Samsung Refrigerator Ice Build-Up and Leaking Water Inside Drawers - How to Fully Fix it Forever
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
- If your Samsung Bottom Door Freezer Refrigerator has developed a water leaking problem where water gets into the crisper drawers, then this video is the ultimate fix for you. Additionally, if your refrigerator cover gets frozen in ice and you can't figure out how to remove it, this video will show you the fix. Both of these problems are related to each other, and you likely want to fix both problems at the same time in one big fix. This problem of the Samsung Refrigerator freezing up is a VERY common problem that really hasn't had a GOOD fix until recently.
The kit used in video: bens-appliances.com/collectio...
*DISCLAIMER*: This video involves splicing electric lines into your refrigerator. Make sure the electricity is turned off on the fridge when dealing with electricity, such as installing/splicing the secondary heater in. You'll need to turn it on to run the forced defrost mode, however, which is safe to do with the evaporator panel moved to the side (but plugged in for fan/ect)
The goal of this video is to:
* Fix Samsung a Refrigerator that has Ice on the Evaporator Panel
* Fix Samsung a Refrigerator that has Ice on the Evaporator Coils
* Fix Samsung a Refrigerator with Ice Ball on Evaporator Fan
* Fix Samsung a Refrigerator that Leaks Water into Drawers
Many people have thrown away their refrigerators or had to have technicians come to attempt to fix the problem multiple times with usually rocky results. If you do both installations together, you should correct just about any problem relating to your Samsung Refrigerator leaking water into drawers, as well as the ice build upon in the refrigerator.
At the end of this video, you will have successfully understand how to install a Samsung Drain Kit into your refrigerator (how to install #da82-01415a) as well as how to install a heater into your Samsung refrigerator.
How to force your Samsung Refrigerator into Defrost Mode: • Samsung Refrigerator T...
Update: Since making this video, I've seen a lot of people use this fix, successfully buying all the items mentioned below. I found a company that build me a custom-made heater for these refrigerators, so viewers didn't have to spend the $80-100 that Amazon is now charging for everything (the heater, the drain kit, the ties, and drain kit). I've packaged the heater with ties and connectors for sale at this link: bens-appliances.com/collectio...
If you use the code "UA-camKIT", it takes an extra 10% off the order, and basically contains all the Amazon parts below except for the drain tubes (which will be available soon).
Items I used in this video:
* Supco SH502 heater: bit.ly/3Jtivtc
* (Alternate) Supco SH201: bit.ly/44z0pOP
* 3M Tap Connector: amzn.to/32ob3sS
* OR instead of Tap Connectors, I've had really good luck with Posi-Taps (no tools, faster): amzn.to/358WHQ7
* Ties: amzn.to/2QktadP
* Drain Kit: bit.ly/3nPK5WV
* Silicone Sealant for Connections: amzn.to/3PFyBSt
* Irwin 9-in-1 Multitool (takes apart just about any major appliance), $13.99: amzn.to/2KDVsNJ
* Frost King FV30 Foam Tape: amzn.to/3otC2wQ
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.
Affiliate Link & Earnings Disclosure: bit.ly/3oXeu3B
Tools I use in all videos can be found at my Amazon Idea Page: www.amazon.com/shop/bensappli...
Did this video help you out? Send me a tip, and help me make more Appliance Repair videos for people to watch for free!
PayPal: paypal.me/BensappliancesYT?lo...
CashApp: $BenjaminSchlichter
Video Timeline
Introduction & Description of Problems with a Samsung Refrigerator (00:00)
Parts Used in Fix (1:11)
How to Remove Center Shelf Removal (1:46)
Evaporator Cover Removal and Wire Harness Layout (2:04)
Samsung Evaporator Ice Ball Behind Evaporator Cover (The problem!) (2:56)
Drain Tube Parts for Fix (3:36)
Removing Back Cover for Drain Tube Installation (4:03)
How to Remove Samsung Refrigerator Drain Pan (5:26)
How to Install Foam Metal Strips on Drain Pan (6:59)
How to Install Samsung Refrigerator Drain Probe (7:34)
How to Install and Add the Second Defrost Heater to the Samsung Refrigerator (8:21)
How to Verify the Second Defrost Heater is Working (13:20)
An Alternate Fix for Your Samsung Refrigerator Frosting Up (14:16)
How to Re-Install the Evaporator Cover (14:46)
Outro and Ending (15:45) - Навчання та стиль
Thank you Ben for such a detailed video. My husband applied this fix today to our Samsung refrigerator. Thank you for saving the cost and frustration of dealing with Samsung or with one of their technicians. This is a Samsung design flaw that they refuse to fix or acknowledge. Ben, you're the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thanks Ben, bought your kit, it has been 2 months now, no issues with the refrigerator. No ice build ups, no water leaks. Saves me couple thousands and will avoid samsung refrigerators from now.
I want to say a huge THANK YOU! It's people like you who make me at least TRY to fix things myself. My husband and I spent an afternoon fixing our fridge, and, thanks to you, IT WORKED.
I'm glad it worked! This is one of the STUPIDEST and most insane fixes we have to do. There's no reason this issue needs to happen on a $2,000+ fridge, yet they do so often. Other brands fixed this by *gasp* installing a small heater on the fan but the $5 fix eludes the manufacturer... Costing you, a homeowner, $80 in parts to fix totally, or $300+ from a tech. Nuts.
@@yuriy797 no, you are wrong. he did it correctly. it should isolate from cooling mechanism, not from fridge walls.
@@bensappliancesandjunk I’m going to try this w my sons help so we both learn (I have a visible ball of ice ant constant water/ice under the drawer) but all of the ‘in hindsite’ suggestions make me very nervous!
Ben, I simply cannot thank you enough for this repair video. As a senior citizen on a fixed income I was looking at laying out a huge chunk of change. I have been fighting with my Samsung fridge for the last ten years. After the water line between the reservoirs ruptured I was ready to pack it in and buy a new fridge. Thanks to your video I replaced the drain heater, added the insulation strips, the drain tubes, and added the top heater as well as fixing my ruptured water line. Finally after years fighting this fridge it’s fixed and I have you to thank for it.
I am so glad its working better for you! Samsung wont put the heaters in stock due to energy efficiency but other brands like LG have. Units with these "French Door" style systems seem to be a magnet for this issue, and companies are really reluctant to solve this.
7:10 - those self-adhesive strips has to be attached from outside of aluminum cover. You gave people wrong recommendation. It has to be between aluminum cover and fridge body !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@bensappliancesandjunk Heh Ben I followed your fix to the letter but I’m now getting a flashing error code on the display and don’t know how to clear it. After much googling the errors seem to be related to the ice maker, which I don’t have. Can you help?
@@lisaoconnor5139 what is the code?
@@bensappliancesandjunk thanks for the reply! I’m trying to attach a photo here but can’t.
Ben . . . I did your fix 6 months ago, and it has worked like a charm. Thanks for the video. One tip for clearing the frozen drain line: To thaw the drain line I hooked up about 5 or 6 feet of 1/4" flexible vinyl tubing (with a makeshift adapter) to a wet vac, and poured boiling water into the drain line while advancing the vinyl tubing into the drain line to suction the column of water. This allowed hot water to melt the top surface of the ice column without allowing the ice to render the water too cool to melt the ice. Amazingly, this technique cleared the frozen drain line within 10 seconds! I hope that helps your viewers, because I haven't found anything on the Internet -- although I haven't look exhaustively -- describing that technique.
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Thanks a million. I have been looking for a fix for this problem for three years - about one year after buying the refrigerator. I really appreciate all the work that went into the video. A bit too much for my repair skills but at least I can speak intelligently with the person I hire.
Just came here to say that this solution worked for me! It’s been 6 months now and no ice build up so far. I was ready to throw out this fridge and spend $2000 on new fridge. This video and the kit has saved me.
Just ordered the full kit. Your instructions (and thought process) are so thoughtfully presented I'm confident that this is way to go. Thanks in advance!!
Finally a fix that works after years of struggle. I bought the 201 heater on line and the high temp tie wraps and clips at Home Depot. Different Sammsung Model (Side by Side) but located the brown wires and clipped it in tested it by forcing it into defrost and it worked. Been 2 months and no upper iceburgs or fan noise. Thank You so much and I will never buy a Samsung appliance again.
Thanks for this! I was able to get everything unfrozen and back up and running. Headed to check out the kit now, as I just needed my fridge to work until it arrives!
Followed the instructions on this fantastic video. My fridge is the Samsung model RFG297AARS. Was dealing with the issues described on this video for a few years. Kept having to defrost regularly. It’s been over 7 months since I did the mods in this video. No ice no water. Fridge runs perfect! Thanks !!
I wanted to thank you so much for sharing this with us. I’ve been dealing with this issue for over a year now. And have tried so many ways to correct this problem to no avail. I surrendered to defrosting it once a month because I don’t have the funds to buy a new one. The only thing that came out of that was a clean refrigerator that really didn’t work LOL
I did the fix about two weeks ago with a little doubt that it would work. I would keep looking in the back vents to see if there was any build up of ice and was getting hopeful one day I saw a little frost back there and said to myself here we go again. Till I went back the next day to see it all clears up that made me sure that it was doing it’s job.
Thanks again it really is a blessing to us
This is the best Samsung refrigerator tutorial on UA-cam. Thank you!
Thanks Ben, bought your kit, it has been 3 months now, no ice build ups. Saves me couple thousands and will avoid samsung refrigerators from now.
Ben, thanks for the video. I have done the repair & it has only been 3 days, but it is working ok, so far. I do have a few suggestions:
1. Before doing any of these repairs, try the following: clean out both of the drain tubes in the bottom back of the fridge. There is a mode for the fridge that manually turns on the heating elements ( Ben's video shows it) . Turn it on to defrost the coils. It was not documented in any manual I saw, but it is there. This means that you might be able to force the coils to defrost without completely turning off the fridge. worth a try. if the water is still draining into the Fridge, that means that the drain tubes are not clear.
2. do not trust the temp display on the Fridge. you can get an inexpensive Bluetooth thermometer and put it in the fridge and track the temp. I have a Govee Wireless Thermometer and it works great. It gives me a graph showing history. I can see the temp on a min by min chart & even see when the Fridge thermostat turns off & on. (btw, I have nothing to do with the company, I just like the product). This thermometer is very accurate & I can see the the Samsung temp is way off (pos). this is the only way I can tell that temp the fridge really is.
3. Easy way to get that metal clip/heatsink off. Do not bother with a wire clipper. It is held on with a aluminum rivet. just drill it out, the fastener/heatsink will then easily pull off.
4. Learn your lesson ( I have), Do not ever buy a Samsung POS again.
Just used the complete kit with the moisture addition for a Samsung RF267AARS/XAA. A bit different than the Samsung in Ben's superb videos, but everything fit well. Took me more than a couple of hours as there was a fair amount of ice in the drain tube, rust, cracks in the refrig backwall, and double sided tape on the styrofoam. Working well now. Thanks Ben for the kit and videos!
Ben, you saved the day. Your explanation was comprehensive and concise. You saved me at least a $150 service call and helped me do it myself. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your post. For those is you facing this issue, water in your fridge is not necessarily from ice buildup. After removing the back panel and surprisingly not finding any ice, I did notice that the aluminum shield was corroded around where it funnels water into the drain. And the top of the drain hole was partially blocked with pieces of aluminum and a brown gritty substance that appears to be rust from whatever material the shield is made of. I cleaned up the rust, installed the drain kit that I had ordered and repaired my corroded shield with aluminum tape. I buttoned everything backup and seems as though problem solved. While my issue was not ice buildup, your video was very helpful and have me the confidence to tackle and overcome the problem without paying a repairman $75 p/hr plus parts.
This literally saved me hundreds of dollars (maybe even thousands of my floor had to put up with any not leaks) and I feel great having been able to fix it in my own. Thank you so much for your knowledge and help. And don’t talk down on yourself, you literally bring light into many homes by sharing the gift that is helping reduce stress and making home repairs simple and easy. Thanks again!
Amen, I still see what kind of advertisement is it for Samsung when you walk into a nice house, and every single one of them has prostate issues, either excessive water marks, running down the front of your fridge if you don’t wipe it every day or puddles on your floor that’s good advertising Samsung. It’s only been a problem for 15 freaking years. Venice figured it out. It’s obviously a scam.
That’s good advertising yeah, that electrical appliance over there with the puddle of water that you have to stand in front of in touch the metal?
That’s how Samsung views word of mouth
Ben figured it out, I have no idea what Venetian skills are
GREAT tutorial. Just did the back hoses and the drain heater extender without any problems! Fingers crossed for a few weeks out to see if any more water/ice shows up. Thank you!
Same. Just changing the clip seemed to do the trick for my fridge... 2 yrs ago
Great vid! I've had the icing problem on my 2010 model and have removed the back interior panel several times through the years. Your fix is next on my list. My internal components are the same as your video. Samsung seems to keep manufacturing the same bad design year after year.
I'm actually doing this fix right now Ben, thanks for this helpful tutorial. The only difference I've made is I'm using stainless steel wire ties. My thinking is by cutting the tails a bit long, they may increase the heating wire's surface area by acting as heater extensions themselves. If nothing else, the tie locks should act as extra heat nodes. I'm currently trying to get the Samsung replacement heat tab far enough down the drain so that it sits properly on the lower heater element. Right now, it sits about 1/4" above the element and bottoms out on (I'm guessing) more ice. So far, so good... Thank you again Ben, this was really well done, and more thorough than any others I had seen.
Quick update: I had to make a 90' twist in the Samsung heat probe to get it to fit. My drain has a 90' bend about 1/2" from the fridge opening, going off to the left when facing the front of the open fridge. Making the twist let it drop down and follow the bend, staying tight to the back, then bottom of the drain. I'll have to check it to see how this works out. The rest went great. Because of availability, I went with the Supco SH201, which is a metal braided heater with the leads on each end, but otherwise is functionally the same as the SH502. I ran a forced defrost to confirm the new wire indeed warmed up properly before putting the fridge back together (I'd rather only have to go through this once). It heated up and got hot enough I could only keep my fingers on it for 1-2 seconds, and I did find that the metal cable ties also heated up enough that they were uncomfortable to keep my fingers on by about 2 seconds. Your fingers may vary. All that to say, so far so good!
Thanks for this Ben, just placed my order and look forward to putting this issue to bed once and for all👌
Great video. I admire how you mention as you video through the permanent fix, in hind site.
That is a unique quality and appreciate all you’ve shown here. I too bought the entire kit. Off to set away the food from spoiling, but no big deal. I too have enough insulation to get through this. Thank you so much Bro!!!
Installed the full kit and so far no more problems! Thanks!
Thanks Ben, best trouble shooting, what to do, and what is needed video thus far!!...Saved a bunch of food, and made my wife happy!!..YESSS!!...DONE!!!
nothing is better than making wife happy...
Great video. This refrigerator has driven us crazy with routinely building up ice on the floor of the freezer and ice behind the crisper drawers as well as leaking water. I have changed the drains twice and recently had a repairmen who did the same plus a couple other things but I don’t recall what the “other things” were. His fix lasted longer than mine but we are back at it again now with the crisper drawers. The freezer compartment seems to be holding its own. With your help, I am going to try one more time to fix this thing. If that doesn’t work, the junkyard will get a new fridge and so will my wife. The wife’s will NOT be a Samsung.
Thanks for the clip. I have fixed the drain freeze issue twice by now. The water still builds up regularly and I need to clean out the pan below crispers every two weeks. May be an extra heater is the answer; will try it now.
How sad it is that Samsung has advise on how to properly mount the foil backing to fix their own poorly designed defrosting and drain system. It is truly ironic how consumers spend thousands of dollars of Samsung appliances but Samsung fails to accept their design mistake, to apologize for the troubles their customers face and to send free repair kit to all buyers.
This is the last Samsung purchase I am making.
Thanks so much Ben! I've been dealing with this for years and now I finally have a cheaper solution that just replacing the fridge!
Thanks Ben! Your steps and instructions were incredibly helpful. Fingers crossed for a complete fix. Wish I had seen your video before I dropped $300 on a first fix. The repair man should watch your video, I ended up fixing his mess too.
I am going to be defrosting my fridge this weekend and was thinking I just needed to clear the drain, but now that I found this video I ordered all the stuff and will be doing this whole repair. Thanks.
Just ordered the kit for our 2014 RF263BEAEWW French door model which looks pretty similar to the one you worked on. I tried to fix it about a month ago after watching a less than adequate home video and removed the ice which had completely enveloped the back side of the evaporator cover assembly. This worked until the past two days when that familiar rattling returned and my wife threatened to buy a new one, but not a Samsung! Hopefully this does the trick as well as restore my wife's faith in my handyman abilities. As they say you are only as good as your last fix it job. Keep you posted.
How is it working? Love the last repair comment
@@jakemf1 So far so good. I installed a new defrosting element along with Ben's defrosting mod for good measure. His instructions where spot on and easy to follow. Just take your time when defrosting the whole thing, the cover can be pretty water logged and frozen tight and the Styrofoam it is made of will break before the ice does. Now on to the next honey do.
Works - once I figured out I needed to use a screwdriver with a magnetized head to get the screws out. Solved the problem completely for a couple of weeks, until the issue started again. Next step will be to see what is going on with the drain tubes. Thanks for this video.
BEN... You are my HERO! Just ordered your kit. Cant wait to try it out. I have been manually defrosting my fridge every couple weeks for the last year. I tried doing a similar thing by adding a short piece of heat trace tape but it didnt really get hot enough. Hoping this fixes my frost issue! THANKS for taking the time to make such a great video and offering such a complete kit.
Where did you find the kit? Do you have a link?
@@princessfiona911 the link is in the video description
I have everything but the the new drain tubes. Are the necessary? The originals are faulty? I hate to put all this back together and it freezes up again. I wouldn’t know if it was Bc of tubes or I messed up elsewhere! Thx for the vid
@@dennybug2 when I replaced my drain tubes, I thought it to be unnecessary until I pulled out the old ones. One of the tubes was completely clogged with gunk and I noticed that the plastic fittings became very brittle and crumbled when removed. Good idea to replace them especially, if your unit has some age. My Samsung is approaching 10 years.
Perfect. Thank you so much. I loved the visualization of the frost pattern. That really helped me understand the problem. I was considering buying this Samsung but was worried about This problem. I feel better now
I just wanted to thank you for this video I’m currently in the Samsung training to become a service center and I haven’t heard mention of this fix ever. Thank you
The Samsung factory fix is their moisture service kit. The secondary heater is an adhoc add-on that techs came up with that definitely isn't OEM. It'd change the EnergyStar rating which is *probably* why Samsung never attempted it. The other fix not mentioned on icing is putting the code into the interface that forces it to change from adaptive to timed defrost - that specific step is VERY prevalent on the Whirlpool FBDM iteration that ends up having this same exact problem, too.
I bought and installed Bens' kit on my refrigerator. I installed it 7 days ago and it looks fine. I'll monitor it for another week. I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Bens!
How is it going?
Still working?
Excellent video and much more complete that most on UA-cam. Thanks!
I am literally just finishing assembling my Samsung from my annual defrost due to ice. Too lazy to disassemble again to do this, but will do next time. Thank you so, so much!
Thank you so much for posting this. I've had technicians out to work on my fridge and it was still freezing so I'm giving the minimal upgrade a try with just the drain kit. But keeping this in my pocket with the option of adding the auxiliary heater if that doesn't work!
Thank you so much. I bought the kit for $23. Fixed it.
Your video is excellent! The narration is superb and thorough.
Thank U my Bro! U have been a blessing to me and thousands of people like me who seeks guidance for DIY. B BLESSED!
Fantastic tutorial! Thank you for taking time to walk us through. I’ve been struggling with my Samsung from the beginning and this was the perfect video for a diy gal fix 👍🏻
Thank you so much Ben. You saved us almost $2,000! Buy the kit...it worked for us on our RF18 in our RV.
EDIT: Well, come to find out, this was not our problem. The problem was the Thermal Fuse Assembly. When we first put in the heater we didn’t have an Ohms meter to test if everything was working. A week later it froze up again. A friend came and tested everything and the heaters were not getting power. After further searching we heard someone mention this fuse and so we found ours on the left side behind the coils. Ours had condensation in it and was not working. $10 later and we are back in business. We did leave the extra heater installed. Hopefully all is corrected now.
do you have a part number for the fuse?
I ordered this kit and my refrigerator works great now!! Unfortunately I feel the company should have had a recall due to this problem!
The ordeal has been a big headache until I received the parts to fix! Thank you for your kit and the information to fix this problem!
Yeah its absolutely bullshit.
Just got my kit last week, installed everything & it’s working great now FINALLY. Big thx!
Glad it helped!!!
Thank you Ben. I have been fighting this problem for 5 years. All the repairmen want to do is charge an arm and a leg to do this same fix I can do for $75. I can't wait to see how it works! No Samsungs for me in the future!
Thanks Ben. After replacing many parts (probably unnecessarily) and trying many "fixes" I was ready to give up and buy a new non Samsung fridge. Just put the heater in as frost higher up was the main issue. Here's hoping!
Thanks again. Much appreciated.
Sadly, I'm starting to hear this problem is popping up on other non-Samsung fridges too. They degrade after time due to tolerances/specs for the upper cabinet freezing over. Samsung just happens to be the worst so far, but others are trying to get there themselves.
Having said that, the heater seems to work about 90% of the time. The other 10% usually is that there's a systemic moisture buildup from somewhere in the fridge, making it too humid which adds heavily to the amount of moisture coming into the fridge.
Ben Ordered the kit today in the hope that it will fix Similar issue with my Samsung fridge. Will keep posted. Thanks
Looking forward to this build. Good luck! Can't wait for the results.
Ordered the kit. Thank you! Great video! I hope it works!
Thanks a bunch, just ordered your kit tonight. Looking forward to fixing up this fridge! I hit the thumbs up, great job, sir!
Thanks! I just installed one today on a unit and took extra pictures for documentation.
@@bensappliancesandjunk what is the point of the silver tape in the samsung fridge. What is it actually doing to help?
Great video - Thanks! And thank you for bundling together the repair kit (which I just ordered from you.)
Thanks! I'm working to source the drain kit fully to add to it, but those parts have been very difficult to find a supplier of at wholesale.
Super helpful and well done!
Saved tons of cash for Christmas.
THANK YOU best how to video I ever watched.....you made this is simple
I hope this makes it easy for you
This is the best fix video ever!! Thank You!!!
Ben, you are an amazing genius.
At first I thought you were going to say put it on the curb! That was my thought process! I am so ready
I'm VERY close to this great idea ;-) but finding a new refrigerator under $2800 sorta brings me back to a possible $100 or less fix, fingers crossed!
I’d like to put mine on Samsung’s curb, never again will I ever buy a Samsung appliance
Sledge hammered mine , the joy was worth all the wasted time and effort attempting to fix this intentionally designed POS
Okay, great! I ordered it! Thanks again, Ben!
Thank you! My drain was completely frozen and I had a huge ice block by my fan as well. I purchased - DA82-01415A water leakage kit from Amazon and your link, and I am trying the drain tubes along with the new larger drain heating element and insulation first. I also added insulation around the copper pipes at the top right where the ice formed. Getting the clips off the back was difficult, so thanks for pointing that out. I think my additional insulation made the replacement of the panel slightly difficult as well. Now to see what happens....
Great video as always Ben
Hi Ben! I just realized I got an SH203 instead of a 201, which looks like it has a higher wattage (55W). This might be a silly question, but do you think it’s still doable to use this heater instead? What risks might there be? Thanks!
Thank you for making this video and for the clear explanation
Thanks for this video, I've been battling with this fridge for years but I've had luck recently and with making sure the fridge is tilted back on it's feet not the wheels which seems to be working to prevent fan noise but I still see a block of ice and occasional water in the bottom of the fridge.
What is the point of new drain lines? Do they handle more liquid?
Just ordered the kit and will try this fix when I get it. Hopefully this permanently solves this long term issue with this fridge. This ownership experience has been very frustrating up to this point.
I hear you. Most techs I know have these heaters out in the field for a year and a half plus and no issues as long as its installed/verified working correctly.
Thanks for the detailed video. Much appreciated
Excellent video and description very informative
Great kit, easy to install and with your tips and being candid about what you would do differently all went well and after the forced defrost and both heaters worked fine, i put the unit back together and all is good. Can not thank you enough for the help and wish Samsung would own up to the lousy design .
Thank you for your video. I have a different samsung refrigerator i'm going to work on, but all the techniques and reasons why are very helpful.
Just did all this to my fridge yesterday after fighting an icing issue the last year or so. Lets hope it fixes it permanently.
Appreciate this upload. Fixing now.
Thank you so much for making this video you explained it perfectly.
Ben sorry I missed your link to order these parts, you offer a great savings
Great video and useful tips!
I hope your video surpasses mine in views. This is a “real” fix video instead of temporary like mine. I’ve tried to explain the design flaw in my video and that there’s no broken parts, but I never explained a long term modification fix like you did. I’m going to find a way to forward people to your instructional. I’m not a technician but you couldn’t have done it better. Now I can actually follow your vid and fix MINE once and for all! Thanks Paul
Awww, thanks!
These are garbage units, and I can't claim I invented the fix - I've seen other techs do it. However, I tried to do the video as good of justice as I could.
Just completed the repair today. Got a bit of a scare when I went to test the heater and got a flashing error code “2 C” but all it meant was I hadn’t plugged in the fan. 😅 Put the fridge into forced defrost mode and I could feel the new secondary heater working. Thank you so much for this awesome video, you saved my $3000 fridge!!
Great video! Thank you!
Great video. Very few videos I have found have addressed the ice buildup at the top of the unit
That's exactly why I did the video. Many, many people will upload videos of a shorter term / temp fix like the drain clip on the defrost heater which can work, but not always. i tried to throw as many fixes at the machine as I could that are far more long term and are less susceptible to issues.
7:10 - those self-adhesive strips has to be attached from outside of aluminum cover. You gave people wrong recommendation. It has to be between aluminum cover and fridge body !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Extremely good and concise explanation. I did do this because I had to do this. It works brilliantly (as we say in the UK), and that was a year ago. I have had no trouble with my fridge ever since. I cannot thank you enough. I have another fridge, an LG, which had exactly the same problem, and it is now sitting in my garage. The fourth time I had the rip-off experts look at it they fixed the problem, possibly because I told them I was going to put it on the internet with their name attached, and I would also contact the President of LG with their names and the distributor they work for, but I went out and bought another fridge, (This time a Samsung which exhibited exactly the same problem.) This is an easy problem guys...just do it yourself....and know why and how you are doing it yourself. So the original 'fix-it' guys got paid three times NOT to fix it. This an international SCAM. THX China.
I Believe Samsung is a S. Korean company?
Thanks for the video!
Ben, thank you so much for this video and making the kit to solve the issue! Bought it and installed it as instructed and seems to be the permanent fix. Knock on wood and THANK YOU for what you do! Best.
Great video. Many thanks.
Very good job. It is very helpful.
Ben: I've been fighting this issue for years. I have tried multiple things that were suggested and had my warranty service on the refrigerator many times. I ordered this retrofit and installed today. Other than the back panel (of which I also ordered because the Styrofoam was damaged) in the fridge being hard to re-install all seems good. I don't have a heat sensor to check that it's working but I did check continuity on the heater connections and it seemed fine. Time will tell if this eliminates the ice build-up. I'm sure as long as it is installed properly it will fix it. Thanks for the video.
After following this video and installing the kit... a week later I woke up in the morning to find that my refrigerator door was left slightly ajar. There was wet humidity and moisture covering everything in the fridge and I even noticed a little bit of ice accumulation coming out of one of the vents.
I put the refrige in defrost mode for 20 minutes. After that the fridge has been running perfectly and I did not have to disassemble the fridge to remove the ice ball build up.! I've had to disassemble the fridge three times to remove ice buildup over the years for similar reasons ..The kit works
Ben I bought the repair kit with heater also the drain tubes,,, i installed the kit in February now 2 months later and the pantry door tray is getting a small amount of water and frost under the drawer ! No more fan noise with extra heater but water on the floor also ….. what do you suggest now?
Update: Since making this video, I've seen a lot of people use this fix, successfully buying all the items mentioned below. I've been able to build a custom-made package, so viewers didn't have to spend the full $80-100 that Amazon is now charging for everything (the heater, the drain kit, and over-buying certain parts). I've packaged the heater with ties and connectors for sale at this link: bens-appliances.com/collections/all/products/refrigerator-secondary-heater-kit for about $25 less than buying it thru Amazon. Use the code "UA-camKIT" for an extra 10% off on the entire kit.
Also, since UA-cam doesn't let me update VIDEOS, one revision I wish I could make involves the foam strips: You want to put those UNDERNEATH the metal drain pan, not inside of it. This way the water channels behind the pan and doesn't get stuck during defrost.
Just bought a "kit". Hoping this will fix my ice build up issue.
@@shred1 It should! I shot an updated video with the kit to test it, and it shredded the frost buildup within a few moments.
Ben I had a warranty call on January 15 same exactly refrigerator issue u know the build ice on back panel so I replace the temperature sensor that’s it then today bump same guy call me same issue so I decide to do this trick here u showing put a extra heather up wish me luck because I don’t really wanna hear that call again lol
Plus ima order couple heathers from u and the clips thanks for this video
@@juansanchez-kb4ij use the code Appliancetech on the 10pc kit and it'll drop the price more for you. I did another video doing this install with positaps. I swear it took all of 10 minutes even with a camera in my face. You do it two or three times and its easier than just about anything, and it's big money with few callbacks.
Or if you want the whole kits, the code will drop price some percent. Order a few and I'll see if I can't throw an extra set in or two. This mod is to help homeowners, but I don't want to take profits away from techs either, so I want to make sure you guys get good margins
You are my hero!
Thanks for this! Do you have a video for the fridge working but freezer part not freezing any more?
I see tons of these units on a weekly basis. I can also add that I've fixed them without this method by simply getting a flashlight and putting it inside the fridge section: turn off all lights in kitchen and close the fridge doors and check for light escaping at top or bottom between the french doors. If you see light, that probably means that you have a damaged door gasket (the rubber flap on the sides of the door gasket on top and/or bottom) even if the actual gasket itself is 100% sealing perfectly. That small torn flap will allow humidity to enter the unit just above or below the mullion heater bar, and cause the compressor to work harder for no reason because of the response of the several thermistors (temperature sensors) in the fridge section.
That and literally every samsung I work on, almost always has a ridiculously dusty condenser coils. I use a ryobi one + compact workshop blower to clean off these style of coils because vacuum extensions and brushes cannot get to everything (and they always look like new afterwards) and its easier and faster to vacuum the aftermath around the fridge too (lay towels around the opposite side to catch big dust balls from pluming into the air)
The dust clogs the drain tubes and there are typically 2-3 tubes to check the nozzles for clogs. This is ultimately the catalyst for most samsung ice-buildup/defrost/leaking issues.
These compressors are not designed to function with the extra heat, so this spreads excessive particles of compressor lubrication oil throughout the sealed system in some cases which can eventually lead to partial clogging at the capillary tube before it enters the evaporator (the areas where the frosting is about to happen). This is mainly because on select models of samsung and LG alike thought it would be a great idea to crimp the very end of the capillary tubing there because it acts as a noise damper when the pressure equalizes so people don't hear the refrigerant gurgling or 'water flowing' sounds.
Also, if your samsung icemaker stops working, some models are actually designed to shut the icemaker down if your compressor/condenser gets too hot. Just clean the dust off condenser coils and the control boards 'ambient thermistor' will be satisfied and restore regular icemaker function. To speed it up, look for a blue button on your icemaker and hold it for up to 10 seconds to reset/force harvest. Not all icemakers have the blue button but most french door styles do.
So you're saying this whole repair can be avoided by replacing torn seals and cleaning the dust out of the condenser coils?
Bought a house and it had one of these fridges in it. 6 months later fan is making a noise and the fridge isn't cooling. Upon finding this video, it looks like its had this issue before and has mylar tape on the copper pipes. it did nothing to prevent the ice ball. Mine was so bad, the back panel was frozen stuck. Thank you so much for this video :)
Ben, upgrading the air circulation fan to one that pushes a larger volume of air goes a long way to fixing the problem with the defrost cycle. Also repositioning the defrost sensor can help. I like your idea of adding a new heater or a secondary heater. The pics I've mentioned has kept my refrigerator frost free for nine months when I was defrosting it every three weeks. I'm letting it go for 6 months, it idiot show much icing. Checking it again at 9 months
How is your fridge running? Is the more powerful fan still doing the job? What fan did you install?
Ben I've installed the Kit and it was super simple, I was actually able to fix multiple pin hole leaks in my Water Tank which was as much of a contributing factor as the problem with the heater been enjoying a relatively dry refrigerator and I say relatively because I still have some moisture and ice but I think its a different issue one thing others may find is the back wall plate has rusted (badly in my case) might be where I'm getting additional moisture from. My recommendation get this kit with the POSI-TAP connectors they are awesome! Fridge has been working perfectly for 2 months now!
Awesome video. Im gonna try the fix kit and insulator tape first.........if that doesnt work, i will definitely install the heater. Ive defrosted ice so many times in mine i dont mine taking it apart to put the heater in. Really, thanks for this video. Really didnt want to replace it yet.
hello, did the insulator tape work?
@@771blahblah Hi, its been 4 months so far, no more ice ups so far. I did also install the fix kit from amazon which included a deeper heat extender for the drain, new drain sleeves for the rear, and a few pre cut insulator strips as well. Upper ice machine still ices up, but thats a separate issue. Appliance shop says it might be the overfill valve, but im not interested in spending the money to fix that.
@@davea4037 thanks, Dave. appreciate your input!
Sorry, for a $2000 + refrigerator I don't feel I should have to re engineer it. I had this problem plus ice maker issues. And after only seven years, it stopped cooling. Mine went straight into the dump. Very informative video.
I solved my water/ice problem on my Samsung!!!! After a year of this problem and calling SAMSUNG who would not help, I did the perfect repair job!! I threw my Samsung fridge out and purchased a new one of a different brand!!!!!
Most thorough appliance repair on UA-cam. (PS No such word as "unthaw.")
Hey mate thanks the video very helpful. A question after installation I find the area near the newly installed unit is really hot and now the fridge isn't staying cool, any insight or ideas?
Hi Ben, I bought the secondary heater kit and it worked great for about 7 months. Last week my fridge stopped working again, and when I opened up the fridge, there was ice on the coils again. I tested the heater and it is still working. Is it possible that I just need to add the aluminum behind the coils and the drain clip to resolve this subsequent freezing issue? Thank you for your videos, they have been so helpful!
This is awesome and I am confident I can do it. Thanks.
My question is have you tried the double insulation to see if it works well enough.