Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

[cockney steve]

Re: Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

there should be a humming noise, quite distinct from the sound of a fan, when the compressor is running…..you’ll often hear a “click….bzzzzzzzzz” the compressor starting and running….the “Bzzzz” usually goes for 5-10 minutes, until the temp gets to that set..then there’s another click and it all goes quiet…..

you “may” hear a very quiet fan,circulating air inside the cabinet.
The compressor is the noise you would have heard when you first plugged it in and turned it on…..likely, as previously discissed, it would have run for several hours.

The readout, whilst being inaccurate, isn’t really “life-threatening”

It could simply be that where the sensor sits, it IS only -11 !
otherwise, it may be the sensor is now out of specification, or one of the associated circuit components has “drifted”

As long as the cabinet temperature remains correct, just remember that it reads 7* out, in the freezer -section.

no doubt you could rectify the fault-i’d live with it.

[dannyjo22]

Re: Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

Cheers, I think I’m going to live with it. The temperatures are correct by thermometer and the compressor is running off and on as it should. The fan is working and both compartments are at the correct temp.

Its the freezer compartment showing plus 11 not -11 that was worrying me. I was worried the unit would be continually running trying to make the lower temp. That doesn’t seem to be the case, if the compressor is switching off?

If I power it down for half hour and turn it on the read out reads correctly but only for about 5 minutes then it reverts back to the 11 degrees.

[cockney steve]

Re: Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

I’ll guess that it’s a thermistor that senses the temperature and that it’s not the same one that switches the compressor,

It “could” be that water got into a connection, during the defrost….that would affect things if it’s melting/refreezing.

I’m sure you could isolate it and test with an ohms-meter,cup of warm water ,cup of ice and a thermometer.

you could then plot a temp/resistance curve for the thermistor. the curves/types are readily available from electronic component distributors on the net.

you say the compressor is cycling OK….but does the temperature readout vary across the switching-range (differential)

If it reads +11 at the lowest, when the compressor cuts out, does it rise to ,say,+15 before the compressor cuts in again.?

that would indicate that it’s actually working, but inaccurate, as opposed to reading a static temp. no matter what the true state was.

[dannyjo22]

Re: Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

No the temprature doesn’t vary at all. I put thermometer in the drawer and then set the temp to -25. The compressor kicked in and after half hour I checked it when the compressor was off. Bang on -25. Still +11 on the readout.

I did the check I saw in another thread when you open the fridge door, press and hold fast freeze, shut the fridge door and it gives you compartment and exchanger temps.

Those are bang on. If I warm one of those thermistors with my hands and do that check they rise and fall as I would expect.

So where does the actual reading come from for that digital readout because everything seems to be working as it should.

[cockney steve]

Re: Hotpoint FFA90 – Icing

Well, if you have found the thermistor(s) that control the compressor, and they don’t affect the readout, that ,logically means
either- there’s another thermistor somewhere, which “drives” the readout
OR there is a board fault(which is what i’d go for).

If the temp. readout rose to cut-in and fell to cut-out, that would suggest that the temp.indicator circuit was working,but faulty -(probably a component out of tolerance)

As you say it remains firmly on 11, despite the compressor cycling (and cabinet temperature with it)…. that makes me feel that the same thermistor drives the compressor and indication circuits.

As I said before, I’m not a whitegoods engineer and can only generalise, based on a broad knowledge of electronics and electro-mechanical basics.

I’d be tempted to leave it, though it may be unsettling to have no indication that it’s actually working correctly….having said that, the huan body is pretty good at detecting temperature, so as long as the compressor ‘s cycling, it may be a fault to live with.

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