Samsung Older French Door Refrigerator Freezer Compartment Ice Room Blower Replacement

Written By: Bill Gilbert

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Samsung Older French Door Refrigerator Freezer Compartment Ice Room Blower Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the freezer compartment ice room blower on your Samsung older French door refrigerator.

The freezer compartment ice room blower is found behind the evaporator cover in the freezer compartment and is mounted on the cover. It circulates cold air to the ice room in the fresh food compartment. This air cools the ice room where the through-door dispensing ice maker is located.

If the ice room blower fails, either from ice jamming it or because it fails itself, the temperature in the ice room will rise, and the refrigerator will not produce ice for through-door dispensing.

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 minor disassembly differences, but the overall repair process will be the same.

Tools

Step 1

Unplug your refrigerator before you begin your repair.
If you are testing or repairing the following items, you may also need to shut off and disconnect the water supply:
Condenser fan motor
Compressor motor and thermal overload device
Water supply valve assembly

Step 2

Open the freezer drawer.

Step 3

Pull out the upper freezer drawer.
Lift the front edge of the drawer.
Remove the drawer by lifting it up and out of the freezer compartment.

Step 4

Unclip the basket hinge retainer by tilting the rear edge up and remove it from the drawer rail.
Release the small drawer basket and lift it up and out.

Step 5

Lift the drawer basket out of the drawer frame and remove it.

Step 6

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.
Repeat the process for the left drawer slide.

Step 7

Lift the drawer front upwards to free it from the drawer slides.
Remove the drawer front.

Step 8

Rotate the slide connector rod until you can access the retaining pin.
Use a pair of long nose pliers to squeeze the retaining pin shank to release it.

Step 9

Pull the retaining pin out of the hole.
Slide the connecting rod to the right to free the left end of the rod.
Remove the rod by lifting it upward and sliding it back to the left.

Step 10

Use a #2 Phillips driver to remove the retaining screws.
Two views of the same screws are shown for clarity. There are not four screws.

Step 11

Pull the icemaker forward parallel to the top of the freezer.
This will release the icemaker from the freezer top.
Reposition the icemaker and hold it in one hand to prepare to disconnect it.

Step 12

Grasp the icemaker connector (the one to the front) and squeeze the release tab.
Pull the connector out from the socket.

Step 13

Remove the ice maker.
This view shows the slots that the mounting studs on the freezer top for reference when reassembling.

Step 14

Use a #2 Phillips driver to remove the screws securing the evaporator cover.

Step 15

Lift the evaporator cover from the bottom edge and tilt the edge toward you.

Step 16

Reposition the evaporator cover to allow access to the connections to the right rear.
Don't try to remove the cover yet, as you need to first disconnect the electrical connections to it in the upper right rear of the freezer compartment.

Step 17

Disconnect the connectors by squeezing the release tab on the connector and pulling them free of the sockets.
Support the cover from below so there is not tension on the connections.

Step 18

Finish disconnecting the connections while supporting the cover from below.

Step 19

Remove the evaporator cover.

Step 20

Use a flush cutter to cut the cable ties securing the fan and blower wiring.

Step 21

Continue to cut the cable ties to free the fan and blower wiring.

Step 22

Remove the wiring from the wire hooks and clear it away to prepare for fan or blower removal.

Step 23

Use a #2 Phillips driver to unfasten the screws securing the ice room blower assembly to the evaporator cover.

Step 24

Lift the blower assembly off of the evaporator cover and remove it.

Step 25

Turn the blower assembly motor side down.
Insert the long nose pliers in from the side on the motor side of the blower assembly and grasp the motor shaft.
Try to insert the pliers as far as you can without distorting or straining the blower assembly frame.

Step 26

Insert a 1/4" straight blade screwdriver between the side of the pliers and the blower wheel hub.
You want the screwdriver blade to be as close to the motor shaft as possible.
Rotate the screwdriver to apply a prying force to the blower wheel hub and move it upwards on the shaft.
The frame of the blower assembly is not strong enough to use a straightforward upward prying motion from the blower wheel side of the assembly. You will likely damage the assembly if you do that.

Step 27

Pull the blower wheel straight off the motor shaft. Be prepared to support the fan assembly with your other hand (not shown for clarity).

Step 28

You can choose to remove the motor while leaving the motor case attached to the blower assembly.
The blower assembly will not be as stable, as the motor shaft is longer and projects further on the blower assembly than on the fan assembly. So the assembly wobbles on the end of the shaft.
It can save a couple of steps but is likely a bit more difficult as it isn't as stable. Here's a link to the procedure. The motor arrangement is essentially identical.

Step 29

Turn the blower motor assembly over so the motor side is up.
Unhook the blower motor wires from the assembly.

Step 30

Use a #2 Phillips driver to unfasten the screws securing the blower motor case to the ice room blower assembly.

Step 31

Rotate the blower motor 90° counter clockwise to unlock it from the blower assembly frame.

Step 32

Grasp the blower motor case and pull it straight off of the blower assembly frame. Remove the blower motor case with the motor.

Step 33

Turn the blower motor case so the shaft points downward.
The following steps show the fan motor case being opened. The procedure is identical for the blower motor.

Step 34

Use a #2 Phillips driver to unfasten the Motor case closure screw.
Note the clip locations.
The motor case has a plastic hinge, so when you open it, allow it to swing open clamshell-style on the hinge.

Step 35

Use a small flat-blade screwdriver to pry outward on the clip.
Lift the cover slightly upward to keep the clip from refastening.
Repeat these two items for each clip.

Step 36

When you release the last clip, swing the case open at the hinge.

Step 37

Lift the motor out of the motor case.

Step 38

The motors for the evaporator fans, the condenser fan and ice room blower are all variations of the same part number with different letter suffixes to indicate their role.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

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Author

Bill Gilbert

Member since: 30/06/22

37443 Reputation

Samsung Older French Door Refrigerator Freezer Compartment Ice Room Blower Replacement

Introduction

Tools

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