Author Topic: Fridge freezer problems...  (Read 1104 times)

Fridge freezer problems...
« on: 09 July, 2018, 11:19:31 pm »
My fridge freezer is on the blink. Freezer works fine but fridge compartment is no longer getting cold.

It has a single compressor which seems to be working fine based on the cold freezer section. I can’t see any obvious fan that might have failed and be preventing cold air circulation so I’m guessing either an electronics problem on the circuit board or a blockage in the pipework somewhere (or partial refrigerant discharge?)

Tomorrow’s job is to take the fridge door off so I can get under the panel to the circuit board and see if any of that looks fried. Before I do does anyone have any other bright ideas?

If I had £500+ kicking about I’d get a new fridge/freezer, as this one is well out of warranty, but the environmentalist in me wants to repair it and the cyclist in me would rather spend the money on an Islabike for MicroQ.

I fear whatever I find The problem is it’ll be beyond economic repair :'(

Re: Fridge freezer problems...
« Reply #1 on: 10 July, 2018, 08:25:19 am »
Given you've not lost refrigerant, and the compressor is cycling on for the freezer, the obvious first culprit is the thermostat. Though given most modern fridges are electronic control rather than rotary knob it could equally be anything upstream of the thermostat to the controller.

Fridges rarely break down nowadays so you often find perfectly working ones on freecycle. In fact you can have mine if you're nearby, it's being replaced next week.
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

Re: Fridge freezer problems...
« Reply #2 on: 10 July, 2018, 08:33:46 pm »
Is it frost-free? Frost free ones rely on fans and / or flaps to distribute the cold air, so that the cold part of the cooling circuit can be away from the food, and can therefore be heated to melt the ice. The fans are never visible.
Quote from: Kim
Paging Diver300.  Diver300 to the GSM Trimphone, please...

JStone

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Re: Fridge freezer problems...
« Reply #3 on: 10 July, 2018, 10:55:36 pm »
Have you looked behind it for a blocked condensate outlet pipe? Ours had same problem last week - fridge temp up to 15C (should be 5-8C). Pulled unit out & stuck a skewer up the one-way valve on the end of the pipe discharging into a plastic container to clear a sediment blockage. Problem solved. 
Néophyte > 2007 > Ancien > 2011 > Récidiviste

Re: Fridge freezer problems...Solved?
« Reply #4 on: 12 July, 2018, 06:10:26 pm »
Update

Thanks for your advice. I took the Microsoft approach and switched the appliance off and left it for 24 hours. In spite of no evident frosting in the compartments a large amount of water drained out of the back. I plugged it back in and, after a 6 hour power cut ::-), it starting cooling down ok and this morning seems to be functioning fine. Hopefully it’ll be okay still when I get in from work.

Kim

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Re: Fridge freezer problems...
« Reply #5 on: 12 July, 2018, 08:19:55 pm »
There's a lot to be said for having a temperature logger in your fridge/freezer.  It makes spurious issues so much easier to understand.  (Once, every few months, the thermostat on ours gets stuck in the 'on' position.  Give it a nudge and normal service is resumed, so hardly a problem, as long as you know when it's happening.)