Unpopular opinion: the new Samsung fridge boards are not that hard to fix

I keep seeing guys at the shop in Springfield just swap the whole main board on those newer Samsung French door models, like the RF28R7351SG. It's a $300 part, but half the time it's just a bad capacitor or a blown fuse you can replace for under five bucks. I fixed three last month by just checking the power supply section first. Anyone else actually bother to test the components before ordering the whole assembly?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_hall25d ago

Yeah, and it's not just the caps. I've found a lot of those boards have cold solder joints on the bigger power connectors. A quick reflow with an iron often gets them going again.

nancyd8525d ago

Absolutely, those big connectors are a huge weak spot. I had an old power supply board where the main 24-pin was barely hanging on. The solder looked fine until you poked it and the whole joint cracked. A good reflow with some fresh flux made it solid as a rock. It's crazy how much heat cycling and just plain old age can wreck those points over time. You're totally right to check them after doing the caps.

keith1162d ago

Classic case of solder joints playing hide and seek. Looks perfect until it just gives up the ghost. Gotta love when the fix is just poking it with a hot stick.