Samsung RS21DCSV Freezer temperature problem.

Hi,
I'm looking for some help / advice on a Samsung American style fridge freezer RS21DCSV which we purchased back in 2004. As it's quite old I'm not sure if it's worth getting it repaired a I suspect a lot has changed during the last 16 years, as far as design and reliability is concerned.

The fridge works fine, but the problem is the freezer. The temperature display above the water dispenser shows -18c but the temperature in the freezer is only about -12c. It makes no difference what I set the temperature to, on the control panel as the inside temperature does not go down much below -12c but the display seems to think it's at the requested temperature. The displayed temperature and the actual temperature don't match so I'm not sure if the problem relates to the control board or the temperature sensor or something totally different

Has anyone else had similar problems? if so, what did you do to fix this problem?

this might be the common problem in frost-free fridge-freezers, where the air ducts inside the back panel (that cold air is blown through) become choked with ice when the automatic defrosting fails to work.

Temporary cure is to take out all the food and eat it, then leave the appliance, turned off and with both doors open, for 24 hours or until water has stopped dripping both inside the cabinet and into the collection dish at the back (clean this out).

You have to give time for all the ice to melt and drip out. If you turn it back on too soon, you have wasted your time. Because the ducts are inside the panelling, and you cannot blow air through them because they are blocked, it is a slow job.

The original problem might have started because the door was left slightly open and the frost overwhelmed the heaters; or because the heaters are no longer working. It is usually uneconomical to repair the heating circuit, but if the doors were left open, the manual defrost should be a good cure.

It is also possible that a leak has reduced the amount of refrigerant gas. This is also irrepairable.

However, your manual defost might keep it going for a year or more, so give it time before you decide what to do.

thanks for the feedback. I'll need to wait until we manage to reduce the amount of frozen good we have in the freezer and then try your suggestion out. I have noticed that water does collect in the collection device under the freezer so something must be defrosting. What about the difference on the temperature display vs the actual temperature in the freezer is this also due to the ducts being blocked off by ice or something else?

don't know, sorry. Could the dispay be showing "target temperature?"

if there is a sensor at fault, it might be a replaceable part.

the dish might be collecting water from the fridge section.

when you cycle through the temperature option it shows the target temperature which you can change and then it goes to the actual temperature in the freezer. In my case it does not show the same temperature as is shows on my own thermometer which is inside the freezer. Potentially I have two problems, 1) I can't get the freezer temperature below -12c 2) the second problem is that the display does not show / match the real temperature inside the freezer. I have also noticed that the displayed temperature seems to change from time to time but the inside temperature remains at a constant -12c

Although the freezer seems to keep everything frozen at -12c I think it might be time to look for a replacement american fridge freezer especially when my one is 16 years old. I guess the next question will be what make should I go for this time? Another Samsung or possibly something like a Hisense RS696N4IB1 American Fridge Freezer, which seems to be getting good reviews.

JohnD said:

don't know, sorry. Could the dispay be showing "target temperature?"

if there is a sensor at fault, it might be a replaceable part.

the dish might be collecting water from the fridge section.

Click to expand...

The sensor is easy to replace and cheap and a common fault,do as John said turn off power,take off cover at lower back inside of fridge,you will likely see ice build up around the sensor and let it defrost,don't chisel any ice out you may damage the sensor,this video will explain it easier.EDIT just noticed not your model but will be similar. https://www.samsungspares.co.uk/fri...th=627469&refine=thermostat&model_ref=9025499

My problem is in the freezer and not the fridge, but I also have the problem relating to the temperature difference between what is displayed on the front of the fridge / freezer vs what the actual temperature is in the freezer. Also the fact that no matter what I set the freezer temperature to on the control panel, it wont go down below -12c in the freezer so despite it showing say -18c as the actual temperature on the display, it's still only -12c in the freezer.

JohnD said:

this might be the common problem in frost-free fridge-freezers, where the air ducts inside the back panel (that cold air is blown through) become choked with ice when the automatic defrosting fails to work.

Temporary cure is to take out all the food and eat it, then leave the appliance, turned off and with both doors open, for 24 hours or until water has stopped dripping both inside the cabinet and into the collection dish at the back (clean this out).

You have to give time for all the ice to melt and drip out. If you turn it back on too soon, you have wasted your time. Because the ducts are inside the panelling, and you cannot blow air through them because they are blocked, it is a slow job

Click to expand...

A Samsung may well indeed be different to a Hotpoint but on my Hotpoint FF I've had this issue twice over the years, albeit the freezer too cold and fridge not cooling but on those simply removing the freezer drawers gives access to the ice build up at the back of the freezer after removal of a simple cover whereupon physical removal of the ice is easy with the aid of a a screwdriver or hammer etc, a hell of a lot less hassle than the whole eat the contents and defrost effort.

it's lucky that bashing the internals of a fridge with a hammer and screwdriver never causes any damage.

Haha, yes well maybe not a sledge hammer approach more a few taps to get the big chunks cracked then the rest tends to fall/break away pretty easily.

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. I'll wait until we have managed to consume most of the frozen food and then check for ice behind the back panel in the freezer. My only concern is that as the real temperature inside the freezer is different from the displayed temperature on the panel, there might also be some other issues on the main control panel board.

As John says build up of ice can cause problem. However I had it with a Hotpoint and had a maintenance contract, it was regular around once a year it would fail and I would defrost everything first before calling the maintenance guy, they would change some small part and off it went again and this went on for many years, then one time I did not get chance to defrost first and unit was condemned as an insulation failure.

It seems before we had bought the unit it was likely damaged, and a new outer panel fitted but inner insulation had been crushed, so gradually over a long time ice would build up and ice has a lower insulation property to air, so the freezer and fridge had to work harder and then ice built up inside at a abnormal point and stopped circulation, when I defrosted it I also removed the tell tail signs, it ran for at least 15 years with this damage and I was unaware, it ran for a further 5 years as a brew fridge until I moved house. But as brew fridge keeping brew at 20°C no problem with ice build up.

I was lucky I had a second freezer so could move stuff across, so easier to defrost, but to defrost fully once great, but second time would be wary. Also second freezer not best idea, OK with the current situation it worked out well, but three freezers in kitchen idea was chest freezer was going down into flat for emergency and Christmas use, but if there is freezer space my wife fills it. Food does have sell by and use by dates, but where frozen these don't always count as were for when chilled, so have some thing marked 23 Nov but no year, is it new stuff, or very old?

Did anyone manage to fix theirs? I've got similar problem - freezer was only getting to around -8 regardless of set temp, display would show the set temp rather than actual. Had an engineer round today, topped up the gas. If I set temp to -24, it gets to about -19 but then when compressor turns off, freezer warms to around -2 and then maintains that.

Plenty of heat being kicked out from under the unit. Machine had been turned off for 3 days before engineer arrived. I took the back of the inside of the freezer off, no ice and fan appears to be running when door is closed.

Model is RSG5DURS. Samsung side by side American style. 10yrs old.

Hello Shrimper, I have similar situation. Can you tell me have you found the cause of problem?