little water) you can sculpt it a bit to fit the area better as the foam is sometimes hard to control. Thanks!
Yes! I use that technique often. Once it sets up enough so that it no longer sticks to your fingers, you can deflate or compress the foam so that it is not protruding from the face. Great suggestion, and thanks for watching!
@@TWTHI have a Kenmore elite. Which is apparently a Samsung. I’ve had it for 16 months. The fan is freezing up. My fan is in the freezer part instead of the fridge. Are the insides basically the same? I thought it wasn’t sealing properly as when I close my freezer door it catches on my right fridge door. So my fridge doors are not even. So I now have a gash in my freezer door on the right side. Called a repair man. They can’t get parts. So I’m not sure what to do at this point. They was ordering new brackets and door. Do you think this is my issue? I’m afraid to do the diagnostic test and screw up my fridge as my buttons aren’t in the same place. All of mine are inside above the door closers. Can you help? Keep in mind I’m a chic. So I don’t know any of this stuff lol but I’m willing to try at this point. Extremely frustrated!! Thanks for your time.
Hi there, you'll need to download / buy the manufacturer's service manual for your particular model, since the combination of buttons you must press to enter diagnostic mode will change by model and certainly by brand name (even though it's entirely possible that your Kenmore elite is in fact manufactured by Samsung). If the design of your evaporator coil cover is vastly different than what is shown in the video, the proposed remedies likely will not work for you. One cause of units freezing up is a low refrigerant charge, which would be indicative of a small leak. If it is in fact a leak, repairing it is not usually a DIY project. Thank you for writing and have a great day.
I accidentally clicked your video while watching another taking the fridge apart, so glad I did. Had no idea I had all these commands I could press. Good to know!
I have that same exact fridge. Only had it 3 years and was told by the tech we need to replace the whole fridge. Door control panel needed to be replaced which means we need to replace the entire top left door.The problem is, they don't manufacture that door anymore. So glad we got the extended warranty. Never buying a Samsung appliance.
I wrapped a few turns of bare 12 gauge copper wire around the bottom middle of the defrost coil and extended the 2" ends of this wire down into the drain tube at the center bottom of the drain "pan". This helped the drain tube to not freeze solid and helped the puny tiny factory aluminum tab to keep that drain tube area free of ice. The factory aluminum tab from the heating coil into the drain tube was insufficient to defrost that area enough. The wraps of copper wire I put around the bottom of the defrost coil and extended a bit down the drain tube helped greatly by conducting heat from the defrost coil through the added copper wire down into the drain tube. Copper conducts heat well.
I love that the kiddos help you fix things. I've never seen a video where the kids not only help but are very enthusiastic about doing so. This is wonderful, I love it! Thanks so much, new subscriber!
Well, I figure I should do as many activities with them now... Before they discover that I'm not cool :-). I think we have a pretty good time. Thank you so much for watching and subscribing. Have a great day!
Just finished defrosting mine. Thank you so much for this wealth of information. I believe different models have different methods of accessing the codes. On mine, I had to hold fridge and freezer for 9 seconds. I couldn’t get it to go to any defrost settings, so I had to patiently wait for the larger section of ice to melt before I could remove the panel.
Same, I don't have an in-door ice maker. We put a heater near the fridge with the doors open all night and was thawed. Pulled it apart, cleaned it, and put it back together.
regardless of the topic of this YT video.. I think it's great to get your kids (actively) involved instead of passively letting 'real life' pass them by and they have to learn stuff later (or worse pay someone else to do work for them = expensive) with know head start! Good for you Dad!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I think it's really important that they have sufficient skills to diagnose problems themselves, so they can choose whether it makes sense to have a tradesperson make repair, or do it themselves. It often makes financial sense to outsource this type of work, if one's professional billable hour is greater than the expense charged by the trades person. However, by way of example, if their hot water tank fails on Christmas Eve, I want them to be able to sweat in a new one, and not be at the mercy of anyone to do it for them. Thanks and have a great day!
Very thorough explanation! Yhank you! My sister was quality control in a plastics factory that made refrigerator parts. She would sometimes have to get in shouting matches with managers that wanted to send defective parts. When she took time off no one inspected the parts going out! It's really disturbing when you think how much these refrigerators cost and the high likelihood of defects.
Well today I did the weather stripping a I siliconed all the areas instead of foam. Lets see if this works!!! Ive always seen people complain about this issue but since 2017 i havent had a problem...moved it out to be the garage fridge and then two years later i am now searching for videos like this on how to fix it! lets hope this works as i really do enjoy this fridge...especially for the man cave!
@@azentertainmentohio hey there. I sing up is far more common once placed in a garage. This is because it is subject to much higher, and fluctuating, humidity. I hope you have a lasting repair. Thank you so much for watching.
Hi Everyone, so I have had one of these Samsung rf25hmedbsr constantly freezing up in the fridge part and also icemaker freezing up. So if you have the evaporator cover off, this would be a very good time to make sure you have icemaker box caulked off with white silicone. There are numerous videos describing the issues with the icemaker, after updating the icemaker fan, tray with new style gasket (all of these parts have superceded numbers, make sure you get the latest revisions, parts suppliers could care less if they are selling you old stock of defective parts). There is also a y clip kit that helps in draining the icemaker properly, especially for this issue. As for the fridge freezing, this guy's video is right on. I bought the entire evaporative cover with the fan and sensor, you may be able to reuse yours but if you have issues might be worth changing it out. I also changed mainboard, noticed a difference in the power of the fan after replacing mainboard so this might have been part of the issue. I also sealed fan mounting with silicone just like in the video, I siliconed the copper tubing, no need to remove current insulation, just make sure it's dry which takes a bit of time as it will be cold and wet. Silicone over the foam insulation to seal completely. I believe this is the primary issue as every time I have had this cover off, ice buildup always starting by the tubing. also siliconed around electric box connections in case moist air entering by there. Silicone needs an hour to dry somewhat before turning fridge back on. I added to the insulation just like he did with home depot peel and stick insulations, bought a roll of both 3/4 wide and 3/8 wide. Covered over all the foam insulating strips except the fat part at the very top. Took a bit of pushing in place after reinstall but locking tabs set in and if you push in on the cover while reinstalling the screws, it positions perfectly. I did not move the defrost sensor like he did, I didn't think it mattered much. For now I seem to have a working fridge. Did this last week and I havent heard any fan hitting ice sounds so I think it's solved. Such a shame that such a beautiful fridge has so many defects
I did all these mods, and so far (4 months) no freeze up. I did use a thicker rubber weatherstrip that I found at the Home Despot, but it worked fine. I think it was also very important to RTV around the fan housing. Thanks!!
The most exact information I needed for the same issue I am experiencing. Thanks for the great tidbits on the foam strips. I also purchased new door gaskets in addition because mine were all full of mold and definitely worn because each time I close one door the other side pops out. Keep making these great videos!
@@beccamayberry9907 The kiddos are the main attraction; any of the instructional content is just an ancillary benefit :-). Thanks soooo much for watching!!!
I have had the same issue the past couple years. I have been de-icing every 3-6 months. I just tried wrapping a shoestring around the top where the moisture originates then feeding it down to the drain area. I hope it works. Your idea seems legit and I hope it's a permanent fix because we know the ice build up gets annoying...
@@TWTH I checked it out the other day and the ice was still building. Shoestring was frozen. So the weedeater string would work better. I am currently waiting on Samsung to fix this issue and my icemaker for free! It's been 3-4 weeks and nothing has been done. They say parts are on back order.
@@robbieevans5733 My solution for the ice maker was to put a tupperware tray in my freezer to dump the ice from the ice maker. Once it's full I shut the water off to the ice maker. I only turn the water on to my ice maker when I need to make ice. You loose the ability to pull ice from the door dispenser but for me that's a small price to pay to keep my ice maker working and not continually icing up.
Thanks for the descriptive video. In my Samsung, it was exactly the issue of sealing the gaps and blocking the moisture. I sealed all needed areas as explained in your video, and it is 3 months now without any trouble so far. In the past I had to manually defrost every week! I do believe that this is a good fix.
1965: watch my Mom defrost the freezer on our fridge at least monthly. 1980: glad to have a automatic defrost fridge. 2022: back to unloading and taking apart fridge to defrost. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Thanks for the detailed solutions. My fridge fan froze up and the drain froze up too. Discovered something was wrong when our milk kept going bad way before the expiration dates. One thing I dread is that my dad bought a fancy same version of this fridge over a year ago. The one I am fixing is for the house my roommates and I live in. Samsung should stick to phones and android devices!
I agree. While they are a megacorp that wants to dabble in everything, perhaps their quality would improve if they narrowed their fields of specialization. Thanks for watching!
So I have a GE Profile refrigerator that I was ready to throw in the trash. I am not a Samsung fan, but it turns out, the GE I have ended up being a Samsung with a GE logo on it. This is the exact same refrigerator with the exact same problem. This video ABSOLUTELY solved the problem. The only thing different that I did was replace the worthless defrosting tab that hangs down by the drain with a heat probe...basically a thick wire wrapping around the coil to help defrost the drain better than what came with the fridge. One other thing...don't use superglue on the styrofoam!!! It melts/dissolves the foam. I used 5 min epoxy instead. Otherwise, GREAT video and thank you for posting this!!!!
Outstanding tutorial and great to see the kids involved! Mine is nearly 12 years old and has had ongoing sealing issues with the freezer and recently needed a forced defrost in order make temperature. Other than some cheap plastic parts on the bottom drawer that were broken from over stuffing, and an upper ice maker swap it's been a pretty decent unit. It always helps to have the service manual as well for a little guidance when you're ready to dig in. Looks like a can of foam and some weatherstripping will be added to my Home Despot list!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. In addition to ceiling the areas that I outlined, please also make sure that your refrigerator is sitting level, so that the weather stripping on the doors can do their job. The folding astragal between the two door leaves is also a potential source of leaking, but there isn't much that one can do about that poor design. Thank you and have a great day.
Shut the refrigerator off from the circuit breaker for a few hours to let everything melt. Don’t open the doors good will be fine. You can use a hair dryer to melt ice in the ice cube maker area. I’ve been doing this for years.
@@arthursmith643 The time to defrost depends entirely upon how badly frozen over the coils, fan and other items under the cover are. Mine had so much ice built up under the cover (completely stopped the fan) that with the doors open, and after using my heat gun to CAREFULLY thaw the external ice outside of and around the cover, it took over 30 hours for the ice underneath the cover to melt enough so I could safely remove it. A replacement cover retails for $240, so you do NOT want to force it loose and damage the styrofoam inside of it when it is frozen to the back of the refrigerator cabinet!
Absolutely genius video. I've been through all this disassembly. Suggest a hair dryer to de-ice, and making sure the coil is totally dry. My unit had no insulation at all around the tubes- which by the way are not centered in the plastic cutout, creating issues as well.
Very knowledgeable information I was having this very problem. Hopefully with these tips fixes this junk fridge. I’ve had nothing but problems since I bought it. My old pea green freon fridge still working like a champ from the 70s.
I had the same problem every month. So 4 months ago I placed a small piece of rope (about 1/8") into the door joint on both door. This reduced the humidity from 70% to 45 to 50% . Since I did this modification I did not have any problem for 4 months. This time after cleaning again I added some isolation on the tubing right under your yellow beige stuff on upper right. Our problem looks like we have a small leak of air coming inside the fridge by the door joint. I also feel that this is a manufacture defect on our specific brand because I never had any problem with the same fridge 36" 15 years ago. Thank you for your great video and clear explanation.
That is an awesome observation. The pivoting astragal on the French door seems to invite air leaks. I also placed a bright flashlight inside of the refrigerator, pointing at various points of the door seal, closed the doors, and inspected for light with the kitchen as dark as possible. Leveling the refrigerator a few degrees biased toward the rear seem to help as well. Think you and have a great day!
I love your fix. You should apply to be a tech trainer lol. The drain tubes on them are faulty. So grab a new drain tube and then your machine should be good to go and clean the coils while your back there. There is a heater kit that can go on the upper portion of the evaporator but it is not approved by the manufacturer, and that is why they just throw parts at it. The servicers you use can not change the design of the machine due to liability, but it looks like your fix is the one that actually fixes the ice build up. Oh and keep the kids working with you, we do not have young people that can do anything anymore>>>KUDOS
Yep, I knew about the aftermarket upper heater kit, but this has done the trick for 4-5 months. That will be my next thing to try. I didn't replace the drain lines, but I did flush them, clean the gunk out of the tray that holds condensate until it evaporates, and cleaned the condenser coil very well. Thanks for the praise... You definitely know your stuff!!!
@@robbymc2000 I believe this is the one that some other folks have recommended. It appears to be out of stock though. Perhaps you can find something similar. bens-appliances.com/products/refrigerator-secondary-heater-kit Fortunately, mine seemed to stay ice-free without adding the auxiliary kit. Thanks!
Good video thanks. I have a similar fridge, I noticed the drain for the auto-defrost feeds into a tray under the condenser at the bottom rear of the fridge. You need to take a cover off to see it. It has rubber parts in the top of the hose that seem to be there to restrict air flow, etc. The rubber perished and cracked within a couple of years on mine, and since that drain leads straight back to the coils in the fridge it would be a very open source for condensation to get into the fridge and freezer.
*UPDATE* I CAN NOW CONFIRM THAT THIS DOES INDEED SOLVE THE PROBLEM. It has now been 5 months since completion and there is not a drop of water under the crisper, the fan is quiet, and the fridge is maintaining temp. It’s a relatively easy fix for a big problem. Just completed this process. My fridge is similar but not exactly the same. I couldn’t find a service manual with the specs to use the meter for so just did the caulking, spray foam, and weather stripping. Also, for those anxious about the process just let me assure you anyone with a modicum of technical ability can do this. My daughter and I did this together. It took us two days. Most of the work was defrosting the solid ice pack behind the back panel and drying things out with a hair dryer in order to make things adhere. So far everything is cooling like a champion and the fan is once again working. I will check back again in a few months and do a follow up. Thank you so much for this useful information. Without this video I would never have known what to do. Clear and concise.
Wow!, just wow! The fact that so many people are having problems with this refrigerator shows Samsung is negligent in their product's operation and warranty support. I had so many problems with the ice maker on this refrigerator that my wife and I bought a Whirlpool and put the $2500 Samsung in the garage for a backup to keep our beverages and it won't even serve that purpose. There are so many blogs and how-to's on problems and fixes with this refrigerator that it is probably the biggest ripoff of an appliance that I've ever seen or heard of.
I agree. I was watching an interview with the CEO of Samsung, and someone asked him about an issue involving technicians having a hard time finding parts. When asked what could be done done about it, he said that people should just buy new appliances. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a universally accepted reliable appliance brand. My KitchenAid built-in appliances have been relatively trouble-free, but for refrigerators, I might try Bosch next time. Thanks for watching.
@@TWTH We bought a Whirlpool but I'm not pushing them. I haven't had one problem with it in over a year. No ice maker issues, no water on the floor every morning, no issues with the refrigerator portion not cooling. Anyway, thanks for sharing the info
I have a samsung, just de-iced it 2 weeks ago and its doing it again, just sick of it, its out of warranty, but I belong to the Samsung recall usa facebook page and its an epidemic. They say they wont help, people then call the better business bureau, and the customer receives a call from samsung within 2 days to try to help. I guess that is what it takes. People are getting checks in their account if the technician they send cannot fix it.
So I tried to emulate what you did. A 7-hour job today. 3-1/2 hours defrosting (4 forced-defrosts and a lot of steam melting). My first time with the spray insulation. That was a mess. I made it too thick and had to cut a lot back. The Styrofoam broke on one side of the panel I took out. In the end, it was hard to put the panel back on because of the pressure from the thick insulation or the window strip foam. So we'll see what happens. The fridge came down to temp, which was good. I'll wait 3-4 weeks and see if I can hear the fan hitting the ice. Thanks for the video, it was great.
I'm very sorry it was such an ordeal for you. Yes, the disposable foam cans are tricky to use. They always dispense too much. It's best to just let it expand, and pick off the excess later. The professional, refillable, guns are much easier to work with. But, unless you are using them on a regular basis, it doesn't make sense from an economic standpoint. Keep me posted on if it was successful for you! Thanks for watching!
My Styrofoam broke as well, so I just superglued it back together and it was good as new. The spray foam insulation comes in different expansion types. Get the kind for windows and doors. It has the least expansion and won't make a huge mess.
I'm going to try that weather stripping tape next time. In the past I've used a small piece of copper wire looped around the heater and poked down into the defrost drain hole which seems to keep that area from icing over. For the upper right area where you were working I've used a rubberized mastic tape.
Great video and explanation; after spending money on service then having to go into the fridge every 2 months or so to do the hair dryer defrost, this helps out a ton! Hoping the modification will ensure I will never have to break down the inside and defrost with the hair dryer again. FYI: Samsung makes about 70% of all refrigerator brands - I have a Kenmore, which is "Samsung guts", and the set up is exacetly the exact set up as this vid.
Thank you so much for the kind words. I did not know that Samsung made such a large percentage of the units out there. If you determine who might be a high quality brand in the future, please let me know!
Likewise, I knew maytag and whirlpool were the same, but wasn't aware that Samsung and Kenmore were the same. My Samsung fridge will be moving into the garage and I will definitely be investigating and researching before purchasing the next fridge for the kitchen!
Kenmore can be made by just about anyone now a days. Daewoo and LG are the 2 biggest manufacturers for kenmore right now. Early 80s to late 2000s kenmores are majority whirlpool built
Just finished reassembling my fridge. I only moved the temp sensor over to where the big chunk of ice was sitting when I took the panel off. I hope that’ll be enough to trick the fridge into defrosting longer.
It would be amazing if moving the temperature sensor alone is effective. Please check it again in a few weeks and let me know if you succeeded!! Thanks for watching.
@@marke8930That is a great sign. I also set a reminder on my phone every week to hit the diagnostic buttons to make sure no error codes were popping up. Thanks for the update!!
Great to hear that, can you tell me if that has worked ? I want to do this and maybe insolate the pipes coming in but dont know what will really do the fix. Please let me know.
Thank you so much, just watched the video, I haven't tried the fix yet, but this is the first video that explains everything. Thank you so much! Had a similar problem with my LG, ended up throwing it out and buying a new one but now have the same problem with my Samsung. I suspect they are well aware of how they should build refrigerators but they prefer for people to throw them out and buy new ones. It's very frustrating.
I’ve been having the exact problem. I just purchased a new fridge. Will cancel purchase tomorrow. I’ve been watching mad video’s on how to fix. Trouble shoot. Etc. Exact problem your showing. Pretty sure u just saved me a couple thousand. I’ll get back to u. I’ve changed fan. Mother board Temperature sensor. Had this thing apart many times. Professional videos never gave your possibility 99 percent you got it. Tell your kids they have a very smart dad. That doesn’t give up.
Thank you very much for reaching out. I hope that your refrigerator problems are cured in the same way that ours were. There's no reason that an owner should have to go through all of this just to keep their appliance functioning. Thanks and have a great weekend.
I love that you explain it so a 5yo like myself can understand. The steamer and magnetic parts were especially helpful. I’m still mad Samsung sold a fridge that I need an electrician certification to enjoy. Fortunately, I received mine for free, so I will pass it and this video on to my fridgeless DIY friend and buy another. I love that you’re teaching your kids. I wish my dad had invested his knowledge into us like that. Well done. Will def subscribe.
Thank you so much for watching. I'm glad this video was helpful. I need to find the time to make some more videos with the kiddos, but life has gotten in the way recently. Thank you and have a great day!
Não conheço a orientação de fábrica, pois vários técnicos tocaram na unidade antes de mim. No entanto, encontrei um boletim técnico da Samsung que recomendava mover o sensor para a posição mostrada no vídeo. Desconheço a finalidade da curva em forma de U que entra no espaço refrigerado. Eu posso ser colocado lá como um local mais adequado para sentir. Obrigado por assistir. Lamento que o Google Inglês para Português seja provavelmente ineficaz.
@@TWTH Muito obrigado pela sua resposta , dei like e já compartilhei o seu vídeo . Eu fiz apliquei uma resistência de cordão em uma e não deu certo ,com 15 dias já está bloqueando novamente ,irei olharo sensor ,pois bloquear em curto tempo pode ser o defeito também no sensor de degelo .
@@TWTH Relocating the thermistor is the only thing you need to do. Sealing up all those areas is futile, all the moisture comes from the door opening, and to a lesser extent, from the food. All fridge evaporators accumulate ice, hence the defrost. Relocating the thermistor is a great idea though, as it seems like all the problems stem from incomplete defrosting. High cabinet humidity keeps produce fresher, and is actually the selling point of a dual evaporator fridge, and is ironically what won it a Consumer Reports recommendation. Alas, it's _only_ a selling point, because if your evaporator is icing over, the humidity isn't actually being maintained. A much larger coil and/or less refrigerant flow is what is needed, but such complexity is not to be found in consumer appliances, where pennies are shaved, and corners cut wherever possible. If you have water leaking, then the little defrost bracket is necessary too. (also, those tubes and wires are already foamed in behind the fascia, they exit at the bottom of the fridge, so there is no possibility of air infiltration at those points)
I have. GE an my neighbor has a different brand same layout but not a samsung and we all have the same issue. Whoever designed the original layout for the french door with drawers fridge in general just didnt think it over. GL!
But the real issue is that we shouldn't have to fix the crap design of a multi thousand dollar appliance when the company could just build them correctly to start with. :(
teaching your kids that troubleshooting and repair is part of buying and owning appliances that cost thousands of dollars. I did this same thing with my kids but with a whole lot more swear words. LOL Just went through our POS Samsung fridge to fix the ice maker. I will never buy another Samsung appliance, seeing as they're well aware of the issue of the ice maker freezing up and choose to do nothing about it.
Yes, I recall reading an article discussing the difficulty of finding Samsung parts for certain models. When the CEO was asked what he would say to technicians and homeowners about it, he said, "Buy new ones." I too would like to say that I will never buy another Samsung, but the LGs are worse and the "domestic" brands have taken a quality dive. Perhaps Bosch would be an option? I will say, none of my Kitchen Aid appliances (made by Whirlpool) have acted up... But I have only owned them for 7 years. Thanks for watching!
This is EXACTLY what I needed. I'm a first time home owner and don't really have the coin to buy a new fridge. Thanks brother! PS your kids look just like you!!
This might be one of the best, RU-vid videos I’ve ever seen. Had this problem with one of the original Samsung French door fridges (RF26HFENDSR/AA) Initially was the pin in the drain hole at the bottom. The original ones were not too long enough and I think they knew that and switched later on to the longer version to keep the hole clear of ice. But… Having to take the cover off and defrost it several times before figuring that out, damaged the cover as you mentioned, and then we dealt with ice developing in the condenser itself and in the cover because of warmer air leaking in. Finally purchasing a new cover, adding copper wire into the drain hole to keep that free of ice And moving the thermostat over to the other coil seems to do the trick
Well, I am not sure it is even an average video, but thank you for the kind words. I hope your combination of remediations holds up as well as hours seems to be. Thank you for watching, and have a great day.
The breach of moisture into the unit via warmer, humid air in the home(let alone from one's garage---Yeesh!), is the biggest issue with these units. I would know...Samsung appliances are appx 75% of my business. Great as a businessman! Horrible as a fellow consumer. Something I find almost daily, that no one has made mention of(that I've seen) is the craptastic genius of the French Door Mullion design. The "flapper" panel piece that sits between the two fresh food section doors has a significant gap at both, the top and bottom. The remedy for these gaps allowing the breach of unwanted, frost building, condensating air into the unit is the addition of outcropping tabs at the inside corners of the fridge door gaskets(seals). These thin tabs are extremely quick to wear to the point of being ripped, torn, or gone completely, and therefore exacerbate the underlying issue at hand. This and so many other fine flaws can be discussed, at length, if interested, with me... The Appliance Scientist from Kansas City, MO(ie., the front load washer with a planned and well timed life span of appx 5-8 years due to the purposeful marriage of a stainless steel tub to an aluminum support arm bracket resulting in a fun chemical process known as Galvanic Corrosion.).
Appliance scientist? Sounds like a fantastic hobby. Perhaps you can make a career of being an expert consultant for product liability lawsuits. If I get one of those washers, I will need to tear it down and install a dielectric union at each of the mating surfaces 🙂. Thank you so much for watching.
@@TWTH has become quite the rewarding business venture, actually[hobbies lie more in the realm of collecting art, toys, 1st pressing vinyl records and 1st edition books, cabinetry, and STEM creations with 7yo daughter(next big project being Tesla Coil builds.)]. Thanks for the wealth of info you provide and best of times shared between you and your children in scientific discoveries together. A most rewarding endeavor it has been for us, indeed.
@@christopherford1539When it is time to get a new appliance, I will gladly pay your consulting fee for advice. Have lots of fun making stuff with your daughter!!!
I misteriously done all your steps before seen your video. Not exactly identical but similar. Position of the sensor slightly close but same idea. I added some 3/8” aluminum strips two around where you placed the thermistor to speed up the defrost up in that area. Wonderful video and the best of all is having the kids involve at this younger age. I’m a father of five. Even though I started to awakening ideas very early too I found myself doing this fridge with one at 24 and the other at 19 years old. Certainly have to confess is a lot easier when they are little. Now they are way too opinionated and have grown tire of tackling real live problems so they try to stall the proyect to see if you buy a knew one so they can go to their own life interests.
I tried to involve my kids in all repair projects. If they get to the point where their career allows them to pay someone else to do it, I want that to be an option for them, not a mandatory obligation resulting from lack of ability. Thank you for watching
Currently have my kitchen covered in refrigerator/freezer trays. Ice had been building up in my Samsung RFG298HDRS around the freezer tray slide causing the door not to seal the best which wad causing more condensation to come.in and freeze. Thanks to your video, I learned that there's a forced defrost on my unit to save me (and my hardwood floors) a lot of cleanup. I Noticed before I took the evaporator cover off of the freezer portion that it didn't look sealed properly. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Anyways, going to try some of your techniques and hope for the best! Thank you!
Thank you for writing. Yes, if the door gasket and astragal are not creating a good seal, you are going to introduce a tremendous amount of moisture, and the freezing up will occur far more frequently than it ought to. Do your best to prevent the ingress of warm moist air, and that is most of the battle. Thank you for your comments and have a great night.
We attach a strip of wire around the defrost heater and let it feed down the drain hole this transfers heat down there to stop ice blocking the drain hole .
I did this too with a thick copper wire which helped the drain from freezing and having water pike up inside fresh food bins! The styrofoam insulation around the coil cover is fragile and flimsy so be careful to defrost completely prior to disassembly.
I did the same thing with 10 gauge solid copper wire. It was an improvement but not 100%. It's a real PITA when like 3" of the drain hose freezes solid.
I watched a few videos from Bens Appliances and Junk. I did a few changes. I changed the metal tab at the top of the drain hole with one that is about 2 inches longer into the drain. I tapped into the 2 brown wires to power a small 20-watt wire heater that wrapped around the copper pipes at the top right side where most of the icing occurs. Lastly I replaced the defrost sensor which was I think $7 and moved the defrost sensor to the top right side of the aluminum coils about an inch or 2 to the right of the last fin of the coils. That way it takes longer for the defrost sensor to heat up, thus increasing the defrost cycle time. I also added a few adhesive insulation strips around the drain and behind the main coils, not sure what that does exactly. I purchased a kit from them plus i threw in the defrost sensor myself. The "secondary heater kit" was $52 with the moisture kit included (2 new drain tubes that go at bottom back of fridge). One more very important thing. Open the bottom back of the fridge and take a vacuum cleaner and a coil brush and get all that dust away from the coils and air inlet so that it can breath. Most people do absolutely nothing, then wonder why their fridge isn't working a few years later. Here's the link for the video with links to his webpage. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WjUbNx-Z-dE.html I just did this yesterday and also did some caulking behind the panel, but I now realize I didn't caulk as good and thoroughly as you did. P.S. This was a very easy process that anyone can do and does not take any technical knowledge to do. Just follow the video instructions. Also MUCH cheaper than a repairman.
I fixed my ice maker by using HVAC metal tape on the inside and food-grade silicon on the outside. I fixed the refrigerator by sealing it with food-grade silicon instead of foam. I Changed the thermistor and added a heater booster to the evaporator coil.
My bottom freezer evaporator motor was making noise that would stop when the door was opened. I suspect it is freezing up just like the upper motor as you and others have reported. I force-defrosted the unit and the noise stopped. If it comes back, I will take the lower panel off behind the bottom ice maker and defrost it manually and/or replace the evaporator fan motor. There is an excellent video by AppliancePros on RU-vid that shows how to replace the lower evaporator motor. Thanks for your excellent video! God bless you and your sweet family!!
Hi there! Fortunately, I have never experienced the issue with the freezer... Perhaps we access the freezer less frequently and there is less opportunity for warm moist air to enter. I will keep my fingers crossed and I will hope that I can continue to be trouble free with my freezer. If not, I will review the video you referenced. Thank you and have a great evening.
I just started defrost. Getting ready to tear it apart. I'm going to start with moving the thermistor. I also put a 1500W electric heater in the fridge to help the process along. I'll update you when done. Thanks for the video!!! ❤
Very good video , thank you for the suggestions . My fridge had a lot of ice so we used my hair blow dryer and melted the ice and with paper towels wipe to keep inside fridge dry . We put everything back right as there was no error sign and now we are waiting to see how it will do ; keeping our fingers crossed 🤞
👏👏 Excellent walkthrough repair. I’m going to try it right now. If it doesn’t work I guess I’m getting a new fridge and will never buy a Samsung again!
Thanks! They have mandatory tinkering time each week and even on summer break, they have to "make something awesome" each day as part of their chores. Thank you for watching and commenting. Have a great day.
Tried half of your method just over a month ago, but fan noise returned and found cracks in the Ice-maker tray. Decided to complete your process and we'll see how long things last with new Foam insulation, caulk, and filler. Thanks for the instructions... 😀
Thanks for posting this. I just followed your method and added the same weather stripping to the flimsy factory stuff. Only problem: Could not get the panel to snap back in with all the extra foam. Left the foam around the square port at the bottom but had to remove the rest. I did use spray foam around the electrical connections and used silicon around the exterior of the panel after I clipped it in. Hoping with the new auxiliary heater cord and a new temp sensor, it will solve the problem. Fingers crosse.
My buddy had a this problem with his 6 year old Samsung side by side fridge and the repair people did the same, through parts at it. I have the same fridge with no problem. He gave up and purchased a new fridge and I acquired the old one and now I am going to apply all your fixes and see if it solves the problem. They all seem very simple and strait forward.
Same problem here. They screwed up the wheels on delivery so Samsung also gave me the extended warranty. We've had the ice machine replaced 4 times and had service on the refrigerator defrost 3 times. I've also pulled it apart a bunch of times to melt the ice and try and find a fix. After the warranty expired I contacted Samsung and they sent one final tech out. They installed a bunch of insulated material and caulked one spot and reprogrammed the refrigerator and "guarantee" us it would NEVER happen again. Well guess what a couple months later I was back defrosting it again. I have it down to a science now but unloading and icing the food is a pain. Next time I will try your fix. Thanks for sharing as this is really frustrating. Oh we've also had our Samsung store serviced. Needless to say we won't be buying any Samsung appliances in the futer
1st thing you did definitely helped. We took ours apart and the whole compartment was filled with ice along with our fan. The whole upper unit in ours wasnt working anymore from the kce build up
Interesting video, thanks for taking the time. I have a 13 year old 267 model that is notorious for freezing up. I have water/ice buildup under the wide drawer at the bottom which has rendered it mostly unusable because it's frozen in place.. I did replace the small heat tab with a long #12 copper wire as the coil was freezing up as well as the drain line. I wrapped the pipes with foam tape and that helped somewhat. I won't use the spray foam near any food . My biggest problem came in reassembling the back panel as the factory insulation mostly broke away when I pulled it off. I did replace it with some foam and did my best to reattach. I wound up taping it to the back wall with white gaffers tape. I did not leave any spaces for airflow and from your video I learned that there should be air space. Thanks so much. I'm going to have to tackle the disassembly again soon as my bottom drawer is stuck again. I did however raise the temp to 40F and I'm getting a lot of melt and hopefully that will be a temp fix.
Thanks! The polyurethane foam is inert once cured. It is not a 2 component foam that may off-gas as used in home insulation, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
I am just about fed up with my crappy Samsung refrigerator! Ready to dynamite it until I came across this video. I will definitely give it a try and let you know if it works for me.
Hi there, I still want to dynamite mine, because no consumer should have to do this much work on an appliance. :-) Thank you for watching and have a great day!
Great suggestions. Didn't know about the defrost mode. I just opened it up and defrosted the ice with a hair dryer. Let's see how quickly this gums up again.
I had this same issue about 4 years ago. This video is MUCH better than the ones I found then. However, the only thing I did when mine had this problem, is move the sensor to the other line. I haven't had any problems since I moved the sensor.
