Samsung Refrigerator RFG297AARS - Ice maker

[mmking31]

Model Number

RFG297AARS

Brand

Samsung

Age

More than 10 years

12 year old unit, I replaced the ice maker a few years back.

The ice tray has a big mass of cubes stuck together. Clearly liquid water is entering the tray at some point and is then freezing. Some of the cubes are irregular or hollow.

Things I have done:
Cleared out/cleaned/defrosted the ice house (tray, ice maker, motor unit behind ice maker) - there was no meaningful build up on anything.
Verified that the water inlet tube above the ice maker is clear.
Put a thermometer in the frig and freezer - it was at the expected temperature, though it took longer than I would have thought to get to the expected temp for the freezer.
I opened up the panel at the rear of the freezer interior and verified that the two fans are working. There was no frost build up.
Attached is a picture of the back interior of the freezer - I would guess it took me about 15 - 20 minutes to get to it once I turned the frig off -this picture was taken at that point. I kind of expected it to be more frosty.

I was thinking my next step would be to move the unit so I can get to the back. Are there some coils back there which could use some servicing? I am wondering if I just do not have sufficient cooling to maintain the ice maker.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Jake]

Hi,

What is the real temperature of the freezer with a freezer thermometer in it after 2 hours?

If you don't have freezer thermometer you can get the RED Liquid or digital freezer thermometer. Walmart, Target sells them usually at about 10 dollars and they last a lifetime. The temperature needs to be 10 degrees F or lower at all times for the ice maker to work properly.

Have you cleaned the condenser coil? On some models its underneath the refrigerator, some models in the back of the refrigerator, once you pull the refrig out from the wall, remove the lower back access panel and see, also make sure the condenser fan motor is running, it mounts next to the compressor.

The frost pattern of your evaporator coil should like the bottom photo below:

 

[mmking31]

The Frig is set to 38 and the freezer is set to -2. Actual readings from the frig 40-45. Actual reading from the freezer is about 8 degrees.

The coils in the back are not clean, but they don't look that bad. I will clean them the best I can before I put things back together. - See attached picture for the "before" shot.

The PCB board has a red LED which is not lit (not on and not blinking) - See attached picture of PCB board.

I have not seen the condenser fan run yet - not sure how often it runs. The condenser itself is hot to the touch.

I unplugged it and plugged it back in, no changes, no fan activity, no red LED on the PCB.

Thank you. Any thoughts/help would again be appreciated.

 

[mmking31]

OK, strangest thing. I stepped away for a few minutes - looking for a multi-meter to see if any power was going to the fan, and when I come back - the compressor and the compressor fan is running. Also, there is a red light on the PCB board - which is what I was expecting from the get go. Does this mean I should replace the PCB?

 

[Jake]

Actual readings from the frig 40-45. Actual reading from the freezer is about 8 degrees.

Those temps are too warm, freezer should be at 0 degrees F and refrigerator should be at 37 degrees F.

How long was the compressor and fans OFF before they came back on again?

Jake

 

[mmking31]

Thank you for your help.
Right! It seems like the compressor is only intermittently working.

I would guess that the compressor, the compressor fan, and the light on the PCB were off for 10-20 minutes before it came back on.
After that, it seemed like the compressor was on for quite a while - I went to bed. and it was on in the morning.

hoping for an easier fix, I ordered a new PCB off Ebay. Will take a week or so to arrive.

Given the information provided does that seem like a likely fix?

 

[Jake]

In my opinion no, because your temps are NOT cooling properly even when it runs a long time and that indicates a problem in the sealed system.

The average life of refrigerators is only 8-12 years now.

Jake

 

[mmking31]

Hi Jake,

Thank you for your help on this. I will try the new inverter board - as it is already ordered, but perhaps the timing is right to make use of a 4th of July sale!

 

[Jake]

No, what I'm saying is, if the compressor and fans are running at all times and its still not getting to 0 degrees F then you have a sealed system problem, not a board problem.

Jake