Why is my fridge temp reading as 14 degrees?

sarah0404

I have one of those American style fridge freezers (shopped around for ages to find the best deal!) Its a couple of years old now, and I've noticed its been quite noisy recently. I've also noticed that things don't seem quite so cold when I've been taking them out the fridge.

My OH pulled all the bits out the back, and cleaned it and hoovered it out. He seemed to think that would fix the problem. But this morning the fridge temp is reading as 14 degrees! Previously it was reading at 2, but I'm sure it was much warmer than that. The freezer temp is -22 and seems to be fine.

I don't have any spare money at the moment (never do!) so i can't afford to have someone to come out and look at it. And I certainly can't afford a new one. What do you think is likely to be wrong with it? Is fixing a fridge quite a simple job? I've managed to fix my washing machine before, so I'm not totally clueless. Where would I be able to get parts from? Its a Samsung brand.

And any ideas what I can do in the mean time? At the moment its mostly vegetables in the fridge, but I had meat the other day that went off before its sell by date :mad: Any ideas how I can cool it down a bit more, or set up a temporary cold store or something?

thetope

well, as a temporary measure, freeze some big ice blocks in the still functioning freezer and stick them in the fridge, it will help keep the stuff in there cold. does sound like it is busted though.

sarah0404

Good idea. I was thinking about sticking some frozen stuff in the fridge, but don't really want to waste any more food. I could probably freeze water in containers and bottles and stick them in beside the fridge stuff.

wen2202

http://www.atsscotland.co.uk/samsung_fridge_repair.html

These people are samsung experts, ask them, they'll help you, sell you the parts and guide you in fitting them yourself.

ncw3

I have exactly the same problem, in fact for the third time in three years and two US fridge freezers. I would never by Samsung ff again.

kwatt

It will only apply if it's an RS series machine, but full instructions are HERE on how to find out what's wrong.

If it's any other range I'd have to know what the model number is.

HTH

K.

hollydays

There has just been an item on watchdog-they have a design fault.Samsung is either refunding any amounts paid for repairs and are extending to a free 5 year warrenty.

lexie55_2

Hope this is of help...

Samsung RS21 fridge

Gone are the days when your fridge was just a functional white lump in the corner of your kitchen. The latest popular purchases are 'designer' fridges, as cool on the outside as they are on the inside. And one of the coolest is the Samsung RS21. Or is it?

7 April 2008

Heather Lloyd thought the RS21 would be the perfect choice for her new kitchen and new family. She bought the fridge from Curry's in July 2005 and paid £600. She started to experience problems with it just before Christmas 2007. The water dispenser stopped working and there was a vibration coming from inside the fridge. She noticed that the temperature inside the fridge had gone right up and the food was starting to spoil. When Heather contacted Samsung, it said that her fridge was outside the two-year warranty and that she would have to pay for the repair herself. Fixing the problem would have cost her up to £200.
Simi Owodunni bought her RS21 from Comet in August 2000. It was only a year before her fridge started to display the same symptoms as Heather Lloyd's. As it was still under a two-year warranty it was repaired for free, but a year later the same problems happened again and Simi found herself having to defrost her fridge every week to stop food from going off. When she called Samsung again she was told that this time she'd have to pay to fix the fridge herself. Which, not surprisingly, she wasn't keen to do.
The RS21 has a digital display panel on the front which is supposed to tell you the exact temperature inside the fridge. We gave Simi a digital thermometer to test the temperature. And although the display panel on the outside of the fridge claimed it was a chilly one degree, in fact it was a much balmier 15 degrees, at least ten degrees more than a fridge should be.
Sharon Tettersall bought her fridge for her young family and to help keep her diabetic son's insulin cool. If insulin isn't kept refrigerated it loses its effect and a diabetic who's dependent on it could become seriously ill. Like our other contributors, Sharon noticed that the fridge started to make a funny noise and that the temperature was rising. She tested the temperature and found that her fridge was also at 15 degrees. Sharon paid £125 to get it repaired, but the fridge broke down again just a few weeks later. Now she's had to borrow a fridge to store her son's insulin.
Consultant engineer Malcolm Robbins explains: "This fridge has a fundamental design fault because water which drains from the evaporator coil during defrost cannot escape. Ice forms on the coil, grows back to the fan, hits the fan blades and stops the fan running. After that the fridge won't work." Malcolm said he didn't think it was right that customers should have to foot the bill for repairs and that the fridge was not 'fit for purpose'.
We contacted some fridge service engineers and seven out of the ten we called were familiar with the problems with the Samsung fridge.
It's all very well for an appliance to look smart in your kitchen. But some of the people who fell for the Samsung RS21's sleek good looks and 'unique cooling technology' now wonder if it might not be more at home in a fridge scrap yard.
Company Response

Samsung Electronics would like to personally apologise to any of its customers who have experienced this problem with an RS21 Side by Side fridge-freezer.
Samsung Electronics identified this manufacturing problem with the RS21 through its ongoing quality control procedures. Samsung Electronics has subsequently introduced an improved model of the RS21 and notified all Samsung certified service engineers of the improvement process and parts required.
Having reviewed these particular cases and its service policy with regard to the RS21, Samsung Electronics will provide an extended five-year warranty from date of purchase in respect of this fault. This will entitle any customer experiencing this fault to receive a free service engineer's visit and repair. This extended warranty will be in effect immediately.
Samsung Electronics would ask any customers who have this problem with their RS21 to call this freephone number, 0800 988 0123, to arrange for it to be fixed under this extended warranty. Samsung Electronics would like to reassure all customers of its commitment to quality customer service and would ask anyone with questions to call the number above.

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Poppycat

http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/reports/consumer_goods/consumer_20080407.shtml