Fridge Freezer (RSG5UCRS1) not holding temperature

[Nontechmile]

Although display says both fridge and freezer are at the requested temperature they are not.  I have checked with a separate fridge freezer thermometer.  If a do a reset (turn it off for a few minutes) the temp display now shows the correct temperature (albeit only about -6 in Freezer and 9 in fridge) but then slowly shows both temperatures reducing towards the set temperature (-19 Freezer and 3 for fridge).  However, when I check the temperature manually it is still way too warm - another reset and the display again shows the correct temperature.    So bottom line is the fridge freezer seems to think it is achieving the asked for temperatures but in reality it is not.

I have had it 8 years - it is still in same location it has always been.  All door seals look good.  All other functions (eg ice making) seem to be OK.  No build up of ice inside the fridge or freezer.    Any suggestions as to probable problem - fan, compressor, thermostat, coolant leak, mother board controller, etc??

PS. What is the warranty on the Compressor - I seem to recall it was 10 years.

[ChrisM]

Hi @Nontechmile 

It does sound as though your Fridge Freezer would need an engineer's inspection. Have a look at our Online Troubleshooter and Home Repair Service here.

We can confirm that there should be a 10 years parts only warranty on the Digital Inverter Compressor.

[Nontechmile]

I already followed the Troubleshooter guide and it concluded I needed an Engineers Visit.  I tried to book one but the web site would not accept my Model Number and Serial number (which I copied from the plate on my Fridge Freezer) as it said they were invalid.  So I rang the help guys and eventually got to the point where I expected to be able to book an Engineer but the Help Desk guy said Samsung only send their own Engineers to Warranty works and since this was out of warranty I would have to book a Approved Samsung Repairer myself??  He gave me 3 contact numbers - 1 did not do Domestic repairs (only Commercial works), another did not cover my area (despite me giving the Help Desk my Postcode for his search) and the 3rd one couldn't do any repairs until after Xmas which of course is no use at all.  Consequently I have started looking for my own repairer via services like Check-a trade since Samsung themselves have been pretty poor so far.

[ChrisM]

We're sad to hear that, @Nontechmile and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused. Do let us know how you get on with this.

[Nontechmile]

So I was told by one repairer over the phone to disconnect the power for 24Hrs to let any ice thaw - there was a suspicion that the build up of ice was causing the cold air distribution to fail.  Despite no visible ice (one of the selling points of the freezer was that it did not allow ice build up and this negated the need for periodic defrosting) we did as advised.  About half a cup of water was visible on the floor at the back of the freezer following this exercise.  We then switched it back on and the fridge freezer gradually made its way down to the set levels (-19 and +3).   So it appeared to be working again :-).  

So we put a fridge/freezer thermometer into the middle of the freezer to monitor the temperature roughly each hour.  What we say was interesting - the freezer temperature varied from about -18 to -25 and for one reading dipped to -16.   At all these points the display continued to show -19.   The fridge temperature appeared to stay more stable.  So my questions are:

1.  Should the ambient air temperature inside the freezer vary this much over a 24 hour period (there has been no sun shinning on it, our room temperature is maintained at a constant level and we only open the door very briefly once an hour to do the temp check)

2. Is this variation in temperature the method it uses to keep the Fridge Freezer frost free?

3. Why does the displayed temperature show a stable figure when the ambient air temperature inside the Freezer is varying?

4. If this is a fault, what is the likely cause - thermostat, controller board, something else?

[Nontechmile]

Just a quick update.... We haven't seen any more instances of -25; the lowest temperature more recently is about -21/-22.  We have now also seen that the dips to higher temperatures (-14 to -16) occurs every 6 hrs.   So these dips sound  intentional and may this IS the mechanism the unit uses to stop the build up of frost.  Any thoughts??

[Nontechmile]

Final update ... things seem to have settled down for no apparent reason.  Freezer temp are now only varying between -18 & -22 (when set to -19).  We have seen just one brief dip down to -16 in the last 2-3 days.   Cant explain why it now seems OK but happy it is.   Any suggestions??

[Nontechmile]

So can any confirm if it is normal for Samsung American Style Fridge Freezer to see freezer temperature variations of +1 (warmer) to -2 (colder) different to setting with an occasional drop out to around 3-5 degrees warmer than setting??

[Nontechmile]

[Nontechmile]

Temperature continues to go up and down and Samsung have not been willing to send an Engineer to check it.  Any ideas of how I can get this resolved??