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Suddenly my refrigerator doesn’t start it’s cooling process. The model is ‘Samsung rl36sbms’. When I unplug and plug it, it will start it’s cooling process. Even though, after this first initial cooling process it won’t automatically pick up the cooling process. Because of this, I have to keep unplug-plugging to keep it cold. I’ve checked the fans, and circulation which all seem to be working fine. I couldn’t find the coils to check for excessive frosting, but my guess is this won’t be the problem since I then should’ve already noticed some leaking water somewhere. The cooling itself doesn’t seem to be the problem, because it will do so after plugging. I was hoping to find some help on here, to where I possibly could check for the cause of this problem. Thanks in advance for any help!
Hi @mathijsz , How long does the compressor motor run for after you have “reset” the refrigerator by unplugging/replugging it? If it runs for about 6-11 hours and then stops and then doesn’t start again unless you reset it, then perhaps the freezer defrost sensor may be the problem. Not sure what Samsung’s defrost cycle time is as all manufacturers have different time periods when to start the defrost cycle but usually they all only last for about 15-25 minutes before the compressor is started again. I don’t know your particular model but in most auto defrost refrigerators the defrost sensor informs the control board when the temperature in the freezer has reached ~0 deg. C (32 deg. F) so that the auto defrost cycle can be stopped and the compressor started again to drive the temps back down to the set temp (usually -18 deg. C in the freezer and 3-5 C in the refrigerator). The temperature in the freezer is allowed to rise to 0 C so that any ice buildup on the evaporator unit in the freezer compartment is melted and drained away to the evaporator pan under the refrigerator. This melting process is helped by turning on the defrost heater so that the defrost time is reduced and any frozen food does not even begin to thaw. The evaporator unit is also protected by the defrost thermostat as it is not desirable to allow it to become too warm too often i.e. >0 C as it may be damaged. If it runs for only a short while i.e. <6 hours and then stops does the compressor try to start and then stop or not try to start at all?
