Samsung refrigerator help. * UPDATE, its alive!! *

you tried storing kimchee in the fridge to regulate the temperture? it is a korean fridge...

j/k, lol

I own a Samsung ref. so far so good.  I buy the water filters at Walmart.  They have generic ones for a lot cheaper than the samsung filters.

Looks like the fan was running in the pic.  That was first thought too.  Happened to mine.

My fan went out last week too; everything below the evap was staying frozen, but above it nada.

Changed the fan out yesterday and now I am a cool as ice!

Total cost of repair: $65

If the freezers normal temp then it can only be a few things. There's vents in the freezer and a fan that moves the freezer air into the fridge. If the incoming vent in the fridge has good airflow it would have to be your thermostat. If not it could be a blocked vent, the recirculating fan could be faulty or the coils could be froze up.

The coils and fan you mention, is it accessible from the fridge side or freezer side? 

I see a panel that looks like it can be removed inside the fridge, I tried taking it off but felt like I would break it if I pulled any harder. 

I had a Samsung fridge. Can't remember the model but it was a side by side.  Similar thing happened.  Water had collected in the back of the freezer inside the wall (from the water filter line I believe) and blocked the vent that slowed the cold air to move to the fridge from the freezer.  Inside the back of the freezer was totally warped and distorted. After some arguing it was eventually replaced under warranty.

Where exactly was the fan located? Did you have to access it from inside the fridge or from the back of the fridge? I've been trying to dig up some videos/diagrams online on where certain components are located but haven't found much yet.

Oh, the irony. A Samsung guy asking for help troubleshooting his Samsung refrigerator on a fishing forum. 

Hey, Won! Remember what you told me about Samsung products, in this case my TV, at Turner Cut?  Seriously though, I hope you get the problem solved. I did get my TV issue resolved, thanks to Sonny (Sailfish).

Howard

Lol.  I totally thought about that conversation the other day when the fridge started acting up.   

Here is a video for replacing the thermostat and heater:



The fan is on the cover he removed.

We have the similar model Samsung fridge and experienced the exact same problems. The ice in the freezer coild and the lack of cooling in the fridge side are likely unrelated. The ice build up, according to the Samsung repair guy, is because the design is bullshit. Unless you keep 2-3 inches of space around all of the ports in the back wall of the freezer, air fails to circulate and ice begins to build up. It'll eventually get into the freezer fan and you'll start to hear a rotational grinding sound.

The lack of cooling ... it sounds like your central processor unit has gone out. Basically, its the computer that tells the fridge how to do everything and, according to the repair guy, they go bad way more often than they should. It's not hard to swap out, but its time-consuming. I believe parts and labor was about $500. Hopefully something else/cheaper is causing your issue, but this sounds exactly like what happens to ours.

Besides a phone, I'll never own anything Samsung again. This fridge has been nothing but a headache and they're a difficult company to deal with.

So here's an update.  Found some info online suggesting trying to shut the unit off for couple days and plugging it back in.  Even though freezer side was ok, I removed everything out so that I could unplug the unit.  Left it unplugged while I was away at GS9 for about 3 days, then it was plugged back in Sat night.  So far, its working fine and fridge side is cooling again. 

Based on this info, would it be safe to assume that the issue could have been just a vent or fan that was blocked/frozen?  Of course this is assuming that nothing else has gone bad.

So here's an update.  Found some info online suggesting trying to shut the unit off for couple days and plugging it back in.  Even though freezer side was ok, I removed everything out so that I could unplug the unit.  Left it unplugged while I was away at GS9 for about 3 days, then it was plugged back in Sat night.  So far, its working fine and fridge side is cooling again. 

Based on this info, would it be safe to assume that the issue could have been just a vent or fan that was blocked/frozen?  Of course this is assuming that nothing else has gone bad.

Glad you got it "fixed".  Hope the fix is "permanent.

So here's an update.  Found some info online suggesting trying to shut the unit off for couple days and plugging it back in.  Even though freezer side was ok, I removed everything out so that I could unplug the unit.  Left it unplugged while I was away at GS9 for about 3 days, then it was plugged back in Sat night.  So far, its working fine and fridge side is cooling again. 

Based on this info, would it be safe to assume that the issue could have been just a vent or fan that was blocked/frozen?  Of course this is assuming that nothing else has gone bad.

When our fridge would do bad things, it was just the drain clogging, and then water collecting / icing over and moving into the fins.  We traced the problem to not closing the door fully.  There'd be just enough outside air getting past the seal to cause moisture to condense and freeze inside that the unit would stop operating.  Ours is a freezer drawer on bottom style unit, and when we'd overstuff the freezer, sometimes it'd be a little hard to close.  Since figuring this out, we've been fine for about 4 or 5 years.  I'm guessing you'll be OK too, just keep an eye on the drain and internal fins (if you can see 'em).