FIXED Samsung RF28HMEDBSR Main Refrigerator Compartment Rarely Gets Below 40 deg F

[anthony185]

Model Number

RF28HMEDBSR

Brand

Samsung

Age

6-10 years

I have been battling this for months, hoping for some ideas--

Symptoms:
Fridge temp set to 34 deg, temp display on door reads 34 deg, actual internal temp of main compartment (as read by 2 digital thermometers in various locations) typically between 40 and 48 deg even after doors have not been opened for hours. This morning when I got out of bed, door temp read 34, actual internal temp was 46. Freezer and food drawer are fine, actual temp of -2 & 36 respectively. Every now and then main compartment will hit 38, but rarely.

Should not the temp displayed on the door (after the fridge has not been touched for hrs) be pretty close to the actual temp? After powering down to replace components (see below), I set the temp for 34. The temp as displayed on door will then reflect the actual temp--i.e. 60s' after I have had the fridge off, then I will watch it step down through the 50s', 40s', all the way to 34. At the same time, the actual temp as read on digital thermometers will never get below 40. Once the reading on my door hits 34, I can reopen the doors, leave it open for several minutes and the door reading will still say 34--it will never move again. Is this not the problem?

What it does NOT appear to be:
-I have removed main evaporator panel a few times, no excessive ice build-up on coils or around fan, so I am thinking it is not defroster and/or defrost sensor.
-I checked the fan & main temp sensor (the one inside the panel cover) and they checked ok, BUT, I replaced anyway since I was not sure how efficiently the fan might have been working being close to 10 y/o. I checked the sensor by ohming
it out at room temp, and in ice water. Readings were consistent with Samsung's published figures. I replaced it anyway, just because I already had the panel taken apart, and because of what I was seeing with the door temp always reading 34.
-all door seals appear fine, no cracks or obvious problems, proper clearances around fridge. Again, the issue is NOT opening the doors too much as the temp is often in the high 40s' 1st thing in the a.m. after being shut several hrs.
-no excessive heat or sunlight; it was 60 this morning when the main compartment was reading 46 after sitting all night.

 

[Jake]

Should not the temp displayed on the door (after the fridge has not been touched for hrs) be pretty close to the actual temp?

Correct.

Here's the parts diagram for your model:

Parts for Samsung RF28HMEDBSR/AA-01: Refrigerator Parts - AppliancePartsPros.com

Parts for Samsung RF28HMEDBSR/AA-01: Refrigerator Parts in stock and ready to ship today. 365 days to return any part.

click.linksynergy.com

You have two temperature sensors in the refrigerator section, 5-1 and 6-1 in the parts diagram.

5-1 is this one: DA32-10104N

6-1 is this one: DA32-00011D

Which one did you replace?

Jake

 

[anthony185]

Hi,
I replaced DA32-00011D (6-1) The way I understood it was that this one was the temp sensor that regulated the temp in the main food compartment, and the other one (DA32-10104N) controlled the defrost. Since I didn't appear to be icing up, I (maybe wrongly) assumed -00011D was more likely to be the issue.

Is it normal for the door temp reading to be so far off and so non-responsive on these things as I described in my original post? (even when doors are left open for several minutes it still reads 34 degrees--which is the temp I set it for) It seems like that could certainly cause what I'm seeing. Never having been around another similar Samsung fridge--I'm not sure if maybe the door temp reading is always just hoaky on these things, and my problem is something with the refrigerator's ability to cool rather than sensing the wrong temp?

Here's a link to a quick video:

IMG_2926.MOV

MOV File

1drv.ms

Starting temp on the digital thermometer is with the refrigerator set for 34 deg, and doors not being open for at least 6 hrs. I only left the doors open a few seconds here, just to keep vid short--but I could have left them open for several minutes and the door temp would still read 34. I'm guessing door reading might never be quite as responsive as a digital thermometer, but it NEVER goes up (unless fridge is powered down and allowed to come to room temp, then, when powered on, it will begin reading down from room temp--once it hits 34--or wherever fridge temp is set--it never goes up again under normal conditions )

 

[anthony185]

Oops, sorry. I didn't see in your original response where you replied directly to my question about "Should not the temp displayed on the door (after the fridge has not been touched for hrs) be pretty close to the actual temp?" I didn't mean to beat a dead horse there with my response and the vid. So yeah, I replaced DA32-00011D, and the door temp reading & fridge is still behaving as I described.

 

[Jake]

No worries.

Did you ohm test 5-1 this one: DA32-10104N

Rick posted the resistance/temperature chart here:

FIXED - RF28HFEDTSR/AA - Temp on screen says 80 degrees and freezing fresh food

I have a Samsung RF28HFEDTSR/AA. The display shows 80 degrees when it comes on for fresh, and displays accurately for freezer side. I replaced the sensor that is located behind the back panel of refrigerator section. (this was the part I used: DA32-10104N SENSOR TEMP ) That did not resolve the...

www.applianceblog.com

Jake

 

[anthony185]

Hi Jake,

Nope, I did not ohm that one out or replace it.

Now I may have this completely wrong (probably do!) but, assuming my external temp always being too low is likely a symptom of my problem (which it sounds like it is) can that sensor (-10104N) even cause that?

I noticed that sensor was connected directly to the evaporator coil (or heater, forget which now). I assumed the sensor I replaced was the main thermistor for the food compartment which monitors and reports the temp, and -10104N controls when the defrost heater comes on/off. I had no icing up or anything like that, and if the heater was just stuck on or coming on too often (or something crazy) wouldn't my external display show the compartment as too warm? (if working correctly)

Maybe it's not as clear-cut as that, and there is some interplay between those two sensors? Do you know, IS thermistor -00011D in fact the sensor which the external display uses to report the temp? Also, the sensors must output somewhere 1st--to a motherboard or something? Can it be possible that my sensor(s) are fine, but whatever electronics that convert that output to a temperature is messing up? Have you ever seen that?

But yeah, if you are thinking it is still possible for that other sensor -10104N to cause what I am seeing, I can rip it apart again and try ohming it out and/or replacing it. I'm sure it's cheaper than a motherboard! haha.

Thanks for the help,
Anthony

p.s. I have noticed that when I go to Power Cool, I can get the actual temp (as per my digital thermometer) to 36 - 38 deg, and my external display goes down to 29. Not sure how long it's wise to leave it in that mode, but I have been doing it several times a day for like 30 min. At least it keeps my food from spoiling. So very odd, my front display temp is consistently like 7 - 10 deg too low, and it will go lower than 34 deg (still with the 7 - 10 deg diff), but NEVER higher than 34 deg, unless the fridge is turned off a starts from room temp.

 

[Jake]

Those are good questions Antony, but I don't have those answers as I rarely work on Samsung appliances in the field.

Hopefully another tech that works on Samsung refrigerators "day in and day out" can answer that for.

Here's the service manual for your model: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19vxtD6anfrds72r-uePO6_hXbfnlOkdm/view?usp=sharing

But yeah, if you are thinking it is still possible for that other sensor -10104N to cause what I am seeing, I can rip it apart again and try ohming it out and/or replacing it. I'm sure it's cheaper than a motherboard! haha.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Jake

 

[anthony185]

I finally did get this fridge working much better--pretty much steady between 34-38 deg (with the door shut overnight) and door temp set to 35

I ripped it apart yet again and replaced that other sensor--the defrost sensor. No change. I figured I was down to the main PCB as the only thing left.

I ended up taking a more in-depth look at the Service/Troubleshooting via the link you had sent. Thanks again for sending it! It's written a bit funny, translated from Korean probably. I had looked before for some way to "calibrate" the sensors but didn't see anything. This time--being down to my last straw probably--I did notice pushing/holding Alarm+Fridge puts you in a series of sub-menus where you can change a bunch of parameters; one being "fresh food temp shift". When I did this, my parameter was set to 9 (+2 deg) as per page 70 of the manual. Since I was always off about 8 - 10 deg (34 set at door, 42 to 44 actual temp) I changed the # to 7 (-7 deg).

For the past 5 days, every morning when I come downstairs I check the temp and it's been great--I even had to adjust the temp on the door to 35, cause I was hitting 32 on my digital thermometer. I haven't seen that forEVER, so I think that did the trick. Also, with what I was seeing; No icing up, fan was verified to be working, main thermistor ohmed out good/replaced. defrost sensor replaced; FRidge proved to be capable of cooling because it would cool well below 40 when I pushed Power Cool; this adjustment seems pretty logical.

Thank you again for the help and for sending the Service Manual. Probably saved me a few grand as I was ready to junk this thing and buy a new one!

 

[Jake]

Excellent Anthony, glad you found that "fresh food temp shift" setting and that seems to have fixed it.

Thanks for the update, that will help others too.

Paying it FORWARD is ALWAYS GOOD KARMA!

Jake

 

[JRyu]

Should not the temp displayed on the door (after the fridge has not been touched for hrs) be pretty close to the actual temp? After powering down to replace components (see below), I set the temp for 34. The temp as displayed on door will then reflect the actual temp--i.e. 60s' after I have had the fridge off, then I will watch it step down through the 50s', 40s', all the way to 34. At the same time, the actual temp as read on digital thermometers will never get below 40. Once the reading on my door hits 34, I can reopen the doors, leave it open for several minutes and the door reading will still say 34--it will never move again. Is this not the problem?

The Temp display on the front panel is not actual temperature. It is setting temp. It never changes itself automatically if you do not change it yourself. You can find it in the user manual temp setting page.

 

[anthony185]

The Temp display on the front panel is not actual temperature. It is setting temp. It never changes itself automatically if you do not change it yourself. You can find it in the user manual temp setting page.

Yeah, that front door temp display is odd for sure (at least on my fridge) but I'm not sure what you said is true. Here is how mine acts:

NOTE: during troubleshooting I replaced defrost sensor, main compartment thermistor sensor, that whole Condensor cover assy w/fan-only because I busted the crap out of it removing it so many times--the door temp display never changed its behavior with any of these new parts.

-after power down, and powering back on--I'd hit Fridge button on main display to set Fridge temp to 34--after like 5 seconds, display goes off. Hit any button on display OR open door-- now panel temp would read like 65 (room temp) hit Fridge button, and it would read 34 (my setting), hit repeated to set temp--display goes out in 5 seconds. Come back 30 minutes later, hit any button on display, temp would read like 55, 30 minutes later, 50, and so on for several hrs until temp on door display reached my setting (34). So, without doubt, the door temp display was showing a "reading" and not the "setting" at this point.

-Now, I can open the doors for like 5 minutes to where my digital thermometer reads 50+, and the door temp still reads 36--so it does appear now that the door temp never stops showing the "setting"

I'm anything but an expert, I only have experience with my refrigerator, but I spent months dicking with this thing. After messing with that "fresh food temp shift" adjustment over a month ago, my refrigerator has been perfect. I have it set for 36 deg, everytime I walk by it, by force of habit now, I glance at the digital thermometer (not the door temp, but the one I placed in it, with an external display) and the temp has been between 35 - 38 deg every time. I'm not quite sure if what I did was a work-around or a fix--but I don't care. My food is not spoiling and I don't have to shell out thousands for a new refrigerator!

I did browse back in the manual for my model, and I did not see where it expressly says that the displayed door temp is the SETTING and not the actual temp. On my refrigerator at least, it appears like the door temp is showing the temp "reading" until it reaches the temp setting for that 1st time, then just latches there and stops showing the true temperature.

It could be that I have a flakey main board, or the door display is REALLY sluggish and I didn't leave the doors open long enough, I dunno. I'd be very interested to know if someone else as any input on how their front door temp display acts, or they know (for sure) how it SHOULD act.

 

[JRyu]

Yeah, that front door temp display is odd for sure (at least on my fridge) but I'm not sure what you said is true. Here is how mine acts:

NOTE: during troubleshooting I replaced defrost sensor, main compartment thermistor sensor, that whole Condensor cover assy w/fan-only because I busted the crap out of it removing it so many times--the door temp display never changed its behavior with any of these new parts.

-after power down, and powering back on--I'd hit Fridge button on main display to set Fridge temp to 34--after like 5 seconds, display goes off. Hit any button on display OR open door-- now panel temp would read like 65 (room temp) hit Fridge button, and it would read 34 (my setting), hit repeated to set temp--display goes out in 5 seconds. Come back 30 minutes later, hit any button on display, temp would read like 55, 30 minutes later, 50, and so on for several hrs until temp on door display reached my setting (34). So, without doubt, the door temp display was showing a "reading" and not the "setting" at this point.

-Now, I can open the doors for like 5 minutes to where my digital thermometer reads 50+, and the door temp still reads 36--so it d
I know there is two kind of temperature display on the control panel. Type 1 : Setting temp display. Type 2: Setting temp display + actual current temp.
Your refrigerator is Type 1. It doesn't show actually temp.
oes appear now that the door temp never stops showing the "setting"

I'm anything but an expert, I only have experience with my refrigerator, but I spent months dicking with this thing. After messing with that "fresh food temp shift" adjustment over a month ago, my refrigerator has been perfect. I have it set for 36 deg, everytime I walk by it, by force of habit now, I glance at the digital thermometer (not the door temp, but the one I placed in it, with an external display) and the temp has been between 35 - 38 deg every time. I'm not quite sure if what I did was a work-around or a fix--but I don't care. My food is not spoiling and I don't have to shell out thousands for a new refrigerator!

I did browse back in the manual for my model, and I did not see where it expressly says that the displayed door temp is the SETTING and not the actual temp. On my refrigerator at least, it appears like the door temp is showing the temp "reading" until it reaches the temp setting for that 1st time, then just latches there and stops showing the true temperature.

It could be that I have a flakey main board, or the door display is REALLY sluggish and I didn't leave the doors open long enough, I dunno. I'd be very interested to know if someone else as any input on how their front door temp display acts, or they know (for sure) how it SHOULD act.

I know there is two kind of temperature display on the control panel. Type 1 : Setting temp display. Type 2: Setting temp display + actual current temp.
Your refrigerator is Type 1. It doesn't show actually temp. It shows setting temp of ref, side & freezer side.

 

[CincyMatt]

Yeah, that front door temp display is odd for sure (at least on my fridge) but I'm not sure what you said is true. Here is how mine acts:

NOTE: during troubleshooting I replaced defrost sensor, main compartment thermistor sensor, that whole Condensor cover assy w/fan-only because I busted the crap out of it removing it so many times--the door temp display never changed its behavior with any of these new parts.

-after power down, and powering back on--I'd hit Fridge button on main display to set Fridge temp to 34--after like 5 seconds, display goes off. Hit any button on display OR open door-- now panel temp would read like 65 (room temp) hit Fridge button, and it would read 34 (my setting), hit repeated to set temp--display goes out in 5 seconds. Come back 30 minutes later, hit any button on display, temp would read like 55, 30 minutes later, 50, and so on for several hrs until temp on door display reached my setting (34). So, without doubt, the door temp display was showing a "reading" and not the "setting" at this point.

-Now, I can open the doors for like 5 minutes to where my digital thermometer reads 50+, and the door temp still reads 36--so it does appear now that the door temp never stops showing the "setting"

I'm anything but an expert, I only have experience with my refrigerator, but I spent months dicking with this thing. After messing with that "fresh food temp shift" adjustment over a month ago, my refrigerator has been perfect. I have it set for 36 deg, everytime I walk by it, by force of habit now, I glance at the digital thermometer (not the door temp, but the one I placed in it, with an external display) and the temp has been between 35 - 38 deg every time. I'm not quite sure if what I did was a work-around or a fix--but I don't care. My food is not spoiling and I don't have to shell out thousands for a new refrigerator!

I did browse back in the manual for my model, and I did not see where it expressly says that the displayed door temp is the SETTING and not the actual temp. On my refrigerator at least, it appears like the door temp is showing the temp "reading" until it reaches the temp setting for that 1st time, then just latches there and stops showing the true temperature.

It could be that I have a flakey main board, or the door display is REALLY sluggish and I didn't leave the doors open long enough, I dunno. I'd be very interested to know if someone else as any input on how their front door temp display acts, or they know (for sure) how it SHOULD act.

To alert you

I finally did get this fridge working much better--pretty much steady between 34-38 deg (with the door shut overnight) and door temp set to 35

I ripped it apart yet again and replaced that other sensor--the defrost sensor. No change. I figured I was down to the main PCB as the only thing left.

I ended up taking a more in-depth look at the Service/Troubleshooting via the link you had sent. Thanks again for sending it! It's written a bit funny, translated from Korean probably. I had looked before for some way to "calibrate" the sensors but didn't see anything. This time--being down to my last straw probably--I did notice pushing/holding Alarm+Fridge puts you in a series of sub-menus where you can change a bunch of parameters; one being "fresh food temp shift". When I did this, my parameter was set to 9 (+2 deg) as per page 70 of the manual. Since I was always off about 8 - 10 deg (34 set at door, 42 to 44 actual temp) I changed the # to 7 (-7 deg).

For the past 5 days, every morning when I come downstairs I check the temp and it's been great--I even had to adjust the temp on the door to 35, cause I was hitting 32 on my digital thermometer. I haven't seen that forEVER, so I think that did the trick. Also, with what I was seeing; No icing up, fan was verified to be working, main thermistor ohmed out good/replaced. defrost sensor replaced; FRidge proved to be capable of cooling because it would cool well below 40 when I pushed Power Cool; this adjustment seems pretty logical.

Thank you again for the help and for sending the Service Manual. Probably saved me a few grand as I was ready to junk this thing and buy a new one!

Anthony, I'm guessing this did not permanently resolve your problem, and it probably started happening again within 30 days or so, as my issues match yours 100%. Right now, my refrigerator is showing 34° and it's actually 42°, according to an accurate ThermoWorks temperature gauge. If you own this refrigerator, you own a stand-alone temperature gauge. That should be a sticker on the front door when purchasing. Also, you were correct. The panel does show the temperature reported by the refrigerator, about five seconds after hitting the refrigerator button, right before it switches back to the actual set temperature display. My power freeze does the same thing as well. Gets super-cold quickly, and although it doesn't show the correct temperature when chilling, it's within about 5°. So, the refrigerator can actually chill properly, it's just not being told to do so by its teeny-weeny brain.

I have replaced everything which you mentioned, besides the main compartment temperature sensor -- I didn't even know there was one or where to find it. I did replace the sensor on the back wall behind the evaporator panel. I also added a store-bought part that clips onto the bottom of the heating coil and protrudes lower through the drainage hole to keep that from freezing up. That was a whole separate problem which I hope you did not experience. Many months back, if not years, I did find the fresh food temperature shift, and set that to 7. The problem is, I'm now outside of the 7° range so even that seems to put my temperature above 40°, since the refrigerator seems to think it's always 34.

My only solution right now is to unplug for 24 hours, reconnect the power, and have the refrigerator work properly for maybe 1.5 months. Then throw away food, and repeat. Today unfortunately happens to be that day.

Any thoughts, or anyone else? I'm not even sure if this will post since the post is set to “resolved”.

 

[anthony185]

To alert you

Anthony, I'm guessing this did not permanently resolve your problem, and it probably started happening again within 30 days or so, as my issues match yours 100%. Right now, my refrigerator is showing 34° and it's actually 42°, according to an accurate ThermoWorks temperature gauge. If you own this refrigerator, you own a stand-alone temperature gauge. That should be a sticker on the front door when purchasing. Also, you were correct. The panel does show the temperature reported by the refrigerator, about five seconds after hitting the refrigerator button, right before it switches back to the actual set temperature display. My power freeze does the same thing as well. Gets super-cold quickly, and although it doesn't show the correct temperature when chilling, it's within about 5°. So, the refrigerator can actually chill properly, it's just not being told to do so by its teeny-weeny brain.

I have replaced everything which you mentioned, besides the main compartment temperature sensor -- I didn't even know there was one or where to find it. I did replace the sensor on the back wall behind the evaporator panel. I also added a store-bought part that clips onto the bottom of the heating coil and protrudes lower through the drainage hole to keep that from freezing up. That was a whole separate problem which I hope you did not experience. Many months back, if not years, I did find the fresh food temperature shift, and set that to 7. The problem is, I'm now outside of the 7° range so even that seems to put my temperature above 40°, since the refrigerator seems to think it's always 34.

My only solution right now is to unplug for 24 hours, reconnect the power, and have the refrigerator work properly for maybe 1.5 months. Then throw away food, and repeat. Today unfortunately happens to be that day.

Any thoughts, or anyone else? I'm not even sure if this will post since the post is set to “resolved”.

Matt,

Yeah, your post did show up--appreciate the feedback.

Well, that's discouraging news that you had identical symptoms as I did, did the same adjustment (with the fresh food temp shift) and it helped--but then the problem came back. I looked back at my original post and it was back in Aug, and so far, as of now, my temp has been holding at 34-38 deg (as per my stand-alone digital thermometer).

As I said before, I'm certainly no refrigerator expert as this has been the only one I have had to screw with. I did spend 25+ years as an electronic engineer in the semiconductor field though, and I got pretty good at recognizing "component failure" vs "design/manufacturing flaws". IMHO though, it doesn't take a techie to determine that the MANY symptoms that my (and your) fridge come up with are due to the latter. Translated; these Samsungs are a piece of crap.

Since I posted in August, while my temp has remained fine, I have had to do a power thaw on my ice maker twice (I have done the thing with caulking all the cracks) AND the main evaporator fan started making noise again; as it does when it ices up and quits working. And yeah, I know what you are talking about with the little metal clip extending into the drain hole--did that too.

I'd be interested in a couple things:
-when you say you edit the fresh food compartment temp shift parameter to 7 and it fixed it for a while; did you notice an immediate and steady improvement? Like a no-brainer--"Yes, this looks good" Or was it more like, "Ok, seems to be
holding range a bit better--let's see how it behaves"
-after adjusting the temp shift you say it was good for like a month or so? Do you happen to remember if it was like a gradual decline back to where it was? You know like maybe averaging 34 1st week after adjusting, then maybe a week or so later you started noticing it hovering slowly higher as time went on? Or was it all of a sudden, over the span of a day or two--right back to 40+ (from the mid-30s')?
-I looked at your graphs. I assume the red is the freezer, and I'm guessing your freezer (like mine) is fine? The spikes are just opening the freezer compartment?
-I also assume that going to power cool still gets you down to a good temp? If so, I agree with your logic--the fridge is capable of cooling, but the idiot electronics tell it not to. From what I saw (see my previous post) I truly believe that this
fridge's brain either cannot accurately/consistently read the sensor(s) temp (Oh, I did those sensor tests too, where you measure the resistance at room temp & cold water, never once saw a flakey sensor) and/or uses the door SET
temp as an actual temp when determining to cool or not.

I think it's pretty obvious that there is probably not "a" single magical fix. I wouldn't doubt it if ALL, or most people with this same model have this same issue.; but, most have not bothered to throw a thermometer inside to check. Ya know....."door says 34, so I'm good" If not for all the other issues (periodic freezing up of Ice maker, evaporator, drain hole, fan, etc) I probably never would have checked myself.

Not sure where you are at right now. Hopefully, you didn't have to throw all your food out again. Again, I don't think anybody can say "here is the fix". As I think we both are assuming (if all the symptoms as you described are still pertinent) it's the brain of these things that is not right vs it not having the physical ability to cool (since you've replaced all sensors--and power cool gets you to an acceptable temp) You can always try to replace the main board. I feel that's a shot in the dark though. As I said, IMHO anyway, these things are built/designed F'dUP; but, it's not impossible some brain boards are not as "off" as others--and you get a good/better one.

If, referring to my questions above, when you originally adjusted your fresh food temp shift to 7, if it DID immediately and without question get noticeably better after changing the parameter, and later on, when the problem returned, it was more like "good for a while, then BAM, over a day, or 2, or 3, it tanked again" as opposed to "a gradual worsening over weeks or something, right back to as bad as it was"; well, to me, that definitively points to the electronics losing their mind.

If you haven't rolled the refrigerator out to the dumpster yet, next time if/when this happens, before tossing out your food, I'd at least try:
1. If you haven't already, pay attention to if the returning problem was gradual or fairly quick as mentioned above.
If it's a gradual slow decline, this is probably less apt to help, BUT, can't hurt to try.
2. Change your fresh food compartment shift # back to the original setting...9 or 11 or whatever; anything higher. Just for the hell of it, it would be interesting to watch the actual temp for like 30min-1hr, to see if it goes up or not.
3. Unplug your fridge for a minute or two (while the fresh food compartment shift # is left high)
4. Plug back in, maybe let it come back down to temp for a bit; then, go back into the temp shift menu, and set the fresh food compartment back to 7. I'd also note: was the temp shift parameter where you left it? Should be.

If it IS the brains going crazy--this should at least get you back to the state where you are starting from scratch tweaking the temp shift from the original # to 7--which you say made a diff. Not a fix for sure--but if it gets you back to <40 deg for a month or two with a quick tweak/unplug/plug vs having to take all the food out, etc; at least it's not AS horrible (and it's more telling that the root problem is likely the main board)

 

[CincyMatt]

Matt,

Yeah, your post did show up--appreciate the feedback.

Well, that's discouraging news that you had identical symptoms as I did, did the same adjustment (with the fresh food temp shift) and it helped--but then the problem came back. I looked back at my original post and it was back in Aug, and so far, as of now, my temp has been holding at 34-38 deg (as per my stand-alone digital thermometer).

As I said before, I'm certainly no refrigerator expert as this has been the only one I have had to screw with. I did spend 25+ years as an electronic engineer in the semiconductor field though, and I got pretty good at recognizing "component failure" vs "design/manufacturing flaws". IMHO though, it doesn't take a techie to determine that the MANY symptoms that my (and your) fridge come up with are due to the latter. Translated; these Samsungs are a piece of crap.

Since I posted in August, while my temp has remained fine, I have had to do a power thaw on my ice maker twice (I have done the thing with caulking all the cracks) AND the main evaporator fan started making noise again; as it does when it ices up and quits working. And yeah, I know what you are talking about with the little metal clip extending into the drain hole--did that too.

I'd be interested in a couple things:
-when you say you edit the fresh food compartment temp shift parameter to 7 and it fixed it for a while; did you notice an immediate and steady improvement? Like a no-brainer--"Yes, this looks good" Or was it more like, "Ok, seems to be
holding range a bit better--let's see how it behaves"
-after adjusting the temp shift you say it was good for like a month or so? Do you happen to remember if it was like a gradual decline back to where it was? You know like maybe averaging 34 1st week after adjusting, then maybe a week or so later you started noticing it hovering slowly higher as time went on? Or was it all of a sudden, over the span of a day or two--right back to 40+ (from the mid-30s')?
-I looked at your graphs. I assume the red is the freezer, and I'm guessing your freezer (like mine) is fine? The spikes are just opening the freezer compartment?
-I also assume that going to power cool still gets you down to a good temp? If so, I agree with your logic--the fridge is capable of cooling, but the idiot electronics tell it not to. From what I saw (see my previous post) I truly believe that this
fridge's brain either cannot accurately/consistently read the sensor(s) temp (Oh, I did those sensor tests too, where you measure the resistance at room temp & cold water, never once saw a flakey sensor) and/or uses the door SET
temp as an actual temp when determining to cool or not.

I think it's pretty obvious that there is probably not "a" single magical fix. I wouldn't doubt it if ALL, or most people with this same model have this same issue.; but, most have not bothered to throw a thermometer inside to check. Ya know....."door says 34, so I'm good" If not for all the other issues (periodic freezing up of Ice maker, evaporator, drain hole, fan, etc) I probably never would have checked myself.

Not sure where you are at right now. Hopefully, you didn't have to throw all your food out again. Again, I don't think anybody can say "here is the fix". As I think we both are assuming (if all the symptoms as you described are still pertinent) it's the brain of these things that is not right vs it not having the physical ability to cool (since you've replaced all sensors--and power cool gets you to an acceptable temp) You can always try to replace the main board. I feel that's a shot in the dark though. As I said, IMHO anyway, these things are built/designed F'dUP; but, it's not impossible some brain boards are not as "off" as others--and you get a good/better one.

If, referring to my questions above, when you originally adjusted your fresh food temp shift to 7, if it DID immediately and without question get noticeably better after changing the parameter, and later on, when the problem returned, it was more like "good for a while, then BAM, over a day, or 2, or 3, it tanked again" as opposed to "a gradual worsening over weeks or something, right back to as bad as it was"; well, to me, that definitively points to the electronics losing their mind.

If you haven't rolled the refrigerator out to the dumpster yet, next time if/when this happens, before tossing out your food, I'd at least try:
1. If you haven't already, pay attention to if the returning problem was gradual or fairly quick as mentioned above.
If it's a gradual slow decline, this is probably less apt to help, BUT, can't hurt to try.
2. Change your fresh food compartment shift # back to the original setting...9 or 11 or whatever; anything higher. Just for the hell of it, it would be interesting to watch the actual temp for like 30min-1hr, to see if it goes up or not.
3. Unplug your fridge for a minute or two (while the fresh food compartment shift # is left high)
4. Plug back in, maybe let it come back down to temp for a bit; then, go back into the temp shift menu, and set the fresh food compartment back to 7. I'd also note: was the temp shift parameter where you left it? Should be.

If it IS the brains going crazy--this should at least get you back to the state where you are starting from scratch tweaking the temp shift from the original # to 7--which you say made a diff. Not a fix for sure--but if it gets you back to <40 deg for a month or two with a quick tweak/unplug/plug vs having to take all the food out, etc; at least it's not AS horrible (and it's more telling that the root problem is likely the main board)

Okay. I hope I'm not premature in typing this up, but I think for the first time ever this refrigerator has been working 100% properly for the past 24 hours. I have literally tried everything mentioned in all of these emails, so my final attempt was to once again order a new temperature sensor, the one that clips onto the coil inside the back wall of the fridge. I had already replaced this, but I did notice that the original model I installed had a slightly different model number, with a slightly different connector, so I had to manually cut off the new connector and connect the new sensor to the old plug. The new model fit perfectly, DA32-10104N. Just for reference, my model number is RF263TEAESR/AA, APR. 2012. About a week prior, I also replaced the thermostat, which made no difference at all: DA47-00243K. Both I ordered on Amazon for less than $15 each.

Prior to this new repair, everything above is exactly as you explained. I set the temperature on the fridge to 34°, I set the offset to 7, and it was super accurate after turning off power for a minute or two and back on. After hitting the temperature button on the refrigerator, it would show the setting at 34°, and then right before switching back to the main screen it would show the actual temperature in the refrigerator(accurately). It would then proceed to chill to the proper temperature, but after an hour or two, completely lose track of the actual temperature and always think the internal temperature was 34°. Unplug it for five seconds, plug it back in, and would again show the real temperature inside the fridge as 44°, or whatever it might be. Two hours later it would again show 34°, and refrigerator would again be 10° warmer than it believed itself to be. I actually purchased a smart Wi-Fi power cord that I could program to turn off and turn on power to the fridge for five minutes two or three times per day. It's hard to find versions that can power 20 A. Needless to say, I will not be using that.

So, after installing the new temperature sensor, fridge set at 34°, offset set 27, this thing appears to be running perfectly. I'll attach a picture showing the refrigerator temperature graph since reinstalling the evaporator cover for the final time, fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed again, I will not need to open the Lowes app to see the earliest arrival time for a new refrigerator. I almost clicked order two or three times last week…. I think I'm going to be glad I held off. Then again, since this is probably the worst purchase I've made in my entire life, I would not bet on it! Ha!