Refrigerator repair suggestions

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

I have a 3-year old Samsung refrigerator, but Samsung "service" have failed to fix it after 3 visits.

Any recommendations for a reliable and honest repair service?

Freezer section works OK. Lower cool section is about 20 deg C when should be 4~5 deg C.

Bangkok Ekamai (Sukhumvit 63) area.

[Orton Rd]

Usually if you switch off for 24 hours then on again it comes back. Done it a few times, what the reason is I forget, check it's not iced up round the fan of course. I'd never buy anything by samsung again except the phones

Edited October 17, 2020 by Orton Rd

[Matzzon]

Any corner shop that have a sign for repair would do. Never deal with the brand repair shops. They only want to sell you a new and give you a high bill.

[2 is 1]

If freezer working , i think there don't have huge problem. Normal refrigerator have only one compressor (if not huge) so that can't be broken. Try what Ordon Rd say maybe help.

[ExpatOilWorker]

2 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Usually if you switch off for 24 hours then on again it comes back. Done it a few times, what the reason is I forget, check it's not iced up round the fan of course. I'd never buy anything by samsung again except the phones

https://www.gfyappliancerepair.com/blog/refrigerator-warm-freezer-cold/

[moontang]

There is a balance switch in the freezer (on some), in addition to the temp control setting in the fridge..yours could be all the way freezer.  Also, it has been humid as sin, lately..surprising how no one ever checks their condensate pan in the back of the fridge..they do fill up.  And..the more high tech it is, the more it needs to be properly grounded.

[Moonlover]

I had a similar problem but the other way round. The frig was OK, but the freezer was not working. It turned out to be a duff fan. Luckily I found one on Lazada and soon had it working again.

 

Like @2 is 1 said, the compressor is working, so the problem is specific to the lower compartment. Can you locate the fans to see if they are running? They're usually behind the back panels.

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

Thanks for all the replies.

To Moonlover -- I did think about the fan but the Samsung repair guy checked it and said it was working OK.

To Orton Rd -- Yes, I did try turning off the fridge for several hours to defrost, but no joy.

 

The problem is that with the new Inverter type fridges (same as my Samsung) with an electronic control board, it needs a specialist to fix it. One fridge repair company said I should contact Samsung because it's a specialized job.

However, today (19/10/20) two Samsung repair guys turned up (the FOURTH visit from Samsung) with an iPad (or similar) which had a diagnostic app. They plugged the iPad into a socket on the fridge electronics board which immediately gave a list of all the checks on the iPad. Similar to a car diagnostic test. All the checks showed "OK" except one in red which indicated the blower fan in the cooler section was not working.

The repair guy checked the cooler fan and found something wrong with the electrical connection to it which he said he repaired.

He ran the diagnostic test again and all checks, including the fan, showed "OK."

It will take some time to see if this fix has worked.

 

So the questions I have for Samsung are:

Why did they send repair guys on THREE previous occasions WITHOUT the diagnostic device?

Why did I have to pay 1,500 baht previously for a replacement electronic control board, plus the service charges, when this was completely unnecessary if they had used the diagnostic tool to begin with?

 

Yes, yes, I know you will all say This Is Thailand !!

But it really is staggering incompetence.

Next time I will NOT buy a Samsung fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Raphael Hythlodaeus

[dddave]

On 10/17/2020 at 9:20 PM, Matzzon said:

Any corner shop that have a sign for repair would do. Never deal with the brand repair shops. They only want to sell you a new and give you a high bill.

This.  I paid a local repair shop an extra B100 to come to my apartment to repair my fridge..he fixed it and charged B300.  It has worked fine in the 4 years since since.  I used the same guy to repair my washing machine.   These guys really seem to know what they are doing, much more so than so called "factory technicians"

Just look for any place with old fridges and TVs out front.  If you can't find in Ekkamai, there are several in Phra Khanong.  

[Matzzon]

14 hours ago, Raphael Hythlodaeus said:

So the questions I have for Samsung are:

And this is TV-Forum. Hmmmm.....as I already posted, a guy in a corner shop will make a better work and cheaper at the same time.

 

You can go ahead and ask Samsung a forth time with the same result. They want you out of their hair and that you buy a new product instead. The guy in the corner has a shop as his livelihood. The factory repair guys are payed for make customers buy new products instead of repairing. Who do you think is going to do the best work, and think about the customer first?

[Aforek]

5 minutes ago, dddave said:

 

Just look for any place with old fridges and TVs out front.  

That's what I did in my place; the "chang " went to my house ( same problem than the OP, but for a Panasonic ) , he opened a sort of door  at the bottom of the fridge , over the freezer , and changed something on the printed circuit ; now it works well; don't change your fridge for this, il's not a big problem