Neff integrated fridge/freezer – weird problem with fridge light

This one is a bit srange, so any advice appreciated.

Our integrated Neff fridge/freezer is around 10yrs old, and has provided great service – though recently the light in the fridge has been playing up.

Initially I thought it may be the bulb, so changed it – and it made no difference. Then I thought it was the switch, but fiddling with that also made no difference.

It went through a flickering phase – where sometimes when you open the door it would work, other times it would flicker. Now, sometimes when you open the door it is on and working fine, and other times it is off.

From investigating and fault-finding further, I found that if I turn the fridge off and then on again (simply using the small rocker switch inside the fridge, within the light unit), the light starts immediately.

I’m now reasonably sure that : If the compressor is running and I open the door, the light stays off,. If the compressor isn’t running, then the light comes on. Switching the fridge off and then on again is simply stopping the compressor, and the light comes on before the compressor can restart (and perhaps, with the light on, the compressor can’t start – dunno).

So – compressor works fine, light works fine – only other thing I can think of is a supression cap somewhere (on the compressor I guess) – but before I pull it all out, has anyone seen this before and got any better idea of what’s causing it?

Many many thanks for any help