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Samsung fridges are “notorious” for having problems with Twin Cooling Plus technology, along with evaporator fan and compressor failure.
But the main reason why Samsung fridge is not cooling PROPERLY, in most cases caused by ice or frost build-up that restricts air circulation in the fresh food compartment. This build-up, on the other hand, can be caused by a defective defrost heater, clogged drain line, failed defrost thermostat, bad evaporator fan, or defective defrost temperature sensor.
The other reason why Samsung refrigerator is not cooling AT ALL in both freezer and fresh food compartments is caused by a failed compressor inverter board, a bad compressor, a refrigerant leak in the sealed system, or a restricted drier filter.
If Not Cooling Properly, But Freezer Works.
The evaporator coils are frosted over:
When the evaporator coils get covered with frost, the evaporator fan is unable to circulate cold air within the fridge due to blockage, and the fridge will not cool. This problem is related to failed defrost cycle.
Sometimes, the problem can be solved by replacing the defrost temperature sensor (but it does not always fix the problem)
There are actually 2 identical temperature sensors. But you will need one with the white connector on the right side of the fridge.
If you see ice build-up on the back wall in the vent holes, where it says “Twin Cooling” of your fridge or maybe you hear noise coming from the fridge, but when you open the door noise is just gone? That means you have an issue with condensation which accumulates behind that panel and eventually becomes frost or even ice chunks.
In case there is an issue with proper drainage (drain is fully or partially clogged) during Defrost Cycle, you will have standing water at the bottom.
Standing water evaporates and condensates at the top section of the Twin Cooling Panel, causing the evaporator fan to ice up.
This problem also refers to, when you have water in or under the crisper drawers and your Samsung fridge starts to leak because the drain line is clogged and water is overflowing.
In this case, you need Drain Repair Kit below, and here is the video of what you need to fix these issues permanently.
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Evaporator fan frosted over:
Some people may complain about “Why Samsung fridge fan not working?” The main purpose of the fan is to circulate the cold air in the fridge.
But when your Samsung fridge not cooling, one of the reasons for that is that your evaporator fan is blocked by ice.
You need to check your evaporator fan to make sure it’s working or not.
If you have a french-door refrigerator, close the left door and put an ordinary magnet on the right side of the fridge to simulate the right door closing.
After a couple of seconds, the evaporator fan should start spinning.
If you don’t hear the fan running, most likely fan blades are blocked by ice, or the fan is burnt.
Defective or Weak Defrost heater :
Under normal circumstances, the defrost heater assembly (you can get one here) is responsible for defrosting any frost that has been formed on the evaporator coils in the refrigerator, whose function is to allow cold air to freely flow thereby leading to the freezer cooling.
However, when the defrost heater assembly is not functioning accordingly, excess frost will build upon the evaporator coils, as a result, the airflow will be restricted, which will result in the fridge not cooling.
A defective thermistor or temperature sensor:
When working properly this component keeps in check the temperature of the refrigerator and transmits the information on the temperature reading to the control board so that appropriate power can be supplied to the evaporator fan as well as the compressor for effective cooling in return.
But when the thermistor is defective both the compressor and the evaporator fan may not work properly.
Defrost thermostat failure:
This component allows the power to flow to the heater.
When it failed, power will not flow and the heater will not be able to heat up and melt ice or frost which may build up on the evaporator coils.
How To Activate Forced Defrost Mode?
Apart from replacing any components found defective, the following actions can be taken to fix the inability of the fridge to cool.
In most cases, the inability of the Samsung fridge to cool is a result of excess ice frosting over the evaporating coils as well as the fan.
Therefore, one can easily initiate a FORCED DEFROST mode by pressing FREEZER and LIGHTING or ENERGY SAVER and FRIDGE buttons at the same time for 8 seconds.
Once you will hear one chime sound, press the LIGHTING button several times after that, until you will see Fd on the display.
This action activates the defrost element and melts the ice.
To exit the Forced Defrost mode you can simply unplug the power from the wall or wait 20 minutes till forced defrosting will be done.
In a nutshell, Samsung fridge inability to cool is one of the most inconveniencing challenges faced with the brand.
Among the notable causes include the malfunctioning of various components that work together as a team to bring about cooling in a freezer, such as a compressor, defrost control board and evaporator coils among others.
Rather, this is something one can be fixed by simply making diagnostic tests on the components suspected to be defective, such as the ones mentioned above and have them replaced or even repaired where possible.
Therefore, don’t let the Samsung fridge not cooling give you a headache when there is something you can do about it to bring back that peaceful mind and the beauty of the fridge.
Possible Cooling Problem Solution – DIY Heater
This DIY secondary heater may help to evenly distribute heat to defrost ice build-ups in the upper section of the evaporator coil and thus providing proper airflow and proper cooling temperature all the time.
If Freezer And Fridge Not Cooling At All
Compressor Inverter Board Failed
This part of the fridge is responsible for sending power to the compressor when its needed. Compressor inverter board can regulate revolutions of the compressor and thus provide more or less cold, depends on the situation.
If this board failed, power will not flow to the compressor and there will be no cold at all in the freezer or the fridge.
In order to troubleshoot this problem, you have to be familiar with using of multimeter and checking power on the input and output of the inverter board.
Compressor Malfunctioned
If the compressor is getting power and maybe even humming, but not producing cold, this is one of the reasons when the compressor is lost efficiency or failed either mechanically or electrically.
Refrigerant Leak In The Sealed System
This issue is common not only for Samsung refrigerators but can be applied to any other refrigerators on the market.
A sealed system is where the refrigerant circulating from the compressor to the evaporator coils and back. This system contains lots of copper or aluminum tubes.
When one of the tubes has developed a tiny hole, it will create a leak and the refrigerant in the system will escape and evaporates eventually.
Restricted Drier Filter
This problem is not new to the Samsung refrigerator. From my experience as a Appliance repair technician, I have seen this many times.
The drier filter serves to filter moisture, dirt from the compressor. When its clogged by any of these particles, it will restrict refrigerant flow in the system and thus compressor will not be able to push or pump refrigerant.
Service Troubleshooting Manual PDF
RF28HDEDBSR Service Manual
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is My Brand New Samsung Fridge Not Cooling?
One of the reasons is that your new fridge still in DEMO MODE. If you see on the display that says o FF or oF oF, that means your fridge still in the DEMO MODE.
In order to deactivate DEMO MODE, press and hold FREEZER and ALARM buttons until you hear a chime. If this combination of buttons will not work, try to press and hold FREEZER, ALARM, and FRIDGE buttons until you hear a chime.
If everything above is checked OK, that means you didn’t give the fridge enough time to cool.
If you have a new Samsung Family Hub Fridge and it still not cooling, you might need to activate Cooling Mode in the fridge settings.
How Long Does It Take For A New Samsung Fridge To Get Cold?
To get cold to a temperature of 0F for the freezer and 36F for the fridge compartments, a brand new Samsung Fridge requires at least 2-4 hours before you can put food in it.
Why Is my Fridge Not Cooling and Making Noise?
Most likely it caused by the ice build-up blocking or touching the evaporator fan blades, that’s why fan is making noise and may slow down air circulation. But If you open the fridge section door and this noise goes away, it is 100% related to the ice accumulation behind the TWIN COOLING panel.
Why Is My Fridge Not Cooling After Power Outage?
There are several problems that can happen with your fridge when you had a power outage. One of them is the problem related to the main control board or inverter board which supplies power to the compressor.
You can try to reset power by unplugging the fridge for 5 minutes. But if your fridge will not start cooling in 10 minutes after that, you can start troubleshooting this issue further by yourself or rather call a service company to do this job for you.
Affected Models
Contact Samsung Care Pro 8 AM – 12 AM EST, 7 days a week.
Dial 1-800-SAMSUNG (726-7864)
RF268ABBP RF268ABPN RF268ABRS RF268ABWP RFG298AABP RFG298AAPN RFG298AAWP RF268ABBPXAA RF268ABPNXAA RF268ABRSXAA RF268ABWPXAA RFG298AABPXA RFG298AAPNXA RFG298AARSXA RFG298AAWPXA RS267LABP RS267LASH RS269LARS RS2777SL RS2630SHXAA RS2630WWXAA RFG298AARS RB1844SLXAA RB1844SWXAA RB1855BBXAA RB1855SLXAA RB1855SWXAA RB1855VQXAA RB1944SLXAA RB1955SHXAA RB1955SWXAA RB1955VQXAA RB195BSBBXAA RB195BSSBXAA RB195BSSWXAA RB195BSVQXAA RB2044SLXAA RB2044SWXAA RB2055BBXAA RB2055SLXAA RB2055SWXAA RB2155BBXAA RB2155SHXAA RB2155SWXAA RB215BSBBXAA RB215BSSBXAA RB215BSSWXAA RB215LABPXAA RB215LASHXAA RF197ACBPXAA RF197ACPNXAA RF197ACRSXAA RF197ACWPXAA RF217ABWPXAA RF217ACBPXAA RF217ACPNXAA RF217ACRSXAA RF217ACWPXAA RF263AEBPXAA RF263AEPNXAA RF263AERSXAA RF263AEWPXAA RF265AABPXAA RF265AARSXAA RF265AASHXAA RF265AAWPXAA RF265ABBPXAA RF265ABPNXAA RF265ABWPXAA RF266AABPXAA RF266AARSXAA RF266AASHXAA RF266AAWPXAA RF266ABBPXAA RF266ABRSXAA RF266ABWPXAA RF266AEBPXAA RF266AEPNXAA RF266AERSXAA RF266AEWPXAA RF267AABPXAA RF267AARSXAA RF267AASHXAA RF267AAWPXAA RF267ABBPXAA RF267ABPNXAA RF267ABRSXAA RF267ABWPXAA RF267AEBPXAA RF267AEPNXAA RF267AERSXAA RF267AEWPXAA RF267AZBPXAA RF267AZPNXAA RF267AZRSXAA RF267AZWPXAA RF26VABBPXAA RF26VABPNXAA RF26VABWPXAA RF26VACBPXAA
Where can I find “Samsung Fridge Secondary DIY Heater” kit as described above? Looking for kit with high temperature zip ties, splicers, and heater.
Hello, I have a Samsung RF261BEAESR/AA06 the freezer has quit working. The fridge still works fine. I have pulled the panel in the freezer there is no ice build up actually the coils are barely cold to the touch. I’ve replaced the temp sensor. The red light on the board is lit and solid no blinks. Powered it on and off a dozen times left of off for an hour plugged back in still same results. Crap fan turns on and runs fine cleaned coils on back with canned air. just doesn’t make sense that the fridge works but freezers dead. I can not find a diagram or know what to go after next. I’m assuming some sort of switch rely but I’m not sure that’s a replaceable part as looks like everything is soldered in. What can I check next. Really don’t want to throw parts at it and hope if I can help it. Thanks in advance.
Hey Brandan,
What was the fix for your issue? I have same problem. Appreciate your feed back. Thanks.
Hello,
Thank you for the video. I would like to try to put my Samsung into forced mode. I have a RF23HCEDBSR/aa. Do you happen to know the combo of buttons to do that?
Thank you!
Hello, i believe, for your model, FREEZER and FRIDGE buttons you need to press simultaneously until you hear a chime
very good sight so far. my samsung fridge RF28HMEDBRS condenser motor seized up, installed new motor, still doesnt work. shows it is only getting 1.66 volts. what do i do now or what could be the problem. have reset ,holding the power freeze and power cool buttons !!
I have a Samsung SR400LSTC that’s 4.5 years old that has stopped freezing and cooling it just blows room temperature air. Samsung will not do anything about it, it’s the last time I will buy a Samsung product. I had a LG that that lasted 14 years I was a mug to change.
I have the Model RF25HMEDBSG/AA Samsung refrigerator cooling issue now 55 degrees in the refrigerator. The unit is 5 years old. I want to remove the unit from my house and buy new similar Samsung 4 door unit. But I am hesitant to do so.
Does any one know for sure if the new Model RF25HMIDBSR refrigerator has new improved cooling change engineered in this current Model?
Thank you,
Ron
I have a RF260BEAESR Samsung French door refrigerator. The freezer works fine but the refrigerator was making some weird noises, now it will only go to 50 degrees. Any idea how to fix? Repair guy is very far from us.
I am having the same issue. Did you by chance get it resolved?