Issue with Samsung Refrigerator

[UsandThem]

When you say the bottom back cover, is it one similar to what I posted pics of above?

And was it those gray tubes I am talking about or am I talking about the wrong stuff?

Yes, like the area in the last pic in post #21.

It was on the right side I believe it was in this area (although I don't think my drain tube wasn't as large):

 

[UsandThem]

Looking at it again, I think it was closer to the right. It's been about 5 years since I've done it, and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be.

 

[purbeast0]

Both of what you highlighted are 2 separate tubes both looking like they do the same thing. I cleaned out both of those.

So hopefully once I thaw everything out, this might just fix the entire issue.

 

[BoomerD]

I have a french door Samsung fridge with the freezer on the bottom.

I have had a problem multiple times with it where ice builds up behind the condensor or something in the back of the fridge part behind the plastic, and in turn makes it so every time the fan spins it makes a loud humming noise that gets worse and worse. And then with that comes water dripping down into the bottom of the freezer where that builds up under the freezer drawer.

The first time this happened I unplugged my fridge for like 24 hours and let it all thaw out and had a puddle of water at the bottom of the freezer after I had already cracked and taken out all of ice before thawing. After plugging it back in and it cooling, everything seemed back to normal.

Well that was probably in like early 2019.

Then this past winter it happened again.

Then in early July it happened again and I did the same process again.

Well like 2 weeks ago I noticed ice build up below my freezer yet again and I broke it and removed all of it, but the issue is still happening where now the fan is making all this noise so I know there is ice buildup behind it.

Does anyone know what I can do to actually fix the issue? Is there just a part I can replace and this will be fixed? When I first fixed this problem I took the back panel of my fridge off and saw the part with ice stuck to it but since then I haven't done that and just unplug it and let it thaw. But something has to be causing this issue from the root of the problem.

I'm sick of having to thaw it out and every time I have to fill coolers overnight with ice and frozen stuff and it's just a pain the ass. I'd like to not purchase a whole new fridge at this point either.

Anyone have suggestions?

I've been battling with the same issue. Also Samsung french door.
So far, I've replaced the defrost heater, circulation fan and both sensors, I've added a solid copper wire to the defrost heater that's supposed to help keep the defrost drain from freezing up, and modified the "duck bills" where both drain lines exit the cabinet. After 3 weeks...same shit...freezing up again. Looks like the next thing to get replaced is the fridge. Sucks to have to replace a 5 year old fridge because of shitty build quality...but this seems to be a VERY COMMON Samsung issue.
No more for me.

 

[purbeast0]

I've been battling with the same issue. Also Samsung french door.
So far, I've replaced the defrost heater, circulation fan and both sensors, I've added a solid copper wire to the defrost heater that's supposed to help keep the defrost drain from freezing up, and modified the "duck bills" where both drain lines exit the cabinet. After 3 weeks...same shit...freezing up again. Looks like the next thing to get replaced is the fridge. Sucks to have to replace a 5 year old fridge because of shitty build quality...but this seems to be a VERY COMMON Samsung issue.
No more for me.

Well I have to say since I cleaned out the tubes going to the drain, I have had no issues. The loud fan noise has completely disappeared and my ice seems to be making just fine now. And I never thawed out the fridge at all so I don't, maybe my lines were not frozen shut just yet and maybe it was just backed up with water, and once I fixed the drain, it could be pushed out to the drain and then evaporated?

I had planned on unplugging it for a night last weekend and even borrowed my brother's Yeti cooler but I just have had zero issues since then so I don't want to unthaw everything for no reason at this point.

 

[BoomerD]

Well I have to say since I cleaned out the tubes going to the drain, I have had no issues. The loud fan noise has completely disappeared and my ice seems to be making just fine now. And I never thawed out the fridge at all so I don't, maybe my lines were not frozen shut just yet and maybe it was just backed up with water, and once I fixed the drain, it could be pushed out to the drain and then evaporated?

I had planned on unplugging it for a night last weekend and even borrowed my brother's Yeti cooler but I just have had zero issues since then so I don't want to unthaw everything for no reason at this point.

The clogging of the drain tubes is caused by the "duck bills" being just a bit too tight. There are replacements available that are supposed to fix the problem...or, you can just cut a small "Vee" notch in the rubber.

 

[purbeast0]

The clogging of the drain tubes is caused by the "duck bills" being just a bit too tight. There are replacements available that are supposed to fix the problem...or, you can just cut a small "Vee" notch in the rubber.

Yep those are what I unclogged. One of them was kind of stuck on one side and I pulled it apart.

The other one wasn't stuck but just had all this red gunk in there clogging it up so nothing could drip through.

 

[BoomerD]

Damn, this COVID crap has really screwed up the supply lines for everything. We decided that rather than continue to fight this Samsung POS fridge, we'd just replace it. MOST models are OOS everywhere...with estimated delivery dates of Thanksgiving...or later. Finally found a Kitchenaid that I think will work...it's gonna be a tight fit...(maybe a bit of KY or Vaseline?)
Not sure what I'm going to do with the Samsung. MIGHT just keep it and try again to fix the defrost problem and use it as a garage fridge.

 

[rsutoratosu]

Looking for Updates on the Samsung Ice Maker Lawsuit? Here’s Everything We Know.

Certain models of French-door Samsung refrigerators come with built-in ice makers. A proposed class action lawsuit filed back in February 2017 alleges these ice makers are defective and have caused substantial problems for consumers.

www.classaction.org

Are you guys part of the class action ? I haven't check for updates but mine was doing the same thing but I had extended warranty, I just keep having the guy come out.. They said its common with the Samsung french door. Lately I see water coming out random places, need to trace it

 

[BoomerD]

Looking for Updates on the Samsung Ice Maker Lawsuit? Here’s Everything We Know.

Certain models of French-door Samsung refrigerators come with built-in ice makers. A proposed class action lawsuit filed back in February 2017 alleges these ice makers are defective and have caused substantial problems for consumers.

www.classaction.org

Are you guys part of the class action ? I haven't check for updates but mine was doing the same thing but I had extended warranty, I just keep having the guy come out.. They said its common with the Samsung french door. Lately I see water coming out random places, need to trace it

Most likely, it's the same issue...defrost drain plugged up.

 

[mindless1]

One thing you "might' be able to do is disconnect the defroster heater, then it's not making water that needs to drain out, but then you have frost buildup to manually defrost it, OR hook the defroster heater back up to only defrost on a schedule when you're available to siphon out water or check the drain to be sure it's clear.

That can also save power and keep the edges of frozen food from getting as much freezer burn.

 

[BoomerD]

One thing you "might' be able to do is disconnect the defroster heater, then it's not making water that needs to drain out, but then you have frost buildup to manually defrost it, OR hook the defroster heater back up to only defrost on a schedule when you're available to siphon out water or check the drain to be sure it's clear.

That can also save power and keep the edges of frozen food from getting as much freezer burn.

unfortunately, you have to take everything out of the fridge, spend several hours...to a couple of days...getting the built-up ice to thaw enough so you can remove the inside panel that covers the defrost heater without destroying it.

 

[mindless1]

^ The video shows taking that interior panel off to get to the heater, but I was not suggesting to remove it (heater element itself), rather to disconnect (or put a switch in series for) the wire powering it which might be possible from behind the unit leading up to the connector block.

 

[BoomerD]

^ The video shows taking that interior panel off to get to the heater, but I was not suggesting to remove it (heater element itself), rather to disconnect (or put a switch in series for) the wire powering it which might be possible from behind the unit leading up to the connector block.

Removing that panel doesn't remove the heater element, only the circulation fan. Once the ice builds up behind that panel, there's no removing the panel without defrosting the fridge...the ice will rip the Styrofoam liner to bits if you don't.

 

[mindless1]

^ I may be misunderstanding the situation. I was only suggesting to disconnect the defrost heater to avoid water production that pools at the bottom and causes icing there.

If you are stating that there is ice buildup behind that panel WITH the defroster element connected (is it working???) that is a different problem and worth investigating whether power is getting to the defrost heater element when it should be defrosting.

If you have ice buildup behind that panel, I'd have to assume you either have a power delivery problem or you have to get the panel off after defrosting anyway because the heater itself has failed.

 

[BoomerD]

^ I may be misunderstanding the situation. I was only suggesting to disconnect the defrost heater to avoid water production that pools at the bottom and causes icing there.

If you are stating that there is ice buildup behind that panel WITH the defroster element connected (is it working???) that is a different problem and worth investigating whether power is getting to the defrost heater element when it should be defrosting.

If you have ice buildup behind that panel, I'd have to assume you either have a power delivery problem or you have to get the panel off after defrosting anyway because the heater itself has failed.

I've replaced the heater...just in case it had failed. At this point, all that's left to replace is a control board...buried somewhere deep in the bowels of the fridge.
Basically what seems to happen is the drain that allows the defrosted water to exit to the drain pan freezes up. There's a "fix" that involves wrapping a piece of solid copper wire around the bottom of the defrost heater and sticking it as far as possible into the drain...which I've done. Didn't help.

 

[mindless1]

If the heater failed, that would solve all this... as would disconnecting it, if you call it a solution to have to manually defrost it. If the control board isn't cycling the heater on, no water production, correct? If it is, then it seems to be working? Without owning the fridge, it seems more like the drain is poorly designed and may have built up some residue (fugus) that slows water flow too much, assuming it did not have this problem when new?

There is only so much alteration to a bad design that you can do, since it seems this is something that happens without a specific failure?

There are some film type heating elements that you could strategically place to run in parallel to the defrost heater (mounted to sheet aluminum if heat density is too high), but that's quite an experiment to do with one's primary source of cold food storage.

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[NutBucket]

So dumb question but what is temperature is the fridge? Not what it is set to but what's the actual temp?

We had a similar issue with a communal fridge at work. Turns out the solution was turning up the temperature a few degrees. Someone had set it to max cold because that's how they like their sodas. It hasn't frozen in many years since then.

 

[mindless1]

^ Good point, though I'd want many measurements before deciding on the best temperature. Some studies I saw suggest that going from 33F to 40F, just about triples the bacterial spoilage rate.

 

[NutBucket]

I'm not saying you should go above recommended temps. Just make sure it isn't too cold. Nobody likes chunks in their milk!

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

See the following service bulletin from Samsung. Does this relate to your situation?

https://f01.justanswer.com/smitty1486/8c26b8bb-20a0-415c-8555-9096c13bddaf_RF28HDEDTSR_FF_Not_Cooling_Well-Leaking_Water.pdf

 

[mindless1]

I'm not saying you should go above recommended temps. Just make sure it isn't too cold. Nobody likes chunks in their milk!

I know someone who leaves a little milk in her mug then freezes it so the next glass of milk is that much colder. It's not what I'd do, but I call fooey on people who think leftovers go bad in 48 hrs when a little colder frige could triple that.

 

[BoomerD]

See the following service bulletin from Samsung. Does this relate to your situation?

https://f01.justanswer.com/smitty1486/8c26b8bb-20a0-415c-8555-9096c13bddaf_RF28HDEDTSR_FF_Not_Cooling_Well-Leaking_Water.pdf

It does indeed...and is exactly what we've been talking about. Purbeast did the cleaning of the duckbill in the drain tubes and apparently had some success. I didn't have any gunk in mine, but still "modified" them by clipping a small "vee" in the center which is one of the non-samsung recommended fixes...I also replaced the entire defrost heater, both sensors, and the fan. "Repair" lasted about 3 weeks.
Not my problem any longer. Lowes delivered a new Kitchenaid fridge yesterday and hauled the POS Samsung away...which is kind of a shame, because when it worked right, it was a damned good fridge...unfortunately, for the past 6 months, it's been just one headache after another.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

It does indeed...and is exactly what we've been talking about. Purbeast did the cleaning of the duckbill in the drain tubes and apparently had some success. I didn't have any gunk in mine, but still "modified" them by clipping a small "vee" in the center which is one of the non-samsung recommended fixes...I also replaced the entire defrost heater, both sensors, and the fan. "Repair" lasted about 3 weeks.
Not my problem any longer. Lowes delivered a new Kitchenaid fridge yesterday and hauled the POS Samsung away...which is kind of a shame, because when it worked right, it was a damned good fridge...unfortunately, for the past 6 months, it's been just one headache after another.

I did the service bulletin as well - but I'm still getting the same problem. I am honestly worried that when I did it that I didn't give it enough ample time for it to COMPLETELY unfreeze everything that was internal that I couldn't see. I'm planning to do a defrost one of these days after we are able to clear out everything in the freezer for once.

Yeah suffice it to say, if this problem keeps up I'll be replacing it as well. Not sure what brand to go with, because I've heard some horror stories all around for the french-door styles.

 

[BoomerD]

I did the service bulletin as well - but I'm still getting the same problem. I am honestly worried that when I did it that I didn't give it enough ample time for it to COMPLETELY unfreeze everything that was internal that I couldn't see. I'm planning to do a defrost one of these days after we are able to clear out everything in the freezer for once.

Yeah suffice it to say, if this problem keeps up I'll be replacing it as well. Not sure what brand to go with, because I've heard some horror stories all around for the french-door styles.

Hot water and a good "turkey baster" can help thaw the defrost drain tube...there's a slightlylonger aluminum "clip" that sticks into the drain that's supposed to help...but it's only a tiny it longer. The repair shops all have recommended using a piece of solid copper wire stuck as far into the drain as possible, then wrapped several times around the heater to transfer heat down the drain...which is SUPPOSED to help keep it thawed. Didn't seem to help in my case. It's entirely possible that the pc board that conteols the defrost cycle failed...I'll never know.