A Samsung Refrigerator Not Cooling With a Frosted Coil in Glendale Heights

A Samsung Refrigerator Iced Over and Not Cooling in Glendale Heights

A homeowner in Glendale Heights called A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance about a Samsung refrigerator that was not cooling. The customer also noted excessive ice buildup on the evaporator cover and a loud noise coming from the unit. Those symptoms together, no cooling, heavy ice, and noise, tell a connected story, and the diagnosis traced it to the sensors that manage the defrost system.

What the diagnosis found

During the diagnosis, the evaporator coil, the coil that produces the cold, was found heavily frosted over. That frost is the direct reason the refrigerator was not cooling: a refrigerator circulates cold by blowing air across that coil, and when the coil is buried in ice, the airflow is blocked and the cold cannot get into the compartments. The loud noise typically comes from the evaporator fan striking or laboring against that ice. So the ice was not just a side effect, it was the cause of both the no-cooling and the noise.

The question is why the coil iced up in the first place, and testing found two sensor faults. First, the evaporator temperature sensor was not reading the coil temperature accurately, which prevents the control board from properly monitoring conditions at the evaporator. Second, the defrost sensor was worn out and was not allowing the defrost cycle to initiate at the proper evaporator temperature. A refrigerator is supposed to periodically run a defrost cycle to melt the normal frost off the coil, and it relies on these sensors to know when and at what temperature to do it. With the sensors not reporting correctly, the defrost cycle was not doing its job, so frost kept building into the heavy ice that blocked the cooling. Replacement of both the evaporator temperature sensor and the defrost sensor was required to restore proper operation.

The repair

Our technician replaced the evaporator temperature sensor and the defrost sensor, restoring the refrigerator's ability to monitor the coil and run its defrost cycle at the correct temperature. With accurate sensors, the defrost system can keep the coil clear of ice, which keeps the airflow open and the refrigerator cooling, and stops the fan from laboring against ice. Addressing the actual root cause, the sensors that had let the ice accumulate, is what makes this a lasting repair rather than just melting the ice once and having it come back.

Why the root-cause approach matters

It would be possible to simply thaw the ice and hand the refrigerator back working for a few days, but the frost would rebuild, because the reason the defrost system was not keeping up would still be there. The proper repair is to fix why the coil iced over, in this case the two failed sensors, so the defrost cycle works correctly going forward and the ice does not simply return. That is the difference between a temporary fix and an actual repair, and it is the approach that keeps the refrigerator cooling.

About A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance

We service Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, GE, Frigidaire, and every other major refrigerator brand throughout Glendale Heights and the surrounding communities. Our technicians are certified and carry common parts, so many repairs can be completed in a single visit.

We quote the price upfront before any work begins, we waive the service call fee when you move forward with the repair, and every completed repair is backed by our full repair warranty. If your refrigerator is not cooling and you see ice building up on the back inside wall, we can find the cause and restore proper cooling.