2021-01-04 

Buzzed connections. The defrosting element and protection fuses are open circuit.
Ordered new thermal fuses for £50.

2021-01-06

Fuses arrived.

2021-01-11

Began work removing the cooling block. Right-hand screw (7 mm hex head) comes off easily, but left-hand screw is a bit off-centre so can't get a grip. My screwdriver tip may be too thick for the hole.

Bought box spanners to remove obstinate screw. Not small enough, but stretches hole. Used screwdriver again, managed to get a grip and remove screw.

Not built for easy servicing, the screws self-tap into the plastic body. The copper pipe is not very bendy, but I managed to pull the cooler forward. There is a polystyrene foam insulator taped on top, I carefully removed the tape. Underneath, the metal cooling fins are like razor blades, as my finger found out!

To replace the thermal switches, I had to feed the cable through the hole in the back. This was partly sealed with putty, which was easy to remove. This required the back radiator to be partly unscrewed. The cable was then plugged into the rear junction box.

Replacing the cooler was not easy, I had to push it back hard for the screw holes to line up, but I managed it.

Switching on, the fan came on and sounded very noisy, like the blades were hitting something. It is late so I will leave investigating that for now. I will be happy if it simply working.

It occurred to me that the 8°C thermal fuse would have been correctly open-circuit for being above 8°C, and may not be malfunctioning. I put the thermal fuses in the freezer compartment to cool.

2021-01-12

Settled down now, fridge is 4°C and freezer is -22°C, as it should be. The fan is only on intermittently, now that it has reached the target temperature. Intermittent fan noise is tolerable.

The 8°C thermal fuse seemed open circuit at first, then conducting, then went open-circuit as it warmed up. I don't know exactly the temperature it did so.

2021-01-14

A ketchup bottle fell onto and broke a glass shelf. That's £30 to replace, so I will hold off ordering a replacement until I know the rest of it is working.

2021-03-26

Fridge is no longer cool. Turned off then on. Fan is not audible.

The evaporator is not encased in ice, though might be internally. I'm guessing the defrost mechanism is working but the fan is not. Either the fan is dead or the switch in the controller board is not working. Time to apply my multimeter to the connectors on the controller board.

2021-04-01

Shopped around for repair quotes. I can get a flat-fee quote for £135, regardless of what needs replacing. A fan would be £65, leaving £70 for labour time (that I have not got right now). Replacement would be say £450 plus £20 to take away the old one, or £335 more expensive. Girlfriend insistent on new unit, so I bought a new one.

The Samsung RB29FWJNDSA was the most affordable no-frost fridge-freezer of the ones highly rated by the Which? Magazine.