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Top Electricians » Common Electrical Problems » Kitchen Appliances » Refrigerators

Refrigerators

Refrigerators are great aren’t they? They give you anything from ice cubes to great leftovers! These great kitchen appliances have their bad days as well and the moment you feel your refrigerator is not working too well, you need to figure out WHY. Don’t just go running to buy a new one. As any other electrical appliance, refrigerators sometimes just need a bit of care/maintenance or repair.

Here is a troubleshooting guide that will come in handy for you in case of electrical problems. Although brands are different, the fridge mechanism is pretty much the same.

The very first thing to do is to check the power supply to the fridge. Check if the wire is connected properly and whether or not the wire is damaged in any way. Also, check the circuit breaker.

If the light comes on and the refrigerator is not running, check the following components. However, if you are not too tech savvy its always good to call your electrical contractor to check these things for you.

• The temperature controller might be off. In that case, just turn it on. It might also be that your temperature controller is bad. Please call an electrician and they can replace it for you.
• The compressor might have overheated and all you have to do is clean the condenser coils. The compressor also might be bad, in that case call your electrician and get it replaced.
• The condenser fan might need replacing. If so, you need to call you electrician.
• Check if the defrost timer is not working properly or if the overload protector is bad. In both cases, it is best to call an electrical contractor to repair it.

If your refrigerator starts and stops all the time:

• Check if your overload protector keeps tripping. In that case, you need to check the voltage at the power outlet.
• Again, it might be because the condenser fan is bad or the compressor has a fault. In either case, you are better off with an electrician taking a look at it.

If your refrigerator does not cool properly:

• Your temperature control might be set overly high. Just lower the setting.
• The refrigerant might be leaking or might be contaminated. You need to call your electrical contractor to take a look at this.
• A very simple reason might be that the refrigerator door has not been closed properly. Check the door seal and if it is bad or lacks tension just simply replace it.
• The condenser coils might need cleaning.
• You might want to also check your evaporator fan. Call an electrical contractor if you feel the evaporator fan needs to be replaced. Or, it might just be a case that your evaporator fan is clogged with ice.

Strangely a refrigerator can also get too cool. If this is the case:

• Check if the temperature is set too high. Or, the temperature control might have gone bad.

If the refrigerator will not cycle off and if it keeps running:

• Check if the door seal is bad and it needs replacing.
• The condenser coil maybe unclean.
• This also happens when there is too much frost built up. All you have to do then, is defrost the refrigerator.
• If the coils or evaporator plate are exposed and they are dirty, clean them with warm soapy water.