We have a Samsung RS2556SH. The digital readout started blinking at 38 degrees. So I followed the manual and unplugged the unit for 9 mins and reset the fridge. When the unit came back online, it stopped blinking but the temperature went up to 58 degrees and has not cooled back to down 38.
The temp will sometimes make it to 54, but it will not cool any lower. The freezer side is working perfectly fine. I do not have any frost built up in the freezer or the back panel. It seems like the fridge crisper bins and the tray directly above the chiller bin is the coldest. The temperature seems to get warmer at the top of the refrigerator.
Ok, what I found out is that there are codes built into the front panel. If you hold the top left and right buttons for 5 seconds, the fridge will reset. If there are no issues, the panel goes blank. If there is a dash in the right side of the panel, there is an issue with the fridge side. In the left, freezer side. The dash indicates a defrost problem. Only a couple of things can cause this. 1. Sensor 2. Heater 3. Fan, 4. control board.
I had the same problem freezer fine, fridge would not cool below 56 deg. I had the board replaced and the problem remained. Turns out that indeed the evaporator coils were frozen over. Solution: Take out all drawers including the one with the separate cooler part (two screws). Then take out all screws and remove the center column which reveals the evaporator coils. Mine were completely frozen over, not even 24 hours of thawing would have defrosted them. I put a space heater in the thing and it took two hours to defrost the coils: Here is a picture:
Samsung RS2556 - Refrigerator side is not cooling - 332d8f5.jpgmg data-src="/uploads/images/332d8f5.jpg" alt="332d8f5.jpg" class="h_mi" />
Again, no idea why the defrosters did not kick in, but hopefully the new board ($103) solves that problem. Otherwise buy a small fridge and defrost the big boy once every 6 months or so. Now the fridge works great, I sometimes sit in front of it and look at it. Well you get the idea.
I have the Australian version of this type of the side by side fridge. Have had the exact same problem. Fridge is only 3.5 years old. I spent 4 hours last night pulling off the covers and defrosting the coils. The fridge is now (next morning) back down to normal temperature.Thanks for the photos. I'm expecting it to build up again over time, and require a repeat effort. The fan seems to be working properly. I don't yet know if the auto defrost feature is working, but I'll find out over the next few weeks.
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Awesome write up from all of you. And this whole article is
absolutely right on target. May I add.... My RS25 series
side by side also stopped cooling in the fridge, but freezer was good. Mine looked just like the pictures above, solid block of clear ice.
I sliced about one inch of the thick insulation off the bottom the foam to let water escape, I then drilled a 1/4 inch hole from fridge
through to condensor area (don't hit the condensor !), then ran
some water line (like the icemaker uses) from the hole.
I plan to add a drain pan underneath the fridge and put the line through the bottom. Just like it should have been done.
I used a blow dryer to get all the ice melted.
Now the fridge is awesome cold.
One more note: my digital display said 34, but the fridge was way warmer. After unplugging and plugging in (reboot) the display
started showing a much higher temp. So I am suggesting that the display
can get stuck. Something to watch out for.
And lastly, you bet I complained to Costco and to Samsung.
They are not likely to budge and even acknowledge this design flaw.
The only way to protect ourselves is to never-ever buy a Samsung applaince again.
Check the defrost circuit here is a helpful link to a service manual..in it t tells you how to initiate Forced Operation of defrost cycle.
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag_library/docs/SAM0059.pdf
Press Power Freeze and Fridge Temp. buttons for 8 seconds simultameously to get in the ready mode for a forced
operation.
The display panel will return to normal after 20 seconds in the ready mode.
At the ready mode, press any button(except Ice Type and Child Lock) once to start a pull-down operation, twice for a
defrost cycle for the refrigerator, three times for a defrost cycle for the freezer and the refrigerator, and finally four times
for cancellation of this function.
Another way to cancel this function is to simply plug out and in the power cord.
This relates to the Samsung RS21 series side by side fridge freezersold in the UK, and is copied from the site for "Watchdog" a BBC TV programme.
"Consultant engineer Malcolm Robbins explains: "This fridge has a
fundamental design fault because water which drains from the evaporator
coil during defrost cannot escape. Ice forms on the coil, grows back to
the fan, hits the fan blades and stops the fan running. After that the
fridge won't work." Malcolm said he didn't think it was right that
customers should have to foot the bill for repairs and that the fridge
was not 'fit for purpose'.We contacted some fridge service
engineers and seven out of the ten we called were familiar with the
problems with the Samsung fridge"
In the UK Samsung are extending the warranty to five years to cater for this.
Here is an extract from BBC's 'Watchdog' consumer tv programme regarding the RS21 series of samsung fridge freezers sold in the UK. These seem to have a similar defect to their US equivalent.
Consultant engineer Malcolm Robbins explains: "This fridge has a fundamental design fault because water which drains from the evaporator coil during defrost cannot escape. Ice forms on the coil, grows back to the fan, hits the fan blades and stops the fan running. After that the fridge won't work." Malcolm said he didn't think it was right that customers should have to foot the bill for repairs and that the fridge was not 'fit for purpose'.
We contacted some fridge service engineers and seven out of the ten we called were familiar with the problems with the Samsung fridge.
It's all very well for an appliance to look smart in your kitchen. But some of the people who fell for the Samsung RS21's sleek good looks and 'unique cooling technology' now wonder if it might not be more at home in a fridge scrap yard.
Company Response
Samsung Electronics would like to personally apologise to any of its customers who have experienced this problem with an RS21 Side by Side fridge-freezer.
Samsung Electronics identified this manufacturing problem with the RS21 through its ongoing quality control procedures. Samsung Electronics has subsequently introduced an improved model of the RS21 and notified all Samsung certified service engineers of the improvement process and parts required.
Having reviewed these particular cases and its service policy with regard to the RS21, Samsung Electronics will provide an extended five-year warranty from date of purchase in respect of this fault. This will entitle any customer experiencing this fault to receive a free service engineer's visit and repair. This extended warranty will be in effect immediately.
Samsung Electronics would ask any customers who have this problem with their RS21 to call this freephone number, 0800 988 0123, to arrange for it to be fixed under this extended warranty. Samsung Electronics would like to reassure all customers of its commitment to quality customer service and would ask anyone with questions to call the number above.
I have RS2555 in same problem.my warranty is expired and Samsung hooked me up to an technician who asked for 300.00 for labor plus parts and tax, what a rip off!!I I called my Canadian friend who's a technician and I was told to POWER OFF the RS2555 for 24 hrs.both doors MUST open and take out all drawers,he said ,it is 90% the ICE blocked the cool airflowing,so if ICE melted,all will return to normal.
It works after I did what he said.share this and hope can help some one with same problem!
I have same problem my evaporator turns to block of ice at first they replaced the heater on the right side of evaporator but heater wasn't the problem and it still did it! the problem is the control panel does not defrost the evaporator on fridge side the circuit it the control panel fried and doesn't send signal to defrost heater on fridgeside evaporator! this control panel controls several functions but only one function wasn't working! ask you repairman to put fridge in manual defrost mode(it cose of holding buttons on panel) if it will not go into manual defrost like mine would not you will need a new control panel! it cause me alot of aggrivation before o actually got a decent repairman with intelligenge and an electrical tester to figure this out! make sure he tries to put fridge in manual forced defrost mode then if display panel doesn't allow this function to work it is your panel! i have rs2556sh it has been a problem for a while and when the defrost your evaporator with the hair dryer the fridge will work fine for several weeks but the problem will come back when the eveaporator freezes up after several weeks and airflow is restricted!
just replaced the pcb board today and im not sure it solved the problem tech semed like it didnt and i am pretty sure that samsung rs2556sh is junk i will not ever buy another fridge from samsung again something is wrong with the auto defrost and after 4 techs and several calls and 300 bucks still it seems that this problem is unfixable! recommend not buying this or any fridge from samsung ever! now i am out 300 bucks and have to manually defrost my evaporator on the fridge side every 3 weeks till i can afford a new fridge! trying to force it into defrost through control panel doesn't work either heater never comes on even tho it and the thermo sensor and the pcb board are all newly replaced! this fridge is garbage a waste of time and money! don't buy one save yourself the aggrivation!
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Check freon level,blockage or effeciency of compressor.
I have one of these refrigerators that has moved to the garage. (junk) It has the same problems all of you have. I did learn if you hold the top two button in at the same time for 10 seconds, or till the display goes off, it will reset the board to factory parameters. (settings), but that doesn't get the ice off the coils. I read all of your problems and one thing that I learned that will help most of you is that the fans will not run with the doors open, so when you defrost or deice, before you put all of the panels on, support you fan and hold the light switch, within a few seconds your fan will start if its good. I have a new fan and board in mine that im sure it didnt need but every time I walk by mine in the garage the displays are reading -4 and 36. Almost like it is begging me to go back in the house. (never happen) wanna buy a new board or other parts. Im junking mine. [email protected]
I have done this on two different model Samsungs and one has worked for 6 years now and the other 4 but the relay must have gone on the second one. After you are sure all sensors work and the voltage is proper on the manual defrost cycle. This worked for me.. yes, I am an engineer. I read the schematic on the Samsung and see one potential issue on it, one of the reset ports they should have tied the pin and not left it floating, this can put the chip in lala land as we call it on a brownout or power down cycle.
Anyway here is the way I cheated. and as I said from being a piece of junk it has worked for 6 years on one and did for 4 on another. Here is what I did, all parts on my fridge worked, i tested all sensors and so on. so you must rule out all non-functioning parts. when defrosted I opened it and with everything plugged in, yet accessible I put it in manual defrost and could see the water drip. So i noticed it really did not get hot enough. so I put in a 2.2 Kohm resistor in series to the thermostat.so from the Samsung chart it brings it up to 90degrees vs 60. and I also took a piece of aluminum flashing and wrapped it around the upper heat tube and had it slide all the way to the drain plug, it was about 6 inches wide on the top and tapered down to about a quarter inch as it goes in the drain to stop that area from freezing up. my fridge was freezing up 3-4 weeks, and it has been 6 weeks and it has not frooooze up. Update now 7 years..
Same problem with my Samsung. I've had 3 different companies and over 20 tech visits, and it still ices up!
What I can offer is my technique for defrosting the fridge in about a hour from start to finish.
Before you get started you will need:
An empty 2 liter soda bottle
Access to hot tap water
LOTS of towels
Philips head screwdriver
Blowdryer (and extension cord if necessary)
Flashlight
Buckets or bins to store food in for the duration
Pull the fridge away from the wall
Unplug fridge
Remove food and shelves from the fridge.
Remove the screws from the back panel. (keep 'em in your pocket)
Carefully unplug and remove back panel. Ice buildup may make this difficult, even impossible. Skip to the next step until the panel comes loose.
By now you should be able to see the ice. Fill that soda bottle with hot tap water (NOT boiling hot, just tap hot)
Douse the ice with the hot water, working top to bottom.
Use the towels to catch and mop up all that water.
As ice chunks come loose, pull them out. Do NOT force them, only take out loose chunks.
Once the ice is gone, use a towel to mop up any excess water.
Give the whole thing a going over with the blow dryer. Less water left behind means it will take longer to ice up.
Douse the back panel you removed with hot water too. Towel off and blow dry.
Replace back panel (make sure you plug it in!)
Replace shelves and food.
Plug in.
The initial reading will be quite high (you did just blast it with a blow dryer), but should cool pretty quickly.
The whole procedure should take you about an hour. A second pair of hands is always helpful. Good luck!
The problem you seems to have is on the defrost cycle which if fails causes the fan to iced up stopping it from blowing cold air around the fridge hence why the bottom section is the coldest. As for the temperature sensor they can be tested we have had quite a few different engineers out to look at our fridge who all replaced the fan and heater this did not cure the problem when by chance we got hold of an engineer who does work for samsung he came and tested all the compnents and found that the fault all along was the temperature sensor which he replaced over a year now and we have had no further problems. This is their web address if anyone is intrested they are called ags refrigeration.
The problem you seems to have is on the defrost cycle which if fails causes the fan to iced up stopping it from blowing cold air around the fridge hence why the bottom section is the coldest. As for the temperature sensor they can be tested we have had quite a few different engineers out to look at our fridge who all replaced the fan and heater this did not cure the problem when by chance we got hold of an engineer who does work for samsung he came and tested all the compnents and found that the fault all along was the temperature sensor which he replaced over a year now and we have had no further problems. This is their web address if anyone is intrested they are called www.agsrefrigeration.co.uk.
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This is a follow up on a previous 'solution' (# 5 above)) which did not really solve the problem. This one is. After taking off the evaporator coil panels, you will most likely see that they are frozen over. This can be caused by the defrosting units not kicking in, but it is far more likely that the fan motor that distributes air through the fridge is shot. The trick is to take out the panels of both the fridge and the freezer and to exchange the motors (switch the whole motor mounting plate, just move the wiring harness over). If after defrosting the coils with the heater now the fridge works and the freezer starts acting up (or vice versa), you have a bad motor. Order one from www.partstore.com for 36 bucks, model number DA31-00020E and replace the faulty motor. Be careful taking the fan off, take the spring off and push the fan off the shaft with a flat screwdriver otherwise you run the risk of breaking the fan. Here are two pics of the motor and the label on the box.
I have had a serviceman out for this.
Normal function of the fridge is that the refrgerant cools the evaporator coils. There is a fan that blows the air in the fridge past these evaporator coils, cooling the air. As long as air flows fine, there is no issue.
Taking out all the drawers and removing the cover from the evaporator unit at the back of the fridge exposed the evaporator. And there was ice caked up all around it. The ice restricts the airflow greatly, and if the air can't blow across the cool coils then the air can't get cooled and voila, the fridge side doesn't get as cool as it's supposed to.
There is an automatic defroster, so ice shouldn't build up, still trying to figure out why the autodefrost is not working.
Re: Samgsung Fridge RS263BBWP. after i took off the cover (it has 7 screws) i took a hairdryer to the coils. it was the same. a block of ice. the fan that you will discover does not operate when the door is open (as noted above). realizing that i will also be "hairdryer defrosting" when it ices up again i only installed a couple of the mounting screws. i thought it might make it easier in the future. i may re-engineer the draining design like mentioned above, drain tube and all. at least the freezer is ok and i could transfer some of the food over(beer). this is my third fridge in four years (all different makes) nothing is made to last anymore, made in the usa doesnt mean a whole lot (regrettably) when it comes to fridges. "1 year limited warranty"....just look for a good used one through a reputable used appliance store (get 30 days to return) and dont spend more than a few hundred dollars a year on anything. check your local craigslist for a cheap repairman. i found one in the charlotte area $89.99 for almost all repairs. yes its frustrating, at least the newer ones are not as heavy to replace...
Hi,
Many times a freezer and/or refrigerator do not work right because of a dirty condenser coil...there are also many other things that can go wrong.
If you are hearing a clicking or buzzing then check out the last two tips.
If your refrigerator is running but warm, then...
Check out these tips that I wrote about that... it is a great place to start trouble shooting your unit...and something that you can do rather then calling a repair person to do a simple thing for you...
Refrigerator Condenser Coil Cleaning Refrigerator Repair
Refrigerator Troubleshooting Refrigerator Compressor
Refrigerator Compressor Start Capacitor and Start Relay
Refrigerator or Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold
heatman101
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Unplugged the refrigerator for maybe 3 seconds. Plugged back in did not
work. Unplugged again for 10 min -plugged back in and does not come
on. Reading will not come on. Lights are on.
What should I do?
I'm having the same problem, the freezer side cools perfectly, but the refrigerator side won't cool below 48 degrees. I followed the troubleshooting tip by unplugging for 9 minutes, turned it back on and it again won't cool below 48 degrees.
I bought my refrigerator a year ago next week and Samsung is trying to tell me that the manufacturers warranty is expired because the unit was manufactured in July of 2006. I thought the warranty expired a year from the date of purchase...guess it's not really a one year warranty. Good thing I paid for the extended plan from Lowes.
I have the same exact problem. The compressor works fine. The fan on the refridgerator side keeps shutting itself off every minute so it doesn't cool. Anyone know how to fix this?
I'm having the same problem, the freezer side cools perfectly, but the refrigerator side won't cool below 48 degrees. I followed the troubleshooting tip by unplugging for 9 minutes, turned it back on and it again won't cool below 48 degrees.
I bought my refrigerator a year ago next week and Samsung is trying to tell me that the manufacturers warranty is expired because the unit was manufactured in July of 2006. I thought the warranty expired a year from the date of purchase...guess it's not really a one year warranty. Good thing I paid for the extended plan from Lowes.
I'm having the same problem, the freezer side cools perfectly, but the refrigerator side won't cool below 48 degrees. I followed the troubleshooting tip by unplugging for 9 minutes, turned it back on and it again won't cool below 48 degrees.
I bought my refrigerator a year ago next week and Samsung is trying to tell me that the manufacturers warranty is expired because the unit was manufactured in July of 2006. I thought the warranty expired a year from the date of purchase...guess it's not really a one year warranty. Good thing I paid for the extended plan from Lowes.
I have the similar kind of problem with the freezer , there is ice build up that takes place where the motor/fan is and the display starts blinking. The problem started with the refrigerator side today. Good thing I have extended warranty and Best buy is trying to fix it.
The temperature display on the freezer side of our Samsung RS2556 started blinking. I tried setting to a different temperatture but the blinking persisted. I unplugged it for a around 10 minutes then plugged it again. The freezer temperature shot up to 45 degrees. I hit the fast freeze button to see if somehow the freezer temperature will go down.
My samsung RS2556 refrigerator side is not cooling but the freezer is fine. What should I do?
the refrigerator was working when we moved it. now that we have plugged it up again, the light comes on in the fridge but it does not cool could it be possible it lost refrigerant when it was moved from one location to another?
Same problem with my Samsung RS2555sl
samsung side by side fridge freezer led temps will not go back to -18 an 4 switched of for 10 mins but wont go back to factory settings
Same fridge here. In reading all these posts... my issue is that I noticed stuff in fridge was freezing. then, one day, it started getting warm. from 1 extreme too the other. BUT, the outside temp was reporting the 4 (freezer) and 36 (fridge) I had it set at. But clearlym it was not 36.. in testing other peoples methods, I unluggd and replugged and low and behold, it started reporting in the 50's! So, I went to the next trick and tried to do a reset where I pushed the 2 top buttons and held them.. nothing hapened at all. Beeped and just went back to the display that was there. So, I went to the next trick and pulled the insides out and found the freezer side coils were fine but the fridge side coils were covered in ice! So, like others here, I used a heat gun and cleared it all off. Put it all back togther and started it up and all seems fine. But, a few days later I started to notice the temp gauge I put in the fridge was dropping. So, I pulled the fridge side back off to see the coils, and again, ice formations. Not nearly as much, but it was there. So... I went to next solution and flipped the 2 fans that sit in front of the coils (I put the freezer one in the fridge and vice versa) to test and see if I had a faulty fan on the fridge side. So, at this stage.. I have a sneaking feleling these fans are simply not working.. at least not on the fridge side. In the last few days, I am seeing the temps in the fridge drop again. So I 'bet" I will pull off the back and see ice gain.Â
So... is it the fan(s) or is it the board controlling the fan? I am very mechanically inclined and could fix it - if I could order right parts - but I am not sure what part(s) to order or what to try next? Have I missed another test I could do to narrow it down to the PCB motherboard or fans or fan or something else? I bought in 2004 so am in the "5 year parts & labor on Sealed refrigeration system only (compressor, evaporator, condensor, drier, connecting tubing)".. shoudl I just call Samsung?
fridge side is not cooling and I don't hear the fan running any more
Samsung RS2556 - Refrigerator side is not cooling - Freezer is fine. I replaced the Fan motor, sensor, and damper assembly. Two weeks later, same problem.
I got the brushoff talking to Samsung Corporate representative after explaining that this is the fourth time in less than four years the refrigerator has broken down. They apologized for ruining my food. Perhaps we should organize a class action suit. That should get their attention since this refrigerator won engineering and design awards.
I have the same problem and cannot get anyone from Samsung (Boughtout recently) to tell me what parts to check and replace....Please someone post a resolution to this ongoing Defrost problem.
The food in the drawers sometimes is frozen, and we know there is ice on the coils, but we cannot get the cover to the coils off! We've removed all screws, but it stays in place. Any suggestions?
Just recently my samsung fridge has been doing the same. It fluctuates from 38 to about 50. it mostly averages around 46 or 47 degrees. But when I open the door briefly for about 30 seconds to a minute it goes up 3 or 4 degrees. Anybody have an Idea what the problem is?
Do NOT rely upon the displayed temperature because it is sensing behind the inside panel. I bought 2 refrigerator thermometers and found out that the actual temp is much higher. It turns out that the heater coil shorted and it is all iced up behind that panel. Using a blow-dryer will fix the problem for about 3 days.
I have a Frigidare side by side about 6 years old. Model Number FRS23R4AW9.
I haven't verified the coils behind the freezer interior is frozen but probably is. It has happened before and the tech guy just used a heat gun to melt away the build up and replaced what I think was some heater thing.
I have the same problem. Anybody can tell me how to solve this problem? Thanks
Have the same problem.
1. To check your fan, just open the door and hold the white on/off button whch you will find on the upper right side of the door jamb. The fan shuts off when the door is open, so if you press the button and hold it for a few seconds, the fan will come on if it is working. You should hear it start, and stop if you release the button.
2. There are 2 sensors inside the fridge section which deal with the defrost cycle. One is the temp sensor, and the other is the defrost limiter fuse. You need a repairman to check the defrost limiter fuse, but the temp sensor cannot be checked. Both are not too expensive to repace ($15.00 each cdn. approx)
3. If the fan is working, and the sensors are ok or replaced, it pretty much leaves the main circuit as the culprit. It also cannot be tested by the repairman, and so must be replaced (about #135.00 cdn)
4. I do not have a drain hole problem, and my fan has never stopped working....the reason the fridge will stay at 45 - 50 degrees fah is that the fan is blowing air over the iced up coils and into the fridge. You will find that the lower part the fridge is the coolest, because that's closest to the iced up coils.
While under warranty, I have replaced one defrost sensor, one main circuit board, and one temp sensor over the course of 5 weeks. The fridge worked properly for 1 1/2 years, and now I've had all those parts replaced again, at a cost of $430.00 cdn with labour. To save a bit of labour cost, I deiced the coils myself (yesterday) after the repairman replaced the main circuit board. I am currently waiting to see if this will last. As in most of the above posts, it takes about 2 weeks for the coils to ice up if the defrost cycle is not working - so I'm waiting.
RRRhodes, Do you have any pics or can you explain a little more about where exactly you drilled the holes to let the water escape without freezing? This is in regards to Solution #9.
freezer works great but frigerator only cools down to 54 degrees. i own a samsung side by side
The temp controls should show -2 and 38. The code FO (no degree sign or farenheit sign)I reset the temps and within 5 seconds it is back to the FO code. I have only had this unit 6 weeks. It has been fine up until now. I also unplugged it for a minute or two to see if it would reset itself. That didn't work. I have no idea what to do and I can't get a repairman here for 3-4 days. What should I do?
Thank You so much for your time.
Linda Wilkin
i buy non working refrigerators samsung in california if anyone wants to sell theirs
i buy non working samsungs if anyone wants to sell in california
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