It is always unpleasant when expensive equipment fails, especially as important as a refrigerator. As it promises a lot of inconvenience, as well as financial losses.
Nevertheless, when the refrigerator does not freeze, then its owner should not indulge in sadness, because not in all cases such a phenomenon as a breakdown is complex. In addition, repair can often be done by yourself, and quickly, which facilitates the situation.
The content of the article:
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Main types of faults
- Category # 1 - simple types of breakdowns
- Category # 2 - Difficult Fault Options
- Category # 3 - hopeless problems
- The procedure for the owner in case of failure
- Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Main types of faults
Since all refrigerators have typical breakdowns, they have characteristic signs. Therefore, not always, but in some cases, any person will be able to diagnose independently and promptly.
All that is needed for this is to know the main features of faults. This will give the opportunity to make the most correct decision about what to do in this situation: to carry out repairs on their own or to call a specialist and pay him money.
Even the main types of breakdowns in a refrigerator are quite a lot, but they are all typical, that is, they have characteristic signs, which simplifies the task of detecting them and eliminating them.
Faults can be divided into the following:
- simple - that is, they are easily solvable, even by the owner;
- complicated - in this case, everything will end with the repair of the product by a specialist, who will have to be called in without fail;
- hopeless - they are rare, but usually turn into buying a new unit.
Each of these categories includes a number of reasons, the ability to identify which contributes to the identification of a breakdown, the adoption of appropriate measures and even its prevention. And this helps the owner save time and money.
Category # 1 - simple types of breakdowns
Insignificant troubles include a whole group of faults. If any of them is revealed, the user will be able to almost surely restore the working capacity of the refrigeration unit independently.
And in many situations it will take a matter of minutes. And this means that a person will not have to wrestle with how to put stored products, to take other actions accompanying breakage.
When the owner finds out that the device does not freeze well or does not produce cold at all, then first of all it is necessary to examine it in order to determine signs of breakage.
Signs of easily resolvable problems are:
- Insufficient cooling of products, and in some cases their deterioration.
- The refrigerator refuses to freeze without visible signs of breakage.
- The fan does not work.
- Constantly on the compressor.
- Incorrect temperature setting.
- The indicator indicating the set mode is off.
- Incorrect location.
Density of closing its door. If the product is not able to cool the products to the required temperature, then the owner should pay attention to the tightness of closing his door.
It often happens that the handle of a pot, third-party objects stuck to the compactor, the body or something else prevents to cover it completely. As a result, the unit is not able to freeze, cool the stored products.
All of the above indicates that after careful examination, any person will be able to deal with the problem immediately after determining the cause, which led to abnormal work.
Seal wear. Often there is a more complex variation of this problem, which is seal wear. But in this situation, getting out of the situation is quite simple.
For what you need to measure the door around the perimeter and buy the necessary gum in the nearest hardware store. Even if it is unspecialized, the user will still be able to quickly solve the problem, and then start searching for the right material.
Often the causes of breakdowns are simple, which allows the owner to fix them on their own. For example, the photo shows the replacement of worn seals.
Door skew. In addition, when the refrigerator is not able to freeze or cool products, it is necessary to pay attention to the position of the door. She during operation often under the action of its own weight or load changes its original position.
The result is a skewed door that becomes unable to seal the interior of the refrigerator. This often happens with ordinary doors.
The way out is an adjustment that will not cause difficulties for most people. Even if there are no skills, desires and tools to do everything yourself, then calling the master to restore performance will cost a penny.
Temperature conditions. In addition, a person needs to control the set temperature.
And you need to check and enable / disable special programs, which include fast freezing, defrosting. All this significantly affects the performance of any refrigerator.
How to act in such cases will prompt the instructions attached to each unit. If it is lost, then the official Internet resource of the manufacturer or its representative will help, where everything necessary is laid out.
To replace the worn sealer enough to buy a new set of such consumables. The task is further simplified by the fact that the side that will adjoin the door is treated with a special adhesive material.
Thermostat breaker. When the indicator does not light up at all, then the person should inspect the wires, plugs, their contacts, and also the sockets to which the listed elements are connected. If there is no external damage, check the voltage.
In the absence of special equipment, you can turn on any electrical appliance that indicates that it is defective: a socket, other elements of an electrical circuit, or the refrigerator itself. When everything is normal, it may well indicate a breakdown of the thermostat.
When inspecting the refrigerator, you should always pay attention to the signals displayed by the display, warning lights. Since they often suggest causes of a malfunction
Fan. When there are no signs of breakage and the temperature inside the unit is insufficient, the fan should be checked for operability.
This device is designed to ensure the distribution of cold masses throughout the volume of the refrigerator. And when it does not function, problems with freezing and cooling of products will be unequivocal.
But this does not indicate its failure. As often the fan is covered with a layer of ice and just freezes. Identify the specified problem can be due to the lack of characteristic noise that accompanies the operation of any fan.
The problem can be fixed by ordinary defrosting, the duration of which should not be less than 10 hours.
This is guaranteed to allow the structural member to become operational again. If this procedure did not help, then it can be considered out of order.
Identify the malfunction is necessary at the first sign of it. Since ignoring them will only lead to a worsening of the situation. For example, it happened with the engine, which is depicted in the photo. It overheated due to lack of air for cooling, but the owners did not pay attention to it and as a result the unit burned
Place of installation of the refrigerator. The user must pay attention to the installation of his refrigerator.
Its location under the direct rays of the sun, next to any devices that emit heat, or just near the walls, furniture is considered unsuccessful and a person is better to eliminate such a defect.
Because all of the above leads to overheating and other consequences. To avoid this, the refrigerator will have to be at least 10 cm away from any other device, the wall, and it must also be protected from the sun’s rays, especially summer ones.
If you ignore all of the above, then even in the absence of any external manifestations, the home appliance will have to withstand a large load, which leads to premature wear of its components.
Unpleasant smell inside the chambers does not indicate breakage. The user should be aware of this fact.
This is the result of the vital activity of a large number of bacteria, and an outbreak of their reproduction usually occurs when the refrigerator has been thawed or simply not used. In this case, the problem will be solved with the help of detergents.
The photo shows traces of coked oil. This resulted in overheating of the electric motor, which is a frequent cause of failure. And it can often be prevented
During the execution of any work, the owner of the refrigeration unit must comply with safety measures and act on the principle of "do no harm." That is, if there is no certainty, then it is better to invite a specialist, otherwise the situation can be aggravated.
Category # 2 - Difficult Fault Options
If the user has followed the recommendations outlined in the previous paragraph, and it was not possible to find out why the refrigerator he was using does not freeze, then he will have to call the wizard.
Since the causes of breakdowns are more complex and they are identified and eliminated only if they have special knowledge, skills and the necessary tool.
Their signs can be:
- Long pauses in the operation of the motor at low enough temperature.
- Incorrect operation of the sensor.
- Overheating of the electric motor.
- Freon leak.
- Abnormal operation of the compressor.
- The unit does not work at all.
- Broken heater. This applies only to units No Frost.
Thermal sensor breakage. It often happens that a refrigerator with a properly selected mode does not adequately freeze food. And the electric motor operates normally, that is, with long pauses.
This situation indicates that the thermal sensor transmits incorrect signals to the control system. Sometimes it may be that the engine turns on and stops working after a short time.
Such cases indicate a breakdown of the temperature sensor, which should be replaced, and the operability checked. Any master can cope well with such work, and if desired, the user himself.
Frozen fan is a frequent cause of the refrigerator’s abnormal operation. All that is needed to troubleshoot is to defrost the unit. Even if it turns out that the fan has burned, most men will cope with the replacement
Overheating and electric motor failure. One of the common causes of poor-quality freezing of products is overheating of the electric motor.
In the described situation, it normally turns on and works for some time, even long, but the cycle duration is still not enough to fully perform the functions.
The reason for the shutdown is that the protection system forcibly stops the operation of the electric motor, so the desired temperature is not maintained.
In this case, the owner must check whether there is free air access to the back wall, move the refrigerator itself no less than the set 10 cm from any surface - walls, furniture, other appliances.
If these manipulations did not help, then you have to call the wizard, who will perform the diagnostics. But if there are signs of overheating, you must be ready to replace the electric motor.
And if the refrigerator is already far from new, then to replace it, that would be the best solution.
The warning lamp together with the indicator of the selected mode may indicate that the work program has been selected incorrectly by the user. Therefore, you should check whether the button that activates the defrost, quick freeze
Overheating should not be confused with the short cycles of the refrigerator. In such cases, the electric motor is turned on for a short 10-15 seconds.
After that, a stop occurs, while freezing, unlike in the previous case, is not performed at all. This feature indicates an unambiguous serious damage to the engine or compressor.
The failure of the control system to turn on the unit indicates the malfunction of the same structural elements. In this case, the owner can hear different volume clicks, beyond which the matter does not move.
In addition, the same symptoms have a malfunction of the control module, start-up relay. In all such situations, repairs are performed by replacing the defective item.
Refrigerant leakand clogging cooling system - A common cause of loss of performance by the refrigerator. If this happens, then the freezing will be performed poorly, and with a significant damage to the cooling system is not performed at all.
This can be indicated by the formation of an ice coating on the back surface of the refrigerator. In addition, it also happens when the cooling system is clogged, as corks do not allow freon to circulate.
Which of the two reasons prevents the refrigeration unit from working fully can only be called by the called master.
Modern refrigerators are controlled by electronics, so there are often failures. To eliminate such a malfunction helps de-energize, the duration of which should be from 15 minutes, and preferably not less than several hours. If this does not work, then the master should deal with the consequences.
But it is obvious that the cause of the leak is a leakage due to wear of the elements of the circuit through which freon circulates, its mechanical damage.
For example, you can break something by trying to clean the inner surface of the fridge or freezer from any kind of contamination or ice.
In most cases, this problem is eliminated by restoring the tightness of the circuit and pumping the required amount of freon, which in some cases the master can do on the spot.
When clogging, most often, the fault is the wrong actions of the owner, who saved on maintenance work or did not know at all about their need.
Freon leakage can be detected by the characteristic hiss and the formation of a large amount of foam, which can be found on the back of the refrigerator
Control module. When the unit refuses to turn on, it may indicate a malfunction of the control module.
But the diagnosis is better to start with checking the correct connection, good wiring, plugs. And often the cause of the problem can be oxidized contacts.
The control module failure is indicated by a red light, and sometimes a corresponding sound signal. In this case, it is better to turn off the cooling unit for some time, and then turn it on again.
You can try to reduce the number of products in the freezer and wait a few hours, as these signals may indicate that the refrigerator is an impossible task.
But you still need to understand that in many cases you have to call a specialist and change the control module.
Heating element. All No Frost refrigerators are equipped with thermal heaters, the output of which will lead to the freezing of the radiator cooling, followed by the freezing and the fan.
Therefore, work in normal mode is not possible. The cause of the fault is always eliminated by replacing the heating elements.
Category # 3 - hopeless problems
Repair any appliances can be almost always. Since spare parts for all modern and not very models are in sufficient quantities.
But sometimes common sense indicates that it is better to buy a new unit than to spend money on expensive repairs.
Leaks to freon lead breakage like the one that is shown in the photo. Most often this is due to improper operation of the refrigerator by the owner.
For example, it happens if the refrigerator is already 7-10 years old, and the elimination of a breakdown promises significant costs. The fact that the specified period is the average duration of operation of this type of equipment.
Therefore, the owner does not need to pay a fourth of the cost to replace a broken engine and at the same time wait several weeks for the delivery of the desired structural element. Since then a new incident may occur.
The procedure for the owner in case of failure
Violations of the rules of operation, workmanship, early wear and tear of one or several structural elements may lead to any malfunctions.
But since they are usually typical and some of them are easily determined, any person can do the same as the master. That is, to identify the cause, decide what to do next, and sometimes eliminate the defect.
Therefore, you should not rush to call the master or prematurely think about what to do with frozen, perishable products. First of all, you need to try to identify the problem yourself - it is cheaper and faster.
The list of problems is impressive, but you should start with the simplest searches, and then move on to more complex ones.
For this you need to perform an external inspection of the refrigerator. In its course it is necessary to check whether the doors were closed, whether they provide air tightness, the condition of the seal.
The photo shows a seemingly insignificant damage that is caused by the dishes, but right behind the panel are the tubes through which freon circulates. As a result, one careless movement led to a complete failure of the refrigerator.
Next, you need to find out whether the operating mode is selected correctly, for which purpose the instruction attached to the unit is used. And it is also required to verify the absence or presence of warning light signals.
Then check the integrity of the structure, the absence of mechanical damage, the condition of the wiring, plugs, whether the contacts are oxidized. It is imperative to find out if there is air access to the engine, measure the distance to the nearest surface.
If frost appeared in the No Frost refrigerator, while it cannot freeze food, then it means that the heating elements become faulty and the fan has frozen
If an external inspection did not allow to identify the cause of poor-quality freezing of products, then the owner should pay attention to the sounds that make the engine with a compressor, the duration of the operating cycle, the absence or presence vibrations.
Freon leakage can be identified by characteristic hissing sounds or the presence of a “snow cap” on the back surface of the unit.
When the cause of the problem is not detected, you should de-energize your refrigerator for at least 10 hours.
Next, the unit is connected to the network again, after which, during the observation, they reveal signs of abnormal operation or continue to appear. De-energizing often "cures" a number of problems, among which are failures of electronics, fan freezing.
If during all the above manipulations the user did not find out why the equipment being used does not freeze or cool, then only the master should be called, who will continue to search for the causes.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
The video will help you understand how to detect and repair a thermostat breakdown yourself:
The following material will help to make out how to check the performance of the electric motor, the relay working with it in a pair, as well as the subtleties of thermostat adjustment:
How to repair damage to the tubes intended for the circulation of freon is described in the latest video:
Modern refrigerators are quite reliable units, but failures still occur periodically. To reduce their likelihood, the owner must operate the equipment according to the instructions.. And if all the same signs of abnormal work are identified, then you should try to find out the reasons for yourself. As in many cases it will help save money and prevent inconvenience caused by equipment breakdown.
