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Hi folks,
our fridge/freezer has been playing up since the weekend. It is a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P Frost Free and is over 10 years old but has worked perfectly during this time.
During Saturday I noticed the fridge temperature had shot up to 20 odd degrees and the freezer was down to -15. I assumed one of us must have left a door ajar so I checked they were both closed and left it for a few hours.
The rest of the day the temperature fluctuated all over the place. I switched the machine off for a few hours and removed the food from the fridge section. I also cleaned underneath as there was a lot of dust and dog hair and left the covers off (front/rear). Overnight it seemed to cure itself and both parts were showing their normal temperatures. But a few hours later the problem resurfaced.
Last night I scanned this forum for ideas and removed the panel inside the freezer. I turned the unit back on and it did seem to cool pretty quickly so obviously the compressor etc is working ok. There was no ice build up that I could see. The fan spinned for a brief moment but since then I’ve not noticed it spinning. This morning the freezer was -22 but the fridge still not cooling.
The fridge door switch appears fine as if you press it the interior light goes out as expected. I’ve also looked at the baffle and there is no ice build up around it or blockage that I can see.
I guess the problem could be the thermistors? We had a quote from a local firm yesterday who felt it was and offered a fixed price repair of £127.50. Does this seem reasonable or is it a lot cheaper and easier to do-it-myself ?
I’m hoping we can get a few more years out of this one yet!
cheers in advance
RussRe: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Have you tried Repairs@? or Shop@? Unplug power if you are having a look yourself.
Regards
SimonRe: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Hi Simon,
I went ahead and ordered the two spare thermistors which arrived today. I’ve swopped them over tonight and turned the unit on. The fan did spin for a few seconds but then stopped.
Since then, the unit cooled to approx +1 deg, but has not cooled any further since. I’ll leave it on overnight and see what it does in the morning.
I guess the fact the fan isn’t coming on is not a good sign ? What would be the next thing to look at ?
cheers
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Leave it overnight, it should be fine 🙂
The fan only starts running once the evaporator in the freezer reaches a certain temperature 😉
If not, let us know.
Dave.
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Hi Dave,
still no joy this morning i’m afraid !
Freezer has reached -18, but fridge still at +26. Is there another reason why the fan isn’t working?
It did spin up briefly when I switched the unit on last night for about 3 seconds or so and then stopped.
It’s pretty frustrating as I’m sure it’s something minor. Only problem is that I only have a few hours left before the missus drags me along to the shops to fork out for a new one 🙁
cheers
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
I know you say the light switch switches the light off when pressed, but have you tried taping the door light switch in the closed position?
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Hi MKR,
yes, the door switch is currently taped so that the switch is in the closed position.
cheers
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Have a read through the huge Mistral post and find posts relating to the baffle in the fridge, it could be that staying shut 😉
Dave.
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Hi Dave,
have checked the baffle and it did open and close it so I assume that it is working correctly.
I unplugged the baffle and then got error code EA, so I plugged it back in again and the fridge/freezer started up again, but still no fan !
Could it be the main board that is playing up ?
cheers
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
rss wrote:Could it be the main board that is playing up ?
Possibly 😕
Engineer time I think on this one, check the repairs@ link below 🙂
Dave.
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
thanks for that Dave. Just spoke to one of the companies on the list, they are charging £76 for the callout inc VAT and then £11.75 for each 20 mins after the first 1/2 hour so it looks like this could turn out to be quite expensive for what is essentially a 12-year old appliance.
Is there anything else to look at ? The company I spoke to suggested the fan, but I did mention to them that the fan does spin up for the first few seconds so at the very least the motor is working.
I also noticed over the weekend that there is another thermistor in the fridge, tucked down the side by the baffle, although it doesn’t look easy to replace as the wire disappears into the roof of the fridge.
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
As long as you’re certain the thermistors are fitted correctly and the various panels are also correct it does seem to point to the PCB to be honest but at £100 odd it could be an expensive mistake to take a chance on one 😕
Dave.
Re: Cooling problem with a Hotpoint Mistral 8596P
Well, the other half has just ordered a new Hotpoint FF200TX so it looks like i’ll have to admit defeat on this one.
A twelve year old appliance and a potential bill of a couple hundred pounds or so, with no guarantees of nothing else happening in the next 12 months, I just can’t afford to take the gamble especially if the repair costs are halfway towards a new appliance.
Maybe i’ll keep it just in case a 2nd m/board comes up to try out at some point 😉
cheers for your help anyway!
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