Samsung Refrigerators2021–present

Error Code 26C

The freezer defrost heater is not melting frost; the defrost cycle timed out

Moderate

Address soon - your appliance may not work properly

Also displayed as: 26C

What This Means

Defrost heater housing connector separation; Contact error in defrost heater circuit; Open-circuited defrost heater wire; Short circuit in heater; Blown thermal fuse (thermo-fuse)

What actually causes this:

The thermal fuse blew due to a prior defrost heater running too hot, possibly from a failed bimetal thermostat

First Thing to Check

Measure the resistance of the thermal fuse in the freezer defrost circuit — a blown fuse reads infinite ohms

Parts Involved

Freezer defrost heater (AC120V, 121W)Thermal fuse (thermo-fuse, 109/110°C OFF)Bimetal thermostat (OFF at 60°C / ON at 40°C)Main PCBCN2 fuse block

How to Fix

  1. 1

    Disconnect CN2 wire from fuse block

  2. 2

    Check resistance between CN2 pins 1 and 5 — refer to wiring diagram for expected value

  3. 3

    If resistance is 0 ohms: heater is short-circuited

  4. 4

    If resistance is infinite: check whether wire or thermal fuse is open-circuited

This Error Applies To

Samsung RF29A9071 Series Refrigerators (2021) (2021–present)

Service manual exact match: RF23A9071*Service manual exact match: RF23A9675MT*Service manual exact match: RF71A9671*Service manual exact match: RF71A9771*Service manual exact match: RF85A92FA*Service manual exact match: RF29A9071*Service manual exact match: RF29A9770*Service manual exact match: RF23A9675*+2 more

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