SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

[vortex]

Got home from work today to find that our Samsung Fridge Freezer appears to have failed.

It seems to be making all the correct noises but both fridge and freezer sections are not cooling down. The compressor runs continuously, and is warm to the touch…but there does not seem to be any heat moving through the pipes at all. The fan runs continuously.

Having read various threads on this forum understand that I have to hold down top left and right buttons to reveal diagnostic information. If I do this, after about 10 seconds the display flashes a couple of times, then goes blank, coming back again after about half a minute. Is it correct that I have to leave the appliance running for 12 hours before running this test?

Are there any other basic (multimeter) type diagnoctics I can do myself?

[admin]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Hi

You need to hold the buttons in for your 20 seconds.

the appliance needs to be running for 24 hrs

Bryan

[vortex]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Cheers for the advice Bryan,

The machine was off overnight. At switch on this morning the compressor ran for 2-3 minutes then switched off. Haven’t heard it since! Fan is still continuous.

I guess a dodgy sensor may be making it “think” it’s frosted up.

Will run the diagnostic test tomorrow morning. Is there a “key” somewhere online to decode the test results? I’ve not been able to find a service manual anywhere.

david

[admin]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Hi

If the compressor ran for 2-3 minutes when first started then its doubtfull that one of the sensors is faulty.

I would advise a engineer visit for this as its not a sounding like a simple repair,If the fridge fan is running then the compressor should also be running.

Bryan

[vortex]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Bryan,

Thanks for the advice. Engineer visit it is then!

I’m in Farnham, Surrey. The “find an approved angineer” link takes me to a company called Belle Vue which appears to be in Bournemouth. 1.5 hours away. SUrely there must be somebody more local!!!!!!

If you or anybody reading this can recommend somebody Samsung qualified and more local I’d appreciate it! I’d also prefer to deal with a named person rather than a faceless “service organisation”.

Thanks in advance,

David

[Nutty]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Hi David

There are a couple that I can think of that you may be able to try.

However 1 or 2 of them are organisations

Independant Services – 08450 508570
Cutchey Repairs – 02380 470171

Don’t be put off by the codes
They as far as I know are the head office numbers
They will have an engineer in your area

Also don’t forget that if it is still within 2 years of when you bought it you can go to Samsung as it is still within warranty 😀

Nutty

[vortex]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

OK.

I found a local engineer who came and took a look at our RS21.

By the time he took a look the compressor had not been running for hours, but the fan was running. In fact it transpired that the compressor was apparently seized. It was silently getting hot, with the klixen audibly cutting in and out every few minutes.

After a little hassle getting obtaining a replacement, he installed it this morning, and of course regassed with R600a.

When he removed the old compressor it transpired there was hardly any gas in the system, certainly nothing like the 88 grams I understand there should be!

My concern (and his concern) is that there may be some kind of underlying undetectable very slow leak in the machine…but it certainly is not visibly apparent. We will have to see.

It’s now 6 hours since switch on and both the fridge and freezer sections have attained their operation temperatures.

In the last hour, though, the freezer has gone from -20 to -8 for no apparent reason, and is slowly cooling again. There’s no food in it at the minute, giving it any “thermal mass”. I wonder if it’s decided to defrost itself. Is this really plausible? Am I just being paranoid? Could this be indicative of a defrost sensor issue?

David

[vortex]

Re: SAMSUNG RS21FCSV Faulty?

Well it’s 1 week later and the RS21 has behaved impeccably…until yesterday.

I had to turn it off to move a cable. After having done so (off for about a minute) the freezer temp diaplay was instantly sitting at -3. Since then moved up and down a little and currently has settled at -5. Fridge side seems fine.

BTW before power off yesterday I ran the diagnostics. No bars displayed at all. Also no bars now 18 hours after power up.

Something isn’t right and my suspicions now fall on the often mentioned thermal fuse/evaporator cover/defrost sensor area.

Before I get my screwdriver and multimeter out, can anybody translate the above symptoms into a more precise diagnosis…so I can order parts in.

[Author]

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