(Help) Refrigerator stops once temperature reached.

Question

Refrigerator

Explore comprehensive repair and disassembly guides for a wide range of food-cooling appliances. This is your go-to solution for troubleshooting and fixing refrigerators, fridge-freezers, and other cooling units. Whether you're dealing with common issues or looking for step-by-step instructions on specific models, our detailed guides cover everything you need to keep your appliances running efficiently. Perfect for both DIY enthusiasts and professional repair technicians.

crwdns2934591:020crwdne2934591:0 crwdns2934593:0crwdne2934593:0 | crwdns2947278:020319crwdne2947278:0 crwdns2947270:0crwdne2947270:0

Alphasy @alphasy52651

crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 1

crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Mha 28, 2025

crwdns2933897:0crwdne2933897:0

(Help) Refrigerator stops once temperature reached.

Hi, I recently moved into a new apartment that I’m renting, and inside there’s a SAMSUNG RSA1UTPE fridge-freezer combo, probably around 10 years old. On the front panel, I can set the temperature for the freezer and the fridge. I set the freezer to -25°C and the fridge to 3°C.

The issue is that, although the display shows those target temperatures, the freezer is actually just cool but not cold. The fan isn’t running. If I unplug and plug the fridge back in, the temperatures on the display update correctly with the real values (it shows 9°C for both the freezer and fridge), and the fan starts running again. After about two hours, the temperature drops slowly, until the display goes back to showing -25°C for the freezer, and the fan stops once more.

It seems like the sensor doesn’t register rising temperatures unless I power cycle the fridge. I even replaced the cover that includes the sensor + fan (with the exact same reference part), but the issue keeps happening.

So my question is: why does the freezer work for a while and then stop, only restarting if I unplug and replug the fridge?

crwdns2934089:0crwdne2934089:0 crwdns2934093:0crwdne2934093:0

crwdns2934109:0crwdne2934109:0

crwdns2853045:0crwdne2853045:0 crwdns2853046:0crwdne2853046:0

crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0 0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

crwdns2933313:01crwdne2933313:0

Jordan1 @jordan157202 crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 1 · Answer 1 · 2025-08-28T13:14:36-07:00

That actually sounds like a control board issue more than the sensor. Since you already swapped the fan and sensor assembly and the same thing keeps happening, the problem is probably with how the main PCB is reading the data. What’s happening is the board thinks your freezer is already cold enough, so it just stops the fan and compressor. When you unplug and plug it back in, it reboots and starts cooling again, but then falls back into the same cycle. On older Samsung RSA models, it’s pretty common for the control board to develop bad capacitors or a sticky relay. That would explain why the freezer works fine for a couple hours and then just quits until you reset it. If you’re up for a bit of DIY, you could pull the board and check for swollen capacitors. Otherwise, a replacement board usually solves this problem.

Refrigerator

(Help) Refrigerator stops once temperature reached.

crwdns2933313:01crwdne2933313:0

crwdns2934229:0crwdne2934229:0