What's wrong with this fridge freezer?

[meow2222]

te:

all day yesterday finally reaching -26 in the evening. So I flicked it ba ck to "eco" to see what would happen and this morning the alarm was soundin g and the temp was back up to -12.

h I'll tell because it mirrors the diagnosis of the fridge problem.

ate the food.

from several apparently reliable websites that that was the case.

until a week and a half later when it refused to heat.

I have should rediagnosed the problem or put a meter across the thermostat .)

with a meter, confirm they both work and re-Google to discover the other di agnosis is a failed element.

New element ordered, fitted and everything's working fine. (Apart from the fridge...)

me here: the initial diagnosis of overheating due to failed thermostat se ems reasonable. How does a failing element lead to overheating rather than no heat?

It doesnt. Sounds like another problem occurred too, likely thermostat.

the power interruption and the fridge fault appearing but, at the time, it seemed like I would be drawing a spurious connection.

sy is it to change and would it make sense to do so on a twenty year old ap pliance or are other parts (the compressor, for example) likely reaching th e end of their service lives?

r's original diagnosis of a failing compressor also still true? I'm still puzzling over whether the fact that it works on "super" means it's fine or the fact that it stops working when it cools down means it's knackered.....

If the compressor is able to run continuously, reaching -26, then its capab le of doing its job, by definition. Something in the control system, not th e compressor's cutout, is causing it to stop prematurely.

NT

[Clive George]

I think that's not true. Assuming the freezer isn't somewhere stupidly hot and the insulation is still intact, if the compressor can get it down to -26 on a sensible duty cycle (

[Mr Pounder]

It doesnt. Sounds like another problem occurred too, likely thermostat.

If the compressor is able to run continuously, reaching -26, then its capable of doing its job, by definition. Something in the control system, not the compressor's cutout, is causing it to stop prematurely.

All the "super freeze" does is drop the temperature to the limit allowed on the stat/controller. This may be -28C, I'm guessing. Setting it on "super freeze" *could* override a defect on the PCB. Due to the "clunking" and the clicking of the compressor, I'm still of the mind that it is knackered.

[Toby]

Never rains but it pours doesn't it!

I expect he failure mode of the oven went like this..

1. Thermostat stuck on
2. Oven heated up to gas mark "hell"
3. Failing heating element got well and truly put through its paces, and failed shortly thereafter
4. the gas mark "hell" setting somehow unstuck the old thermostat, or you removing it has, I would bin it now, as it is not reliable.

I expect he failure of the fridge went something like this..

The fridge controller is usually on 24/7 (unlike the compressor, which switches on and off regularly). When the controller was powered off for

2-3 hours, a component in the "eco" switching side of things was on borrowed time, and is now too far out of tolerance.

Quick question, is the "super" setting just a momentary button to change a setting on the controller, or is is a proper mechanical switch?

1. It depends, some are easy, and it is just a case of powering the thing off, changing a board or module over & turning it back on again (some fo have a delay when first powered up, apparently, to try and stop people taking delivery of it and then plugging it straight in before the oil has had time to settle in the compressor) however, some require the controller to be programmed for the particular model they are installed in, and wont do anything useful until this has happened, specialist tools are required to do the programming, so you would either need a tame Bosch engineer to do it for you, or make sure you buy it pre-programmed.
2. I would be a bit weary about the thumping noise you heard, it could be a failing compressor as previously mentioned by others, however, I expect if the controller did some bonkers switching of the compressor when it was running, that could also cause it shake, rattle & roll...

I suggest you do the following if you have not already decided to replace it...

1. put it on super freeze overnight, so it is really cold, to maximise the time it can be off without getting too warm in there.
2. Power it off for an hour, or until the compressor is cold.
3. power it back on, with the super freeze setting enabled and observe the compressor, if it is still acting strange with the short on/off switching, then either the controller is shagged on both settings, or the compressor is shagged. If this happened, personally, I would then bypass the controller, and effectively connect the compressor directly to the mains and observe what happened (with frost free, you will also need to make sure the internal fan is running in the cooling unit to make it actually chill the food, and there may also be electrically operated flaps, or a secondary fan in there to move air between the freezer and fridge). However, to just test the compressor for a while, for this purpose, just powering the compressor directly from the mains would be fine.

If the super freeze setting results in the compressor just running normally, then turn that off, and put it on eco, and see if that causes the weird switching issue (the compressor won't start immediately after powering it back off and on again, as the gas needs to equalize, and the freezer may already be colder than the Eco setting dictates too), if the eco setting reverts it back to this pulsing of the compressor, it's the controller, as the controller can only turn the compressor on and off.

[Peter Crosland]

At that age it is long past being economic to repair and in any case will be very inefficient compared with current models.

[Peter Crosland]

The design and QC are just as good even if manufactured in a lower wage country.

[meow2222]

It may be worth finding out before assuming that. I recently repaired a 1930s appliance that was economically worth doing. Fridge freezers are less likely to be worth it, but some are.

NT

[Mr Pounder]

Unfortunately the compressors are not.

[Mr Pounder]

[snot]

Compressor pump. The fridges in my Dad's shop used to start doing that just before they packed up. In those days (1970's) it was worth replacing them, it's not now. Dave

[mike]

Thanks for the reply. The "super" setting is just a momentary button, not a mechanical switch.

I think it is well and truly ****ed now. The temperature readings seem to be fluctuating but not in line with fluctuating internal temperatures.

We decided to go out and see what was available and a replacement is on its way so I think I've probably done playing with the old one.

It's surprisingly difficult to find a bricks-and-mortar place selling white goods apart from the dreaded Dixons/Currys and I'm not in any hurry to tra de with them again but we found an independent that was part of Euronics (w ho the hell thought that was good name?) and had a look there.

Indesit and Beko both looked like they would fall to pieces in a month, so the choice came down to Hotpoint, Bosch, Blomberg, Hisense and Samsung.

The Bosch didn't seem quite as well made as the twenty year old one we have and any increase in efficiency (assuming all else is equal) seemed to have been made by increasing the thickness of insulation by an amount equal to the decrease in freezer space.

Mr Pounder mentioned Hotpoint and they didn't look bad. SWMBO was quite ta ken with it. I was put off by its "03 Active Oxygen System" which purporte d to keep tomatoes alive a few days longer but struck me as about as scient ifically plausible as that boswellox face cream that used to be advertised.

The Samsung, Blomberg and HiSense all seemed reasonable.

Apart from knowing that Bosch and Hotpoint were their bestsellers, the staf f were useless, so we retired to do further research.

I had a feeling that Samsung white goods had a poor reputation and a quick trawl on the internet proved that to be the case. Hotpoint's glory days se em to be behind them and the fact they're owned by (crappy looking) Indesit counted against them. Similarly Blomberg are owned by Arcelik who make Be ko, so they were crossed off. HiSense I discovered were Chinese and didn't seem well enough known or supported to risk. So we ended up with a Bosch a gain. If it lasts as long as the last one, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I tried to support the local Euronics dealer (who also had a website - and despite the useless service) by ringing them back and asking them to price- match a competitor but their "Price Promise" turned out to be like wrestlin g an eel.

[mike]

The new Bosch fridge freezer was delivered 18th November. Two weeks later both the fridge and freezer compartments aren't working - still whirring away and the temp indicator light shows -18C but not cold in there at all.

Bosch are calling back to arrange a service call. (They're already overdue to replace the door which was dented on arrival.)

Would you accept a repair this early or ask them to swap the unit? What's the consumer rights situation these days regarding repair/replacement?

Maybe this is just the Friday afternoon one, but the previous one lasted twenty years without problems so it's not an auspicious start.

[F]

Tell whoever you bought it from that you are rejecting it under the Sale of Goods Act (not satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose, not having lasted a reasonable length of time(!))and you require a replacement (or money back). In the first six months it's up to them to prove that it wasn't inherently faulty. Beyond six months you have to provide the proof.

If you allow a repair you can make rejecting it more difficult.

should help

[mike]

ter both the fridge and freezer compartments aren't working - still whirrin g away and the temp indicator light shows -18C but not cold in there at all .

due to replace the door which was dented on arrival.)

t's the consumer rights situation these days regarding repair/replacement?

d twenty years without problems so it's not an auspicious start.

Thanks for that.

All the sites I've seen say that you can have a repair or replacement under such circumstances. But they don't specify who gets to choose which it is . Can I insist or is it a matter of relying on the retailer's good will? If it's my choice, is there something in SoGA that makes this clear?