Introduction
Use this guide to replace the defrost thermistor on your older Samsung French door refrigerator.
The Defrost Thermistor is clipped to the evaporator tubing. It monitors the temperature during the defrost cycle, allowing the main control board to cycle the defrost heater on and off to melt the ice buildup without overheating components.
If the defrost thermistor fails, you may have error codes on your display (if it fails by a short circuit or an open circuit). If the thermistor goes out of specification, you may not have codes, but may find that your freezer is not defrosting well, or possibly that it is causing the freezer contents to thaw.
This guide requires a multimeter for testing the thermistor—if you’re new to using one, check out our video tutorial on multimeters. You might also want to take a look at this guide on using a multimeter, as well.
This guide will work for many Samsung refrigerator models. The photos in this guide are from a Samsung RFG298HDRS refrigerator. If you have a different model, you may encounter some minor disassembly differences, but the overall repair process will be the same.
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Unplug your refrigerator before you begin your repair.
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Condenser fan motor
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Compressor motor and thermal overload device
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Water supply valve assembly
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Pull out the upper freezer drawer.
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Lift the front edge of the drawer.
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Remove the drawer by lifting it up and out of the freezer compartment.
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Unclip the basket hinge retainer by tilting the rear edge up and remove it from the drawer rail.
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Release the small drawer basket and lift it up and out.
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Use a 3/8" socket wrench, box wrench, or open end wrench to remove the bolts securing the drawer front to the right drawer slide.
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Repeat the process for the left drawer slide.
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Rotate the slide connector rod until you can access the retaining pin.
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Use a pair of long nose pliers to squeeze the retaining pin shank to release it.
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Pull the retaining pin out of the hole.
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Slide the connecting rod to the right to free the left end of the rod.
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Remove the rod by lifting it upward and sliding it back to the left.
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Pull the icemaker forward parallel to the top of the freezer.
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Reposition the icemaker and hold it in one hand to prepare to disconnect it.
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Grasp the icemaker connector (the one to the front) and squeeze the release tab.
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Pull the connector out from the socket.
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Remove the ice maker.
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This view shows the slots that the mounting studs on the freezer top for reference when reassembling.
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Disconnect the connectors by squeezing the release tab on the connector and pulling them free of the sockets.
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Remove the light-colored connector clip. There are two locking tabs at each end of the clip (top and bottom) that you can lift with a fingernail.
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Remove the red or second connector clip as described in the previous step (it may be another color).
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Use a multimeter set to the Ω setting to test the defrost thermistor.
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Insert the probes into the connector as shown.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Ask our Answers Community for help.
