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Hello I am new to this forum and looking for some helpful advice to repair my Hotpoint Mistral, frost free, fridge/freezer, aproximately 8 years old.
The fridge unit has recently developed a problem whereas it seems unable to cool the unit sufficiently to keep it chilled to the correct temperature.
I have repeatedly tried setting the fridge zone thermostat to the minimum (+2) but it always shows more like +6 to +10
I have tried switching off the whole thing for 24 hours to allow it to defrost then restarting it to no avail.
The fridge light goes off when the door switch is pushed and non of the vents are blocked in the fridge. The machines motor seems to run quite a lot but it is not situated in a very warm room.
Any help or step by step advice gratefully recieved, thanks Steve.
Re: Fridge cooling problem
Hey there Steve,
Brand new to the forums here and fortunately for you I am a refrigeration and air conditioning engineer..
There could be a number of reasons why this is happening the two main reasons maybe:
[*]The condenser coil may need cleaning (If it has one) if yours has an ambient condenser on the back, looks like a big plate with louvers in generally the same size as the fridge freezer then it wont be that. But if it has a small fan and what looks like a car radiator then check that first it might be blocked and needs cleaning. Or check that the fan is running it could need a new one of them.
[*]Refrigerant leak, the system is charged with refrigerant most domestic units either have R404 or in some cases R134A this can only be checked by a registered engineer and shouldn’t be tampered with.
[*]The other might be a dodgy temp stat, or probe? generally most domestic fridges have them them built into the PCB and don’t have mechanical systems anymore, if this is the case then it may be an expensive repair?Fist call I say check your condenser?
Paul
Re: Fridge cooling problem
Thanks Paul,
Nothing on the back just a flat cabinet but yesterday I located and cleaned a radiator type thing situated underneath the machine and accessed from the bottom / front ; it was very dirty with cobwebs etc. This morning the fridge / freezer is displaying the temps as normal. I am not sure if that was the only problem but lets hope so, I will monitor it over the next few days.
Thanks again, SteveRe: Fridge cooling problem
At the back is a panel at the bottom covering the compressor if you remove this then you can check to see if the fan is working when the compressor is running.
If the condenser has been blocked the fan can overheat and seize.
If the fan is seized then you need to replace it as the compressor will overheat and may seize.
Bob
Re: Fridge cooling problem
Hello Bob,
The machine seems to have reached its required temperatures ie- freezer -22 and fridge +2 to +4 but I was still concerned over the amount of time the machine was running and feeling warm in some areas.
With this in mind… I removed the panel at the back you mentioned to check the fan… the fan did not seem to be running when the machine was switched on… I checked the fan blades with a screwdriver to see if they turned and they seemed rather stiff with some resistance, could this be the problem? and if so will it be viable to replace the fan?
Many thanks, Steve.Re: Fridge cooling problem
Yes, the condenser fan is a common problem on these Hotpoints. It can be replaced but its a bit fiddly. the original fan is probably no longer available but I have adapted the housing in the past to take ordinary freezer compartment fans and they always work fine. This model also suffers from the evaporator thermistor failing giving similar symptoms to yours. It is behind the plastic panel in the freezer and has a green plug, regalements are available on ebay. Hope that helps
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