Why Has My Fridge Freezer Turned Off?
The fridge freezer is easily one of the most predominant appliances in your kitchen. Ensuring it keeps running smoothly is vital to keeping your vegetables fresh and frozen goodies chilled.
Our refrigerators work hard around the clock, without a break as they’re never switched off - unless you’ve decided to give yours a good scrub or defrosting. During their lifespan, it's typical for many components to malfunction.
If you’ve come to discover your fridge freezer has turned off, and is defrosting itself don’t panic! We’ve plucked out the most common causes that may be the reason for a sudden temperature rise inside your fridge freezer.
Thermostat
The function of the thermostat is to control the cooling system by turning on or off the compressor when required. If your refrigerator is not working follow these steps to help identify the fault:
- Is there power being sent to your appliance? Simply check if the light bulb works. If you can see the light when the door is opened the power is fine.
- Check the power indicator near the display panel; ensure the thermostat is switched on.
- Listen for sounds coming from the fridge freezer that would show it’s working.
Safety First! Prior to beginning any repair, please disconnect your appliance from the mains.
- Use a multimeter to check your thermostat for faults. (See here for instruction on how to use a multimeter)
Is your fridge thermostat faulty? eSpares is sure to have the right one for you!
We’ve even got a guide showing you how to fit it.
Defrost Timer
No one wants liquid ice cream or slushy ice lolly packets, and one such meltdown can possibly occur if the fridge freezer decides to defrost. Let's avoid last week's shopping going to waste and get to the bottom of this issue.
A defrost timer is usually fitted with a frost free fridge freezer and its job is to bring the heater on inside the freezer so that you don’t have to defrost the freezer yourself. Just like a clock, it counts down and brings on the heater for a timed period and then resets for the next session.
To identify that the timer could be causing the fault see our steps below to diagnose and help put your fridge freezer back onto the road to recovery.
Safety First! Please ensure that you have disconnected the appliance from the mains before starting any repair.
- Gain access to the defrost timer.
- Check for any signs of damages.
- Turn the timer to check if it clicks as it changes in and out of the defrost cycle.
After assessing your appliance if you have established the defrost timer to be causing your fridge freezer to come to a halt, then you will need a replacement.