Do-it-yourself refrigerator repair is primarily based on economic justification. The Bible loves to explain everything in parables, and the following historical anecdote is circulating in scientific circles:

The elder Kapitsa, Pyotr Leonidovich, at the beginning of his scientific career, in the 20s of the last century, underwent an internship in the USA. In the city where he interned, one of the first automatic lines of that time was being installed at a factory of some company. We assembled it, turned it on, and it jammed. They called the manufacturer's specialists, they suffered and suffered, and it kept jamming and jamming. It got so bad that the owners put an ad in the local newspaper: $10,000 to anyone who would launch it. The amount for those times, before the Great Depression, was desperately huge.

Pyotr Leonidovich went according to the advertisement. I asked to turn it on and off several times and looked closely. Then he kicked hard somewhere: “Turn on!” Turned it on - it works! Turned it off, turned it on - it works!! We loaded the raw materials, turned them on - the products are coming!!! They took samples and checked them – they comply with the specifications.

The head of the company then: “Mr. Kapitsa, the word of an American businessman is more valuable than his life. Here is your receipt. But tell the truth, 10,000 bucks for a kick is not too much? - “A kick costs $1.” - “And what for the rest??!” - “Because he knew where and how to kick.”

Note: With all the easy money he received, P. L. Kapitsa purchased scientific equipment for the USSR Academy of Sciences.

The story with household refrigerators is somewhat similar. For example, among a certain category of individual craftsmen, Indesit refrigerators with drip self-defrosting (the so-called “crying”, see below) are known as “sweet”. Repairing an Indesit refrigerator of this type in 6 cases out of 10 (!) comes down to replacing a certain module in front of the owner (housewife). The amount of payment is determined “psychologically”, based on how rich and prolific the client is, in the artisan’s opinion. They also give from above for joy.

Next, the same “expert” performs some simple manipulations with the removed spare part with a screwdriver right on his knee, in his car, and goes to the next call, where the repaired part is replaced with the unusable one. Then history repeats itself and repeats itself. Module costs approx. 250 rub. so it goes around in circles, bringing in more than 1000 rubles each time. This specialist is not afraid of making claims legally or informally: after express on-the-fly repairs, the removed unit becomes operational and completely reliable. Five such calls a day - and why run for office somewhere, fray your nerves and then be afraid that you will get caught for something?

The material in this article is intended primarily for beginners who like to make things:

• His main goal– explain what, where, how and why in the refrigerator, and also where and how you can “kick” it with your own hands, without the risk of more serious damage and running into more expensive repairs by a specialist.
• The second is to give knowledge, which will allow you to properly monitor the quality of a specialist’s work in cases where independent repair is impossible. 1000 rub. for repairs in the described epic (we will remember this later), the price is generally fair, taking into account the possible losses from the downtime of the refrigerator and the costs of delivering it to the service center and back. The main thing is that the master is a master, and not a hack or half-educated; for an ambulance Good work and from above I don’t feel sorry from the bottom of my heart.

About refrigerator brands

The text will further mention brands (trademarks) of refrigerators, but this does not mean that they break down more often than others. Those same Indesites are not bad refrigerators at all. But you can judge typical malfunctions only by their statistics, and, of course, the more reliable they are, the more products there are of this type is in operation. For example, there are such Swiss-Chinese miracles - Liberton. In them, as they say, failure sits on top of failure and drives with failure. But due to his strong, in a certain specific sense, reputation, Libertonov is bought and sold very little. If you look only at the number of breakdowns, then this brand, you see, will become indestructible.

Secondly, for examples of typical breakdowns, you need to take products that are typical for a given clone of device brands, which may be more reliable than their counterparts. In general, the design of household refrigerators has long been established and, with proper operation, minor repairs occur no more often than once every 5 years, and their total service life exceeds 20 years. The author has at his disposal an Armenian Aragats manufactured in 1964 (!), which is used as a backup and as a test bench. It's shabby - it's better to put it in a landfill, but it freezes properly. Even the door seals (simple rubber, non-magnetic) are still original.

Where can you do it yourself?

In any household refrigerator, the following structural systems (circuits) can be distinguished:

1. The actual refrigeration– you can climb here yourself only in exceptional cases, for example, if the refrigerator is in the remote outback and it is not possible to call a specialist. But it is necessary to know what is what in the refrigeration circuit, because... this is where unskilled and/or careless repairs can cause the greatest damage in the future, up to the need to purchase a new refrigerator;
2. Thermoregulation system- This is the most active source of breakdowns. Do-it-yourself repairs are quite often possible if you have some technical knowledge and skills. However, first you need to compare the cost of calling a specialist and purchasing replacement items at retail, plus the losses from waiting for them: hardware stores sell spare parts for refrigerators only in big cities; you will most likely have to order them online;
3. Electrical system– DIY repairs are almost always possible if you have a tester, the ability to solder and basic skills as an electrician or radio amateur;
4. Mechanical system– suspension of doors, compressor, fastening of covers/shelves, seals, etc. Self-repair is possible in some cases, but does not require any special qualifications.

How does a refrigerator freeze?

Based on the methods of cooling the contents, household refrigerators are divided into 3 types:

• Evaporative compression, or simply compression, or simply evaporative.
• Evaporative absorption (absorption, simply).
• Thermoelectric (semiconductor).

The first 2 use a coolant that is liquefied under normal conditions - a refrigerant or refrigerant. The latter are purely electrical, without pipelines, valves, etc. All 3 types of refrigerators are used in everyday life, but evaporative compression ones are the most common. They also have the greatest variety of designs.

Note:“under normal conditions” means that a given substance is capable of transitioning from the liquid to the gaseous phase and back at room temperature and slightly higher only under the influence of pressure. For “real” gases (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc.) the so-called. the triple point lies at a temperature much lower than room temperature and it is impossible to turn them into a liquid without cooling to a temperature below it, only by pressure.

Compression

The operating principle of a compression evaporative refrigerator is shown on the left in Fig. The refrigerant under pressure is injected into the evaporator coil through a narrow nozzle - a die. Household refrigerators require relatively low cold performance, so they use non-profiled dies in the form of a piece of capillary tube with an internal diameter of approx. 0.8 mm. In the evaporator, the refrigerant expands sharply, instantly boils and evaporates, absorbing an amount of heat equal to its heat of vaporization. The evaporator is placed in a thermally insulated refrigeration chamber; the temperature drops and the food cools.

To ensure that the pressure in the evaporator does not increase and the refrigerant does not stop evaporating, its vapor is continuously pumped out by a compressor. Their temperature rises. To cool, the refrigerant vapor enters another coil (radiator) - the condenser. Through it, the heat of condensation, exactly equal to the heat of vaporization, plus heat corresponding to the power consumed by the compressor from the electrical network, and a very small amount equal to heat loss in the system, is released into the environment. At the same time, the refrigerant cools down, liquefies under the pressure created by the compressor, and through the capillary enters the evaporator again, the refrigeration cycle is repeated. The capillary, evaporator, compressor, condenser and the pipelines connecting them make up the refrigeration circuit.

The main advantages of compression refrigerators– cost-effectiveness and the ability to use chemically neutral and harmless refrigerants, as well as fairly fast freezing. Energy from outside is consumed only for pumping the refrigerant; the thermal efficiency of the refrigeration circuit is close to 100%. The freezing rate is determined by the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant and the rate of its circulation in the circuit; both can be increased by purely constructive and production-technological methods.

The main disadvantage of compression refrigerators– the presence in the design of moving parts, detachable connections and mechanical connections of the refrigeration circuit with the external environment (compressor motor shaft, etc.), requiring the use of seals. However, for more than a century technical development the design of compression refrigerators has been brought to high reliability; it is a living example of how fundamentally complex problems can be solved through many individual improvements.

Currently, the pinnacle of the evolution of the compression system are refrigerators of the No Frost type (without frost), which do not require stopping to defrost and do not form (in good condition) a coat of ice inside the refrigerating chamber. No Frost refrigerators are complex in design (see the diagram on the right in the figure), but, strange as it may seem at first glance, they are the ones that can best be repaired with your own hands at home. How the No Frost refrigerator works, see next. video, and we will return to them in more detail when it comes to repairs.

Video: how No Frost works + about its repair

A significant drawback of compression refrigerators from the user’s point of view is that they cannot be kept turned off for a very long time in a charged state. In a “warmed” refrigerator, the pressure in the circuit increases several times, the fatigue of the metal accelerates and the likelihood of microcracks through which the refrigerant will leak out increases sharply.

Sellers and craftsmen are often unaware of this feature: no one now buys goods for years to come, and refrigerators are sold much sooner than the permissible shelf life of their refilled state has expired. But, if you leave the compression refrigerator for the winter in a non-residential building, then the pressure surge when turning it on may cause the tubes to burst, and - expensive repairs with refilling. Which by all rules (see below) is also not a cheap pleasure.

About one failed theory

As a refrigerant in compression refrigerators Most often, organic low-boiling substances are used - freons. Everyone knows that freons are making holes in the ozone layer of the atmosphere and, in general, almost like Chernobyl. Now, this is not true. Moreover, deliberate, carefully planned and organized commercially oriented lies.

Holes in the ozone layer were discovered in the late 60s. The extensive list of substances that can cause them also includes freons. This was noticed by the leaders of the global monster called DuPont, the largest chemical concern. The DuPont company immediately, trumpeting with might and main, undertook to finance research on the effect of freons on ozone. Selectively, grants were allocated to specialists who fanatically sought to prove the destructive effects of freons to the detriment of scientific objectivity.

At the same time, and even more generously, but very quietly, they financed their own research on the search for freon substitutes; In the DuPont refrigerant segment, competitors have been stinging for a long time. As a result, DuPont became the monopoly owner of all patents for alternative refrigerants and “made a lot of money” in the wake of anti-freon hysteria: by the 80s, DuPont “broke through” the Montreal Convention, according to which the use of freons was limited, and some countries rashly banned them altogether. And even now he is still making good profits on the foam from it.

Meanwhile, by the beginning of the 2000s, groups of independent researchers in Japan, the USA, and then in Russia had proven that:

• Ozone holes, much larger than now, have occurred many times throughout the geological history of the Earth.
• Ozone holes are clearly tied to areas of increased tectonic activity and are not at all correlated with the locations of freon emissions and the routes of their migration in the atmosphere.
• Ozone holes are clearly caused by hydrogen and light inorganic hydrogen-containing compounds escaping from the earth's crust.
• The earth at the lowest possible minimum of tectonics is “gassed” with hydrogen 10,000 times more than the amount of freon emitted at the peak of their uncontrolled use, and at the maximum of tectonics the natural yield of hydrogen exceeds the emission of freon by 1 million or more times.

In general, do not be afraid of freon and freon refrigerators. In general, freons are more environmentally friendly and safer than their substitutes.

Absorption

The refrigerant of an absorption refrigerator is a low-boiling substance, highly soluble in a fairly high-boiling liquid - an absorber. An absorber is also a vessel in the refrigeration circuit that contains a consumable supply of a concentrated refrigerant solution, see fig.

A thermal pump (just a vertical copper tube heated by an electric coil, not to be confused with a heat pump!) drives the solution into a steam generator, also heated by electricity. Excess weak solution from the steam generator flows back into the absorber through another tube, this is the so-called. small outline.

The mixture of refrigerant vapor and absorber enters the reflux condenser - a radiator with an internal labyrinth. Here the absorber condenses and flows back into the steam generator, and the refrigerant vapor goes to the condenser, the role of which is identical to that of a compression refrigerator. The liquid refrigerant then flows by gravity into the evaporator, where it cools in the same way. Instead of a compressor with a pump, the vapors of the refrigerant that has absorbed heat are sucked out by an absorber that greedily absorbs them.

The advantage of absorption refrigerators is the complete absence of moving parts and detachable connections with seals, as a result of which their service life is, in principle, unlimited. Another consequence is low cost; both circuits are simply pipelines between tanks without any complex mechanics. However, because Since only part of the total flow is branched into the refrigeration circuit, then per unit of cold produced, an absorption refrigerator consumes 1.2-3 times more electricity than a compression refrigerator.

Note: absorption refrigeration systems are economically superior to compression systems with relatively little cooling of large volumes, for example. vegetable stores or as air conditioners for large buildings.

Another drawback is that the refrigerants suitable for this system according to thermal engineering have low heat capacity, heat of vaporization and not very low boiling points at atmospheric pressure. Therefore, absorption refrigerators freeze poorly and slowly. The standard temperature in the freezer of an absorption refrigerator is –6 Celsius, i.e. the ice cream will melt there. In the domestic Kristall-9 and 12-18, the freezer temperature was brought to -18, but they still freeze for a long time.

Safety is also an important point. A common refrigerant in an absorption system is ammonia; solvent – ​​water. That is, ammonia circulates in the circuits, stronger than what is in the pharmacy bottle. There is no need to explain what will happen if several liters of such ambrosia leak into the apartment.

Several companies (Exmork, Samsung, etc.) produce absorption refrigerators using propane or isobutane refrigerant and with an organic absorber, but propane radish turns out to be more bitter than ammonia horseradish. It is impossible to add a fragrance to a flammable gas-refrigerant for technical reasons, and the refrigerator becomes explosive. If the smell of ammonia is smelled in minute concentrations and the user has time to take action or simply run out during an accident, then the leakage of pure saturated hydrocarbons into the air will not manifest itself until someone flips the switch and a spark jumps. Therefore, there is no legal import of absorption refrigerators running on flammable gases in the Russian Federation and many other countries.

Nevertheless, absorption refrigerators have their own stable and well-founded niche of application: they can be stored indefinitely, turned off and refilled. Excess refrigerant vapor is absorbed by the absorber and the pressure in the circuits is kept within acceptable limits. Therefore, absorption refrigerators are most often purchased for dachas or for seasonally inhabited premises.

Semiconductor

The operation of a semiconductor thermoelectric refrigerator is based on the direct and reverse Peltier effect: when an electric current is passed through a junction of dissimilar semiconductors in one direction, it heats up above the Joule heat, and in the opposite direction it is cooled until it is completely compensated and frozen, see fig. The Peltier effect makes it possible to obtain temperatures down to –40 Celsius and lower, but thermoelectric refrigerators are even more voracious than absorption ones, and Peltier elements, due to the diffusion of minority charge carriers through the junction under the influence of electric current, are subject to degradation and their resource is limited.

The advantages of thermoelectric refrigerators are, firstly, very low sensitivity to mechanical influences: shocks, impacts, shaking. There is simply nothing to burst, crack or leak out of them. Secondly, by switching the direction of the current, the refrigerator can be turned into a heater and quickly defrost the contents. Therefore, thermoelectric refrigerators are used primarily as automobile refrigerators and portable refrigerators for temporary use on picnics, etc. events. Among household thermoelectric refrigerators, several types of refrigerated bars are sold in the Russian Federation, as well as cabinet-mounted floor-and-table refrigerators Kholodok and Chaika.

How to repair a refrigerator?

Absorption refrigerators cannot be repaired independently due to the danger and high complexity of this type of work. Thermoelectric ones either do not break down, or the battery of thermoelements needs to be replaced, that if you buy it at retail it will cost more than repairing it at a service center. Occasionally, the contacts in them burn out (the current through the thermopile is large at low voltage); A novice amateur electrician can handle this breakdown. Therefore, next we will focus on the repair of compression refrigerators, Moreover, in everyday life they absolutely dominate and are more susceptible to malfunctions than other systems.

The simplest

It is enough to introduce a thermostat into the compression refrigeration circuit to turn it into a refrigerator that maintains a relatively stable sub-zero temperature in the chamber. Since the cheapest and most reliable compressor drive will be a single-phase asynchronous electric motor with magnetic start, it will require a starting and protective device in case of a starting circuit failure, see the diagram in the figure on the right. If the starting winding is left energized while running, the engine will heat up until the winding insulation burns, a short circuit in the electrical circuit, and possibly a fire. Refrigerators of the “old time” and modern ones with manual defrosting were built according to this scheme. Their characteristic malfunctions are as follows:

• The refrigerator does not turn on - either the power supply circuit is faulty (power cord, plug, socket, connector contacts in the compressor compartment), or the thermostat (the tester does not ring), or, optionally, the protective relay (also does not ring). Do-it-yourself repairs are possible.
• The power supply circuit has been checked and is working properly. The compressor does not turn on or makes a sound and stalls. It is possible for the described situation to repeat spontaneously several times. The start protection relay is faulty. Do-it-yourself repairs are possible.
• Starting the compressor takes more than 3-5 seconds or does not start on the first try. The starting relay is acting up. It is most often possible to set it up yourself.
• The compressor starts, but makes a lot of noise and after 30 seconds - 5 minutes the refrigerator turns off. It turns on again no earlier than after 10-15 minutes and also turns off on its own. The current protective relay has become misregulated or has failed, see below. Do-it-yourself repairs are possible, incl. and without buying a new one to replace it.
• The refrigerator does not freeze well, but it responds clearly to the thermostat. The compressor gets hot, goes into overheat protection, and shakes. The starting relay and thermal protection are working properly. Diagnostics of the compressor motor for interturn short circuit in the working winding and, most likely, its replacement.
• The compressor does not start, it hums. The starting relay and thermal protection are working properly. The turn fault is most likely in the starting winding. The result is the same as before. case.
• The same thing, but the compressor noticeably warms up to the touch after holding it under voltage for 10-30 s (no more!). Internal compressor fault. Repairs are sometimes possible in a specialized workshop.
• The same, but the compressor motor with a combined magnetic-capacitive start, see below, about No Frost refrigerators. Check the working electric capacitor, also see below. If it’s unusable, you’re lucky; repairing it yourself is simple and inexpensive.
• The refrigerator is very cold. The compressor operates either continuously or until the thermal protection is activated. The thermostat (thermostat) regulates freezing, but barely; in fact, they can only stop the compressor by setting the knob to 0. The compressor noise is louder than usual. Electricity consumption according to the meter is too high. The start relay is stuck. It is dangerous, the compressor may burn out, which at current prices is equivalent to buying a new refrigerator. Self-repair is possible.
• When the thermostat is set correctly, the refrigerator does not freeze well; the freezer freezes evenly. By the time the compressor turns off, the condenser is heated normally: it feels hot to the touch, the hand withdraws. Most likely the thermostat is faulty. Do-it-yourself repairs are possible provided you purchase a new one to replace it. In some cases, see below, it is possible to repair the old one.
• The refrigerator turns on, freezes too much or, conversely, too little. The degree of freezing does not depend on the position of the thermostat. The sound of the compressor, heating of the condenser and freezing of the freezer are normal. The thermostat is faulty. Repair - as before. case.

• The refrigerator freezes poorly and operates on a short cycle: the compressor often turns off, and the condenser is barely warm at that time. The freezer freezes slightly, but evenly. The thermostat or heat protection relay is faulty; DIY repair is almost always possible.
• The same thing, but the compressor runs for a long time (long cycle); perhaps continuously. The freezer freezes in the area of ​​the refrigerant supply pipe. The opposite side remains clear of ice, even if a thick layer of ice has frozen on the other side. The situation is stable. The reason is the loss of freon in the system due to a self-prolonged micro-leakage or, if the refrigerator is no more than a year old, its absorption by low-quality construction materials. The system needs to be diagnosed for leaks and refilled with freon; in exceptional cases, top it up. Doing this on your own is strongly not recommended.
• The refrigerator runs on a long cycle. The temperature inside it varies widely, which is noticeable by the freezing of food in the freezer to its bottom or walls. The thermostat is out of adjustment. Repair is possible without replacing it if you work very carefully.
• The refrigerator is not freezing. The compressor turns on and operates with a knocking and ringing sound. The vibration of the refrigerator body is noticeable. Complete freon leak. Call a technician for diagnostics, leak repair and refilling. When calling, be sure to describe the situation and ask: how much will the repair cost? Perhaps more expensive than a new refrigerator.
• The compressor runs on a short cycle, but the refrigerator is very cold. The sound of the compressor is loud, strained, slurping or whining. Refilling of freon due to unqualified maintenance. The refrigeration circuit is wet: it is not refrigerant vapor that enters the compressor, but freon mist. Immediately stop the refrigerator and call a qualified technician for diagnosis and refilling. Otherwise, the compressor and pipes will go bad, which means a new refrigerator without options.
• In the summer, when it’s hot, the refrigerator freezes so much that the thermostat has to be set to position from 1 to 3-4. The compressor gets hot and makes noise. Sometimes there is a smell of burnt insulation; Upon inspection, burnt contacts are found. The bimetallic plate of the heat protection relay has become loose, see below. Do-it-yourself repairs are sometimes possible without expense or serious difficulties.
• Everything is fine, but the freezer freezes up too quickly. Possible reasons, except for warm, wet products - a malfunction of the door seals, its distortion, a malfunction of the backlight switch or a violation of poor-quality thermal insulation of the chamber. In the first 3 cases, DIY repairs are possible and simple; in the latter, it’s cheaper to buy a new refrigerator.
• Everything is fine, but the compressor is too noisy and the housing vibrates. Check and adjust the compressor suspension (see below). It didn’t help - the reason is mechanical wear of the compressor, you need to calculate the replacement option based on money.

Give detailed step by step instructions repairs for each of the described cases would be completely irresponsible. A proprietary guide to troubleshooting typical problems of one specific model or a group of similar models is a thick book, printed in a close font on thin paper, and there are hundreds of models on sale. In addition, every repairman knows how often “impossible” and uncharacteristic malfunctions occur. Therefore, below we will describe the typical structure of the most susceptible to failure components in interaction with associated ones and methods for their repair. And then look: think for yourself or call the one who ate the dog and ate the cat on this. And talk to him with knowledge of the matter.

Compressor and suspension

How the boiler compressor installed in the vast majority of compression refrigerators works is shown in the figure:

There are desperate techno-heads who disassemble it, rewind the windings, etc., but then they still have to buy a new one: getting air with moisture vapor and dust inside the compressor is unacceptable. However, if you, for example, were rebuilding a car engine, then, guided by this diagram, you can determine by the sound whether in this particular case it is worth sinning on the compressor or whether you need to dig somewhere else.

With a compressor suspension, things are easier. It is necessary to check the elastic movement of its installation legs down and up. In Fig. The arrows on the right show 2 paws, but all 4 need to be checked. Their stroke on the shock absorbers should be at least 8-10 mm. Replacing worn-out shock absorbers is inexpensive and simple, but before removing the suspensions, the compressor must be securely secured in its working position, and family members must be told to walk far away from the refrigerator and without breathing: the weight of the compressor can break the tube, and this is an expensive repair and refilling.

At the same time, and even before moving the refrigerator away, you need to listen to the noise and determine: is it really the compressor making noise? Maybe some kind of tube is beating against the body? In this case, it is better not to bend it, but to wrap it accordingly. area with felt or cloth and secure the binding with cotton or woolen thread. Foam rubber or synthetics and elastic are not suitable; on a cold tube they will become brittle, and on a hot tube they will fall off and stick together. A small thing with tubes, by the way, is not a small thing at all: if the tube wears out or gets tired and cracks, repairs will be expensive.

Refueling and refueling

In RuNet and on YouTube there are shown many ways to refill refrigerators with refrigerant of the “harder to hammer in nails” type of refrigerant. But reliable results - how long did this refrigerator last? - something is not visible. The fact is that when filling a refrigerator using amateurish methods, air with water vapor and dust inevitably enters the refrigeration circuit, and pumping freon with a standard compressor means that it is forced to run wet. The water in the system will freeze, according to Murphy's law, exactly where the ice can cause the greatest damage, and dust particles, according to the same law, will settle on the rubbing parts of the compressor, manufactured with precision.

Filling/refilling of the refrigerator with freon is carried out correctly from a special filling station, see fig. on the right, during which disabled The following operations are performed in the refrigerator:

1. Injecting clean, dry air (optionally nitrogen or inert gas) into the system for pressure leak testing.
2. Optional – purging (pumping) with the same gas/air to remove possible traces of moisture and dust.
3. Evacuation of the system to technical vacuum.
4. Filling the system with freon in the volume specified for this model.
5. Checking the pressure in a warm system and, optionally, adding/releasing some freon.

Here you can, firstly, make sure that the brand of refrigerant being pumped in (for example, R12, R13, R126, etc.) and its volume correspond to those indicated on the compressor housing. Secondly, make sure that the pressure in the system is not controlled immediately after injection, but after some time, when the circuit warms up. Otherwise, excess freon and wet running of the compressor are guaranteed.

And thirdly, and most importantly, make sure that the master is registered as an individual entrepreneur or represents a legal service center, that his contact information is reliable, his location is known and that he gives a guarantee. Six months is enough, during which time all possible refueling flaws will appear. But, by the way, don’t think that in these six months it will be possible to blame all other faults on it. Good craftsmen live by their work and know not only their business, but also all the tricks of overly cunning customers. Including those that you may have no idea about.

Starting and protection

The starting and thermal protection relays are structurally combined into one unit. Its typical design and connection diagram are shown using the example of the Orsk-7 refrigerator, see Fig. below. The start-protection relay works as follows:

• Immediately after switching on, until the motor rotor has spun, it consumes a starting current 3-7 times more than the rated current. By the way, statements that the starting current corresponds to its rated power consumption indicated in the refrigerator’s passport are simply ignorance. The rated power consumption of the refrigerator is determined as the average long-term power, at +25 outside, the average position of the thermostat and some average operating conditions: the degree of loading with products of a given humidity, the frequency and duration of door opening, etc.
• The starting current triggers the PC starting contactor (starter), supplying current to the starting winding.
• The motor spins up, the current consumption drops.
• The PC releases, de-energizing the starting winding, and the motor goes into operating mode.
• Suddenly the PC is faulty and the starting winding is constantly powered, the protective relay is switched on: its winding is heated by the current of the starting winding, the bimetallic plate bends and opens the general power circuit.

In some models of refrigerators, the current protective relay is supplemented with the same heat protection relay, but without a winding. It is placed directly on the compressor housing. Not the best option, I must say. The reliability of the entire power supply circuit of the compressor decreases, and if it starts to heat up excessively on its own, then its thermal protection will not save it from expensive repairs.

You can open the start-up protection by carefully drilling out flared aluminum pistons in the mounting holes. When reassembling, it is better to glue the lid with a not particularly strong plastic glue, for example. PVA. It will be held “tightly” by the standard set screws.

Where and how can you “reason” with an unusable start-up protection without resorting to replacement? In addition to the obvious - cleaning burnt or dirty contacts - there are 3 more weak points that you can fix yourself. By the way, the obvious in this case is not so obvious. If the contacts of the starter are melted and soldered, you need to check the starting winding for a turn short circuit, which risks replacing the compressor with all that it entails.

But let's not talk about the bad. First, you need to inspect the armature (core) channel of the starter. It sometimes gets filled with dust, the starter contacts stick and the compressor goes into protection all the time. But it turns out that it’s too early to grab the heart; it’s enough to clear it.

Secondly (this also applies to the thermal protection relay), if the bimetallic plate in the cold state is noticeably bent, but is still springy, it can be carefully bent back, and the start-up protection will still serve. Thirdly, if the adjusting screws 13 are loosened and come together, the compressor will behave as if it has a short-circuit in both windings at once. Then, having unscrewed the right screw (according to the diagram) to the initial gap of 1.5-2.5 mm and cleaned the current protection contacts, again there is no need to grab your heart.

IN modern refrigerators The general serviceability of the start protection can be checked much faster:

• Remove the power plug from the socket.
• Move the refrigerator aside and remove the compressor compartment cover.
• We find the input connector (contact group), the power cord fits to it, pos. 1 and 2 in Fig. below.
• In the connector we find 2 wires that are not tightly closed. Usually they are in different combinations, either brown (item 3), or red, or red with a brown stripe.
• We prepare a technological jumper from a wire with a cross-section of at least 1 square meter. mm, pos. 4.
• Tight enough to be good contact, place a jumper in the sockets of open wires, pos. 5.
• Briefly, for no more than 3-5 seconds, turn on the refrigerator. If it starts, the start protection is to blame.

Note: If you have a two-chamber refrigerator with separate compressors, then checking the start-up protection is even easier - we swap the input connectors. Suddenly, let’s say, the non-working common chamber came to life, and the previously working freezer died, or vice versa, the case is acc. start-up protection

There is a nuance in the reverse installation of the start-protection relay. The starter armature is heavy, and the spring of its core (item 5 in the figure above) is weak. This is how it is necessary for the contactors of the starter to close/open more sharply and spark less. But then, if the starter protection is put in place upside down, the yoke of moving contacts 7 will fall onto the fixed ones 8 and the starter will be closed all the time. As a result, the motor, as soon as it starts, will always go into current protection. Therefore, before removing the start-up relay, mark the top with something on its base (not on the cover). If the start-up protection is combined with thermal protection and mounted directly on the compressor housing, the problem disappears, because when installed the other way around, the contact pins simply will not fit into the sockets.

Thermostat

Refrigerator thermostats are either thermomechanical or electronic, in electronically controlled refrigerators. In the latter case, there is no thermostat as a separate unit: the sensor(s)-thermistor(s) are connected to a common wire control board. Self-repair of “smart” refrigerators requires thorough qualifications of an electronics engineer. In this case: the temperature sensor circuits are analog. The thermistor resistance, unless otherwise specified in the refrigerator specification, at +20 should be no more than 2 kOhm, and at –15 no less than 100 kOhm. We will return to traditional designs.

The thermostat of a conventional refrigerator (see figure) operates on the basis of a variable-volume vessel made of tensile metal bellows - a bellows - and a capillary thermotube. This container is partially filled with freon, and 5-15 cm of the end of the thermotube is fixed to the evaporator so that good thermal contact is ensured; This part of the thermotube serves as a temperature sensor. When it changes, the freon partially liquefies or evaporates, the pressure in the vessel changes, the bellows stretches or contracts under the pressure of the return spring, and the electrical contact through which power is supplied to the compressor closes or opens accordingly.

However, in its “pure form”, as on the left in the figure, such a thermostat is inoperative. The bellows compresses and stretches slowly; at the first opening, an arc will stretch between the contacts and they will either burn (the refrigerator does not turn on) or melt (freezes continuously). Therefore, existing thermostats are supplemented with a mechanical trigger that instantly resets the contact when the pressure balance from the bellows and return spring changes.

A typical operating diagram of a refrigerator thermostat is shown on the right in Fig. The trigger is made up of the bend-pusher of the bellows lever 11 and the Ω-shaped transfer spring 9. The transfer spring itself tends to separate the contact pair, therefore, if it is broken, the refrigerator will begin to continuously freeze at any position of the adjustment knob and even a broken bellows or a broken thermotube.

The bellows lever presses on the transfer spring, preventing it from opening the circuit. When the bellows contracts due to cold, the spring is 9 V certain moment breaks down and opens the contacts. If screw 13 is self-tightened and the gap between the open contacts is less than 2-2.5 mm, an arc may occur and the contacts may burn or fuse. Another possible case is that in the summer, in the heat, the regulator of a weak refrigerator is turned up to maximum. The contacts heat up, and the spring gradually loses its elasticity due to cyclic heating. In the fall, they try to reduce the frost, but the thermostat can no longer “let go.”

A thermomechanical temperature controller necessarily has a hysteresis, or differential: the temperatures of opening and re-closing the contacts are different. In simple refrigerators with manual defrosting, their values ​​are respectively. –(11-15) and –(6-9) Celsius. Sometimes there are people who want to reduce the differential for better cold by tightening screw 8. There is no need to do this, you can peddle the compressor. In the best case, an arc will stretch between the contacts that are brought together too closely when opened, which means replacing the thermostat. The adjusting screw of the return spring 5 does not need to be touched at all; it is locked when assembled by the manufacturer.

The thermostat is considered non-separable and non-repairable, and in general this is correct. The fact is, firstly, that the end of the heat tube is glued to the evaporator with a special heat-conducting glue, it is also filled with a special sealant over the gluing and only then it is covered with a protective casing. It is almost impossible to separate the thermotube from the evaporator without damaging one and/or the other without special tools and skills, especially if the freezer is foamed, and a broken evaporator is equivalent to buying a new refrigerator. Secondly, the thermotube itself must be handled with extreme caution: its bending radius must be at least 6-10 of its outer diameters.

However, you can tinker with the thermostat by weight without removing it from the refrigerator. To do this, you need to carefully remove the latches (shown by the red arrow in the inset at the bottom right), then the contact block will be removed. It will be possible to inspect and, if necessary, clean the contacts, check the chipper screw and the transfer spring. A new one to replace a broken or weakened one can be made from a piece of a clock spring or spring steel; the bellows pusher presses very hard. When reassembling, you need to make sure that the tongue of the moving contact fits into its window and the transfer spring fits into place as it should.

"Crying"

In the inset we just viewed, 2 seemingly unnecessary contacts are visible. In fact, they are used and needed for refrigerators with drip self-defrosting, the so-called. crying. They provide users with generally the same amenities as No Frost refrigerators, but at a much lower cost.

A typical electrical circuit of a refrigerator with drip self-defrosting is shown in Fig. using the example of the Stinol 101 refrigerator. As you can see, in the thermostat there appeared, in addition to the working thermostat p, a defrosting thermostat o; it is non-removable and cannot be repaired, it operates from a bimetallic plate.

Operating principle

For drip self-defrosting, a section in the form of an aluminum plate is constructed in the evaporator, which has good thermal contact with the common chamber - a steam trap or simply a catcher. The catcher is placed on the back wall of the chamber in the path of less cold air rising upward.

When first started, the crying refrigerator initially works as a simple one under the control of the working thermostat; The defrost thermostat contacts are normally closed. Water vapor settles on the trap and freezes. When the temperature on the “sausage” rack drops to approx. +2 or up to +4 in the vegetable compartment, the defrosting thermostat is triggered and de-energizes the entire circuit, except for the backlight. The bimetallic contact cools down and closes back slowly, its differential is greater than that of the worker: the frost on the catcher has time to melt, and the condensate flows through the drainage into the drain pan, then the cycle repeats.

Typical faults

Since weeping refrigerators use part of the cold produced to trap moisture vapor, they require more compressor power. Therefore, the protective relay for its starting circuit is often separated from the starting one and mounted directly on the compressor housing; now it is triggered by both the starting current and the compressor overheating. Because of this, in the summer heat, if you set the thermostat to maximum, the refrigerator may start to turn off, on the contrary, too early. If you return the regulator to the middle position, its functionality is restored.

Also, if the defrost thermostat is faulty, the compressor will not turn on, although the indicator and backlight work. The tester discovers that in a warm refrigerator the contacts of the defrosting thermostat do not ring. In addition, other malfunctions typical for this class of refrigerators are possible:

• Everything is fine, but it’s too cold: the freezer is in Antarctica, and the vegetables freeze.
• An ice (snow) coat forms.
• The refrigerator stinks, there is water on the shelves.

All these problems are interconnected: if one of them appears, you need to check what concerns the others.

Freezing

The most likely reason is the failure of the same defrost thermostat, but now its contacts ring in extreme cold. You need to check it as soon as you open the door and as quickly as possible so that the control unit does not have time to heat up. Repair – replacement of the entire thermostat. An ice coat will definitely form.

Snow coat

An ice coat in weeping refrigerators is formed in the same way as glaciers in nature: not from frost in winter, but from excess moisture in cool summer. The source of the fur coat is the condensate on the catcher that has not had time to drain, and then the process proceeds progressively until the entire chamber is covered with frost. Conclusion: if the cause of the fur coat is found and eliminated, the fur coat most likely will not resolve on its own. You need to unload the refrigerator, warm it up completely and start it from scratch, i.e. from room temperature.

In Atlant refrigerators, it is possible for a snow coat to form if the defrosting thermostat malfunctions even without “Antarctica”; their designers tried to prevent potatoes from turning into cobblestones, and carrots from turning into stakes. This example is now being followed by other manufacturers, so when looking for the causes of the fur coat, you must first check the defrosting thermostat.

Note: According to statistics, in more than 80% of cases, the cause of fur coats in crying refrigerators is still an overload of warm park products. The steam trap is not a No Frost system; its self-defrosting capabilities are limited. But this is no longer a technical malfunction, but the result of careless/illiterate use.

Another technical reason for the fur coat is a constantly burning backlight, it disrupts internal convection. This is what Samsung refrigerators and the “sweet” Indesit refrigerators, which were discussed at the beginning, are famous for. To check the backlight switch, you don’t need to make homemade light guides from scraps of plastic bottles and use other amateur tricks. It is enough to press the backlight switch flag with your finger, see fig. The lamp should turn off when it is recessed no more than 1/3; half of it is already bad. By removing the cover of the control unit, the switch can be ringed and/or moved towards the flag if it is on screws. The switches are tightly secured and the backlight turns off properly.

Indesit and some other manufacturers provide some models of their crying No Frost refrigerators with a quick freeze switch. It may be in good working order, but if it is used often or one day you forgot to turn it off for a long time, the process of internal icing will start. The capabilities of crying refrigerators are limited in this aspect as well.

The next most common reason for a fur coat is a skewed door and a violation of its seal, which is typical for Nord refrigerators. The door is adjusted in almost every model in its own way; its adjustment controls are shown in the user manual. But regarding seals, general recommendations can be given.

First, check their folds for cracks along the entire contour, pos. 1 in Fig. Then buy a repair kit of the appropriate size. The kit, in addition to 2 L-shaped blanks for the seal itself, must include a pair of connecting flat corners and a tube of special glue. When gluing joints with random glue, a scar will inevitably form, which will ruin the repair, just like assembly without gluing.

Next, magnetic strips are removed from the “native” seal, pos. 2. Then the workpieces are cut to size at 45 degrees using a template or square, pos. 3 and 4, and are assembled on the corners with gluing, pos. 5. The finished seal is installed on the door using standard fasteners (most often with small screws or self-tapping screws).

Note: By the way, another joke. Lecture on physics at the infantry military school (now the institute). “Comrade cadets, the boiling point of water is 90 degrees” - “Comrade Colonel, 100 degrees.” - “Audience, stand up! Sit down! Get up! Sit down! How many degrees, comrade cadet? - “S...s...one hundred degrees...”. The lecturer rummages through his notes, then - “Comrade cadets, I apologize, I made a mistake. The boiling point of water is really 100 degrees. 90 degrees is a right angle."

Water

The reason for the appearance of liquid water in the refrigerator is most often faulty drainage. In weeping refrigerators, it is certainly done with a water seal, because, unlike No Frost, in this system the condensate dries out for a long time and organic matter from the products inevitably gets into it. Failure of drainage also causes the formation of a snow coat, but the root cause in this case is not freezing and impaired convection, but excess air humidity.

A typical drainage diagram for a refrigerator with a water seal is shown in Fig. for domestic Biryusa. The condensate tray overflows in the same way as a toilet or sink, due to a clogged water seal. It gets clogged with anything, from dust from potatoes to worms from apples and radishes. But you cannot pierce the water seal with a thin plumbing cable; the drainage is all plastic.

To clean the drain of the refrigerator, you need to take a thick, from 1 mm, fishing line with the end melted until round and smooth. After cleaning, the drain channel is washed with 1.5-2 liters of water with the addition of dishwashing detergent. You need to pour the solution in a fairly thick stream so that it stays in the tray, completely covering the drain hole. After washing, the drain is rinsed in the same way with clean water.

No Frost

Let's repeat the video tutorial at the beginning, now using the electrical circuit of the non-electronic refrigerator No Frost clone Whirlpool, see Fig., this is a typical and one of the simplest and most reliable construction. The general thermostat t works like in all other compression refrigerators. In the electromechanical timer 4, the contacts (2-3) are initially closed. Conventional type PTC Relay Module protection device.

Simultaneously with the compressor, the evaporator fan 1 is turned on, pumping cold air into the freezer and chamber. If it is faulty, then when the evaporator has cooled down to approx. –(25-35), the normally closed overload thermostat p will operate and turn off the compressor; We will recall the role of the optional working electric capacitor below. With the refrigerator turned on, after some time the startup attempt will be repeated. Outwardly, it looks like “it turns on and off, but does not cool.”

During normal operation, when the evaporator has cooled down to operating temperature, bimetallic contact 3 on it will turn on the timer micromotor. Test open contacts 3a are intended for checking the micromotor, because otherwise it is very difficult.

In the meantime, the compressor and evaporator fan will turn on and off from the general thermostat. The timer cam drum will rotate slowly, but the contacts (2-3) are still closed. When they open, the refrigerator will reach the desired temperature. At the same time, the moving contact (3) will be transferred to contact (4). The compressor with the evaporator fan will stop, and the evaporator heating element will turn on. The frost on it will melt, and the melt water will flow through the drainage into the drain tray. If the heating element is broken into the housing or overheats due to a faulty timer, thermal fuse 2 (fuser, fuser) will turn it off.

The timer motor is still spinning! It receives power to the bottom end of the circuit through an independent internal circuit! Only bimetallic thermostat 3 can turn off the timer. This is what will happen, with a delay and a differential, when the evaporator warms up and dries out from the remaining condensate. Therefore, the appearance of a snow coat in No Frost refrigerators is almost always caused only by improper use. Now the timer contacts (2-3) are closed again, the cycle repeats and repeats.

About the run capacitor

The compressor of a No Frost refrigerator requires even more excess power than a crying refrigerator. Therefore, the cos φ of the motor in the working stroke on one winding turns out to be too small; cos φ for electric machines is approximately similar to mechanical efficiency, but also characterizes the electrical reactivity of the installation. In a number of countries, incl. In the Russian Federation, the requirements for the reactivity of electricity consumers are very stringent. In this case, cos φ is reached to normal by the working phase-shifting capacitor, as in a conventional asynchronous electric motor with capacitor start. Loss of capacity by the working capacitor is manifested in severe unstable starting of the compressor and/or in the lighting of the “Return” indicator on the electric meter, and its breakdown is triggered by the operation of an apartment circuit breaker or traffic jams

Check the working capacitor with a tester and a 15-25 W incandescent light bulb (control). Under no circumstances should you take fluorescent energy-saving lamps, LED lamps, etc. with built-in electronics for testing! The tester checks the capacitor for a short breakdown. If the capacitor is working properly, the tester should, after briefly showing some resistance, immediately “go to infinity”, i.e. show break.

Loss of capacitance and breakdown under voltage are checked by a control connected in series with the capacitor in the network. The lamp should glow at full intensity or barely (the current through a 1 µF capacitor at a voltage of 200 V 50 Hz is approximately 30 mA). If the control does not light up at all, then this is a loss of capacity. If it burns at full heat, then the breakdown is under voltage.

Fan, Timer and Fuser

This trinity constitutes the specific Achilles heel of No Frost refrigerators, which, by the way, does not exclude the occurrence of “simple” malfunctions in them. But first you need to decide where this specificity is in yours.

The fan is accessible for inspection from the freezer. It can be open (pos. 1 in the figure) or hidden under the lid, pos. 2. In a refrigerator with electronic control, the freezer usually does not have removable panels. Then the timer is electronic, in the general control unit (red arrow on position 1). It’s better not to go there without special knowledge and experience.

If the timer is electromechanical, then in general there are 2 options: Samsung type and Whirlpool type. In the Samsung clone, after removing the lattice panel in the freezer, both the fan and, to the right of it, the timer are visible (red arrow on item 3). In the Virpulov design, there is a blank removable panel under the cold air duct, and under it on the right there is a timer (red arrow in position 4 and a general thermostat (green arrow in the same place).

You should immediately try to turn the fan impeller with your finger. If it is tight or stuck, there will be a plastic plug on the axle at the front or back; perhaps under a company sticker. There is no need to tear off the sticker right away, just rub it with your finger so that the cork becomes visible.

Having removed the plug, we will find a steel or plastic split washer. Steel can be removed using special tools or duckbill pliers with sharp ends. The plastic one is parted and removed with a pair of sewing needles. Under the split washer there will be 1 or several ordinary Teflon ones; they need to be removed with tweezers and saved.

Now you can remove the rotor with the impeller, clean the axle channel and the axle itself, and lubricate it. Low temperature lubricant is needed at -(35-45) or lower. The other one will thicken in this place. After reassembling the refrigerator, the refrigerator is checked, maybe the clogged fan was the problem.

Suddenly you have to go further, you will need to open the refrigerator from behind. The fan is turned on through some kind of black box. If it is 220 V, then it is network filter, if low voltage - small pulse block power supply is like a telephone charger, only with a different voltage and more powerful. To check, you need to connect the fan to its standard narrow terminals, and apply the network to the standard wide terminals (shown by red arrows in item I in Fig.).

Doesn't spin? Perhaps the fan itself is fine, but the problem is in the box. Then let’s look: No Frost refrigerators most often also have a compressor fan. It may be different, but its “box” is almost certainly the same type as the suspicious one, which can be determined by the inscriptions on their nameplates. We swap the “boxes” and finally make sure what and how is going on with the fan.

The next step is a thermal trigger for starting the timer and a fuser. They are located in the evaporator compartment nearby (green arrow on position II). The thermal control sockets are usually placed to the side (marked in red and with a red arrow there). The fuser hangs freely in a detachable plastic case (item 2 in item III), and the thermal seal is glued to the evaporator, item 2. 3 there.

First, we remove the fuser from the connector and call the tester, it should show a short circuit, i.e. zero resistance. No - you need a new fuser, it is disposable. But first you need to check the heating element of the evaporator for breakdown.

Next, we collect everything disassembled, with the refrigerator turned off, we close the thermal control sockets with a wire jumper and try to turn on the refrigerator. It should work abnormally, on a short cycle, because... The timer starts immediately. An alternative is to turn off the compressor, turn on the refrigerator disassembled and listen to the timer; you should hear a slight whirring of the motor. Yes - it's a thermal issue. It very rarely fails, but cannot be repaired; you need to buy a replacement. And - attention! – we have no more than 3-4 seconds to check the thermal circuit by closing the test sockets, otherwise the timer adjustment will go wrong!

Has the timer buzzed? Well, there is nothing else left. But now, for the reason stated above, there is renewed focus and attention. If you read the previous one, then it is clear to you that the timer does not have feedback with other nodes. He stupidly tosses and tosses contacts while his motor is energized. Setting up a broken timer at random is a long and painful procedure, but even if a master undertakes this, he will do so from the heart. His.

The timer cover can be easily removed, but before doing this, you need to mark the colors of the suitable wires on its body with a marker, pos. IV. Opening the timer, you will see the gear train, cam drum and contacts, pos. V. Here it is possible that either one of the gears is jammed, or the cam gets stuck under the moving contact. In the latter case, the heating element of the evaporator will heat up all the time, but it is difficult to determine this by touch from an unassembled refrigerator, the heating element is low-power.

The timer gear is checked by moving the gears one at a time with a thin flat-head screwdriver. You need to move carefully, turning the gears no more than 1 tooth. As a rule, a speck of dust is pushed out of the hub of some gear and the gear comes to life. If it is immediately clear that the wrong contacts are closed, then the cam is pushed off the dead center in the same way. You just need to examine it under a magnifying glass - is it worn out? Did it lick off, did the contacts eat out the groove? If yes, then you need to change the timer; after starting the refrigerator, on the next defrosting cycle the cam will get stuck again.

(6 ratings, average: 4,83 out of 5)

Modern technology, which surrounds us in all spheres of life, reduces human efforts to a minimum. It would seem that there is nothing difficult to wash clothes by hand, as our mothers and grandmothers did in their time. But why, when he can easily do it for us? washing machine. At the beginning of the last century, people stored food in cellars, and now we use refrigerators to preserve and freshen food. We will talk about them today. Let's discuss how to properly care for them and how often they require defrosting.

Most refrigerators of our time are equipped with a No Frost or Frost Free system. This means that they can serve the owner without needing additional periodic defrosting. If you are not the happy owner of such a refrigerator model, then our advice will be useful to you.
So, when defrosting the refrigerator, you should take the following steps. As a rule, refrigerators need defrosting 1 – 2 times a year. Make sure that this time is not in extreme heat, otherwise your food stored in it may spoil. In the evening, unplug the refrigerator from electrical network. While the ice is thawing, collecting in a special container, remove all food from the freezer and main compartment. In the morning, when the refrigerator is completely defrosted, take out all its shelves, as well as trays, and wash them thoroughly under running water. Use a sponge with detergent to clean the interior walls of any possible dirty deposits. Wipe everything dry and place the shelves and trays in their original places. Now you can load our refrigerator with food again, after connecting it to the network.

It is very convenient to store berries and fruits in the freezer, distributing them into bags in portions. When you buy meat, also try to cut it into the parts you need in the future portion and store it in bags.

Periodically wipe the inside walls of the refrigerator with a damp cloth, and it will shine clean and delight you with freshness all the time!

Samsung refrigeration equipment is distinguished by its build quality and rarely causes problems for users. If there are malfunctions, they must be eliminated by the service center or with my own hands. From the article you will learn about the design of Samsung refrigerators, faults that can be corrected without outside help. Common mistakes and rules for eliminating them.

Samsung refrigerators are positioned as units in the middle and high price categories. They have increased reliability and are distinguished by advantageous design features.

Any modern model is equipped with an LCD display (picture above), which shows information about the operation of the device, and faults are displayed when they occur.

Refrigerator won't turn on

If one chamber or all compartments are warm, the compressor does not work, possible breakdowns:

1. If neither the motor nor the display lights up and there is no sign of electricity being supplied, the likely cause is a lack of voltage. You need to check the power from the outlet by plugging in a working electrical device. The integrity of the network cable is checked.
2. If the indicators and lighting work, but the unit stops turning on and cooling, the compressor may be faulty. You won't be able to repair it yourself; you can replace the part.
3. If the light and display function normally, but no cold is produced, the temperature sensor may be faulty. The control unit does not receive a signal that the permissible temperature has been exceeded; it does not send a command to start the compressor.

The temperature sensor (reed switch) is connected to the system in the same way charger to the phone.

There is high temperature in the departments

If the temperature in the chambers is elevated, but the compressor is working properly, the probable causes of the malfunction are:

1. The capillary tubes are not sealed, freon leaks out. If air gets into the cooling system, the refrigerant may malfunction. The temperature inside rises. Repair consists of replacing damaged elements after checking the integrity of the cooling tubes. It will be necessary to compensate for the evaporated coolant.
2. The door is not sealed. In summer, the house is heated, and warm air flows from the room into the refrigerator. The malfunction can be determined by the presence of frost or condensation in the places where the rubber seals adhere to the body. You can fix it yourself by replacing the rubber bands and allowing the frost to thaw.
3. Ice formation. It stems from a previous fault. When the doors are depressurized, warm air continuously enters the chamber. The interior space cools and condensation appears. The freezer compartment forms and accumulates snow and ice on the walls. The problem is resolved by replacing or straightening the rubber seal. Heat the resulting wrinkles with a hairdryer to soften and even out.

Additional information: the fault code is shown on the refrigerator display. The error is determined by decoding the code. A list of them is presented in the instructions.

There is a puddle under the refrigerator

Reason: clogged drainage system. Condensation forms on the back of the refrigerator due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the device. The liquid gradually drains through a small hole. The impurities present in it gradually block the passage of water.

The narrowing can become a plug that prevents fluid drainage. To correct this, clean the fluid drainage channel. Use a thin knitting needle with a brush at the end. The refrigerator must be disconnected from the network and remain in this state until it is completely defrosted and cleaned.

Minor faults of Samsung refrigerators

A serious breakdown is usually preceded by a number of minor nuances that can be corrected independently. By paying attention to the listed shortcomings, you will be able to avoid major breakdowns. Minor faults:

1. When you press a button on the panel, you do not receive a response. Eliminated by rebooting the refrigerator. A malfunction means that the signal is lost on the loop or in some relay. It can be restored by de-energizing the entire system. Weak contacts and worn-out wiring are to blame. If you do not reboot in time, the control module may be damaged.
2. You can hear noise when the motor is running, and there is strong vibration when you turn it off. The motor-compressor or its mountings may be faulty. Inspect the back of the refrigerator, identify loose fasteners and replace them.

Important: this breakdown leads to a refrigerant leak if not repaired in time.

A Samsung two-chamber refrigerator with No Frost or Cool’n’Cool rarely breaks down due to malfunctions of these systems. System failure occurs in the following cases:

1. Increase in the operating temperature of the chamber by more than 3°. Reason: frequent opening of the door on hot days. You need to close the door and not open it for 2-3 hours to normalize.
2. Formation of an ice layer on the walls. If the temperature setting is incorrect or hot food is left inside the device.
3. Pan overflowing with water. When there is too much food and the door is opened frequently.
4. Products are very cold or warm even after long-term storage. Reason: the temperature is set incorrectly. You can manage the parameters on the panel yourself.
5. Fan failure. The No Frost system (no frost) works due to a fan that prevents the formation of frost on the walls. They are blown with cold air. If a layer of snow or ice appears, you should defrost the device by unplugging it until the ice disappears. The malfunction is imminent; if the characteristic noise of the fan is heard, it may stop spinning.

Improper operation of the doors leads to random blinking of the lights on the control panel. To fix the problem, you need to check the correct connections and contacts and connect them correctly.

Why you shouldn't put hot food in the refrigerator

It doesn't matter if the pot, pan, plate or food in it is hot. This should not be placed in the refrigerator for several reasons:

• The shelves in the devices are glass. If the temperature rises sharply, they may crack due to thermal deformation. Under the pan, the glass heats up and expands. The rest is not. If there are no cracks, then microcracks will appear, which will reduce the strength of the shelf; it will break from a heavier object.
• Evaporation of liquid in the chamber and freezing contributes to the appearance of frost on the walls and products. This interferes with cooling and they are more likely to deteriorate. The work surface is saturated with the smell of a hot dish.

Important: if you can’t, but really need to put the hot food in the refrigerator, be sure to cover it with a lid and place a wooden board under the hot container.

• The taste of dishes changes. Many foods require slow cooling to retain their beneficial properties. The risk of unpleasant odors and rapid spoilage increases.
• Cracks appear in the dishes. In addition to the refrigerator shelves, a plate or pan may be damaged.
• The load on the compressor increases. The construction is expensive and can only be repaired service centers. Hot soup or other food inside the refrigerator increases the load on the engine and causes wear on the sensors.

Tip: if you plan to put hot dishes in the refrigerator, you need to buy a device with the HotBox function. The device has a section where hot settings are allowed.

Improper maintenance often leads to device malfunctions. Each refrigerator comes with instructions that should not be violated, so that the repairman does not have to fix a breakdown in a new unit that has quickly broken down.

Video: how to see the error code of a Samsung refrigerator

Video: how the No Frost system works

Refrigerators of the NO FROST system differ from refrigerators with a conventional cooling system in that in the freezer they do not have the usual evaporator in the form of a metal shelf or plate. The evaporator (usually there is only one), which in such models is more correctly called an air cooler, can be located in the upper or lower part of the freezer chamber or behind a panel on the back wall of this chamber, and the refrigerator compartment does not have its own evaporator at all.

Structurally, the air cooler in most models looks like a car radiator. A fan is installed behind it, which blows air from the freezer and refrigerator compartments. When passing through the evaporator, the air is cooled and directed through a system of channels to the cooled products. In this case, most of the cooled air enters the freezer compartment, and a smaller part - through an additional channel into the refrigerator.
The exception is FROST FREE refrigerators, in the refrigerator compartment of which a “crying” evaporator is installed, and cold air circulates only within the freezer compartment. Contrary to the name of the NO FROST system (“no frost”), frost still forms - it’s just not visible, because it is formed on the evaporator, which is hidden from view. Periodically, after 8-16 hours, this frost is thawed by heating elements located on or under the evaporator.
The temperature in the freezer compartment is controlled by turning off the compressor when a certain temperature is reached in the freezer compartment or in the air duct that carries cold air from the freezer compartment to the refrigerator compartment. The temperature in the refrigerator compartment is regulated either by a special damper installed in the air duct of the refrigerator compartment (the damper can be manually controlled or controlled by a thermostat), or by turning on and off an additional fan that supplies cold air from the freezer compartment to the refrigerator compartment.

Refrigerators NoFrost

The evaporator is the coldest place in the refrigerator, its “pole of cold”. When the refrigerant boils inside the evaporator tubes, an ice “coat” grows on the outer surface of this heat exchanger - this is the condensation of moisture from the air with which it is filled. freezer. Any housewife knows: the freezer door cannot be kept open for a long time, otherwise warm air from the kitchen will fill the chamber, and then the “coat” will become thicker, which means that the freezer will have to be thawed earlier.

In traditional refrigerators, the defrosting or defrosting operation is carried out once or twice a year, usually timed to coincide with cleaning the interior of the refrigerator. Devices with manual defrosting are simply disconnected from the power supply, leaving the freezer door open. Here you need to be patient and let the ice crust melt on its own, without using knives, scrapers and other sharp tools - they will not damage the evaporator for long. If you really can't wait, put a saucepan of hot water in the freezer.

After the ice crust has completely disappeared, you need to wash the inside surface of the chamber with warm water, wipe it dry, ventilate for an hour or two, close the door and turn on the refrigerator.

A refrigerator with semi-automatic defrosting only needs to be turned off periodically by pressing the sensor-relay button on the thermostat body. It will turn on itself after the ice crust on the evaporator melts.

In traditional refrigerators, the air inside the chamber moves extremely slowly: warmer and lighter portions rise upward, cold and heavier portions sink down, obeying the laws of natural convection.

The appearance of forced air circulation systems in refrigerators (for this purpose there are special fans inside the chambers) made it possible, firstly, to achieve uniform distribution of air throughout the volume of the chambers, bringing the cold to the most secluded corners. Thanks to this, aesthetic and easy-to-clean glass shelves have become widely used in refrigerators, replacing the previous grilles. In Fig. 3, where such shelves are shown, the openings of the air distribution system of the refrigerator are clearly visible.

Secondly, with the help of forced ventilation it was possible to defeat the ice “coat” and completely get rid of the defrosting operation. This is how the No Frost system appeared in refrigerators, in which frost does not form in the freezer.

More precisely, the ice “coat” was taken outside the freezer, hiding the evaporator behind its wall. It is there that the fan drives air so that moisture is frozen on the surface of the evaporator, and not on the chamber wall. The evaporator is equipped with an electric heating element, and the growth of the “fur coat” on it is under constant control electronic system refrigerator controls. Every 6-8 hours, the heating is automatically turned on, and the surface of the evaporator is freed from the frozen ice crust.

Refrigerators with a No Frost system have one feature that should be kept in mind. Blowing food with air currents created in the cavity of the refrigerator leads to their dehydration and weathering. Therefore, food in such a refrigerator should be stored in packaging.

I’ll start with general concepts, or rather, I’ll tell you why, in a refrigerator with the No Frost system, the cold in the refrigerator compartment disappears. If you have such a problem, then first of all pay attention to the freezer, or more precisely, how it freezes; if the food is not defrosted, then most likely the problem is the malfunction of the evaporator defrosting system. In order to make sure of this, you need to remove the front panel and get to the freezer itself, if I was right, then on the freezing evaporator you will see a pile of ice, this method is suitable for those who urgently need to start the refrigerator, but for those for whom time is not limited , I can suggest another diagnostic method. The second method is much simpler, but this will require at least 3 days, in general you need to do the following procedure

• Feel the sides of the body→ if they are hot, then it is clearly not a freon leak and in this case you can proceed to the next step
• Disconnect the refrigerator from the power supply for three days→ such a long period of time is needed for the ice on the evaporator to melt. Be sure to open the doors to both cells
• Turn on the refrigerator→ you need to note the time, after 2/3 hours the engine should turn off. It is advisable to place outdoor thermometers in both cells that show sub-zero temperatures

It is very important that in the first mode, that is, before shutting down, the refrigerator works without food, then you can slowly load them. If in both chambers you see a normal temperature, then do not rush to rejoice, in most cases the problem repeats itself. In this way, you can put the refrigerator into normal operation for 2-3 weeks, I think this is enough for a technician to arrive or for you to be able to buy the necessary parts to replace them. Now we can start diagnosing malfunctions, that is, we will look for the causes and eliminate the consequences, but first I recommend watching the video in which I showed how to get to the freezer evaporator and in general about general malfunctions of El G No Frost

Watch a video on how to get to the freezer evaporator in the LG No Frost refrigerator, as well as about general breakdowns of this unit

In the video above, an LG refrigerator with electronic control was taken as an example, and in the video below, you will learn about malfunctions of LG No Frost refrigerators with mechanical control. Do not pay attention that in the video, I disassemble a Samsung refrigerator, I assure you there is practically no difference, even the defrost heating element and timer, in most cases, can be installed from one model to another

Watch a video about malfunctions of the LG No Frost refrigerator with a mechanical control system

How to determine a freon leak in an LG No Frost refrigerator

If you haven’t watched the video, be sure to turn on these videos and watch them again, because we will rely on them when looking at some of the malfunctions of this unit and let’s start with the most common questions that are asked in my workshop and on my YouTube channel

Hello, I have an LG No Frost refrigerator, after about a month it stopped cooling completely and then started freezing. We turned it off and defrosted it for three days, as a master friend recommended to us. After turning it on, after 5-6 hours, the thermometer in the refrigerator compartment showed +16 o C, and in the freezer compartment +5 o C. We tried the walls of the case, they are almost body temperature everywhere, that is, to say that they are warm or cold, we can not. The technician said that there was a leak or a clogged capillary. How can we determine exactly what happened to our refrigerator?

The fact that you tried the walls of the case is very good, but the fact that they are not hot is already very bad, most likely the master is right. In order to make sure that he and I are right, we need to get to the freezing evaporator and see how the frost is distributed on it. In the photo below, you can see the first sign of a freon leak or a clogged capillary; if the same picture is observed on your evaporator, then feel free to call a specialist

The photo shows the main sign of a freon leak in the LG No Frost refrigerator

In the photo you see that something like a snowball has accumulated on the evaporator in the upper part, but in the rest of the freezer there is no frost at all, this primarily indicates that the refrigerant has leaked or the system is clogged. In general, if after defrosting, you turn on the refrigerator and after 5-6 hours you see this picture, then 100%, you need to look for a leak or clean the capillary

Why is there a lot of ice on the freezer evaporator of the LG No Frost refrigerator

There may be several reasons for this ailment, but first of all you need to check the defrost element, which is located on the freezer evaporator. You can check it with a multimeter and an ordinary ring, the resistance of the heating element can be different and to be honest, I almost never pay attention to it, for me it is important that the spiral is not broken

Recently, my LG No Frost refrigerator (the freezer is at the top) has stopped turning off. I duly disassembled the freezer and discovered a large accumulation of ice, and checking the heating element showed that it was faulty; it did not ring. I work as an electrician and I think I can change it, but after looking around the Internet, I didn’t see a defrost specifically for my model anywhere. My question is, can it be replaced with some other heating element, because as I understand it, the main thing is that it heats the evaporator, that is, that the condensate flows into the water drainage channel

The main thing is that it fits the fastenings, that is, sits in the sockets where the old one stood. In terms of power, they are almost all the same, I never pay attention to it. As for the wires, they can always be redone. In the video below, I clearly explained how to replace the defrost heating element. True, a Samsung refrigerator was taken as an example, but this is not global, the heating element in such units changes in the same way

Watch the video on how to change the defrost element on a No Frost refrigerator

As you can see, although there are difficulties in replacing the heating element, such work can still be done with your own hands, and it will be much cheaper. The main thing to understand here is that only two wires go to the heating element itself, and the rest of the wiring goes to the fuse and to the control module. This video shows how I converted the wires from one model to another

How to check temperature and defrost sensors on an LG No Frost refrigerator

I already wrote above that there are two control systems in such units. On mechanically controlled refrigerators, the defrost sensor performs the function of a thermostat, and on electronically controlled refrigerators, thermistors are installed, or thermistors as they are also called. The main property of a thermistor is to change its resistance when the temperature decreases or increases. I have selected several questions through which I will try to cover this topic

Hello, the refrigerator compartment on my refrigerator does not work, after opening the front cover in front of the evaporator, I discovered that the freezer was completely covered in ice. I was recommended to replace the defrost sensor and check the heating element. I checked the heater without difficulty, but with the sensor, I’m a little confused. Where is it located and what does it look like, I found two sensors in one silicone package. I wanted to ring them, but they don’t ring either on Ohms or megaOhms. I have an electronically controlled refrigerator, that is, I set the temperature with buttons

Look at the photo below

Photo of defrost sensor for LG No Frost refrigerator

Yes, indeed, there are two sensors in one silicone package. One of them is a fuse, its resistance is almost zero, but the other (white), this is the defrost sensor, its resistance at room temperature is 13 kOhm

I ask for help in repairing the LG No Frost refrigerator. The problem itself is that ice constantly accumulates on the evaporator; I defrost it every two to three weeks, depending on the time of year. I checked the defrost heating element, it seems to be intact, in any case, the spiral itself is not broken. I can’t check the defrost sensor, or rather I don’t know its resistance, at room temperature it shows 6 kOhm, if you heat it up, the value remains the same. Is this right or wrong?

At room temperature, the resistance of the defrost sensor should be about 13 kOhm; as the temperature increases or decreases, the resistance should change. Judging by what you wrote, the defrost sensor is unusable

I'm already exhausted with my Ski, I constantly defrost it. The refrigerator is old, the temperature is set by a thermostat, the whole problem is that a month after deep defrosting, the refrigerator compartment stops working again and what’s more, the motor on the refrigerator itself does not turn off. In general, you have to defrost it again for 2-3 days and only then does it start to work normally

As I understand, you have an LG refrigerator with a mechanical control system. To cope with your problem, it is advisable to change all the mechanics, that is, the defrost sensor and the clock mechanism. Believe me, as an experienced craftsman, replacing one of these parts may not give the desired result. The fact is that each spare part has its own resource, in your case, they have exhausted this resource. Do not listen to those who will advise you to change everything separately; it is better to do everything at once and for sure. In the photo below you can see the timer and defrost sensor

Photo of defrost sensor for LG No Frost refrigerator with mechanical control

Photo of the timer for the LG No Frost refrigerator

Why the damper on the LG No Frost refrigerator does not work

This is perhaps the last malfunction that determines how the refrigerator compartment will cool. On mechanically controlled refrigerators, the damper operates independently of electricity. The fact is that it works like a thermostat, it has an accordion into which freon is pumped and as it cools, this accordion narrows, as a result the damper closes. In general, if we talk about the mechanical damper, then it fails very rarely, over the entire period of time, I personally changed it several times and then through the fault of the household, who decided that the problem was in it and stupidly picked it out. In general, if you have a mechanically controlled refrigeration unit, you don’t need to touch the damper; it’s better to look at the defrost system. Now we can talk about electronic control and the damper, which closes or opens the air channel thanks to a motor

With my LG No Frost refrigerator, some miracles are happening. In general, if you turn it on, it picks up the temperature perfectly and turns off, but then the refrigerator compartment stops working, and the refrigerator works in 20/20 mode, that is, it sits for 20 minutes and works for 20. The freezer freezes normally, but the food disappears in the refrigerator, there is no cold at all, the temperature is +20 o C. I discovered this thing: after reaching the temperature, the damper closes and then does not open, there is no ice on the evaporator. I tried to do the following thing, I removed the front cover to see how the damper closes and opens, I understand that if the door is open, it will close, so that this does not happen, I took a magnet and simulated a closed door, that is, I moved it along the body and the fan turned on, This means the brains must see that the door is closed. In general, the fan works, but the damper does not open; if you push it, it turns around and snaps into place. Tell me where to dig

There is no need to dig anywhere, you need to check the temperature sensor of the refrigerator compartment, apparently the problem is in it or in the control module, at room temperature, its resistance should be about 13 kOhm. To check, you can use an ordinary resistor, but this is only for testing

General malfunctions of LG No Frost refrigerators

Due to the fact that the article turned out to be very long, about breakdowns of the fan, control module and other malfunctions, I will talk briefly. To check the fan, just apply 220V to it; if it works, put it in place. The operation of the fan depends on the control module and the button that turns on the light. If you have a refrigerator with a mechanical control, then the button is usually located in the refrigerator compartment; it performs two functions. When you close the door, this button turns off the light and bridges the contacts to the fan; this is done so that the refrigerator pumps in as little warm air as possible. In refrigerators with electronic control, everything is a little more complicated, the role of the button is played by a kind of electromagnet, it looks like a small glass flask, inside of which there are two contacts, when the door closes, under the influence of the magnet, one contact is attracted to the other, thereby closing them, As a result, the control unit sees that the door is closed. If the button does not signal that the door is closed, the fan does not turn on, and the electronic damper will not start working. It happens that the control module itself fails and the processor does not see the closed door. As a result, you will get what I wrote about above, that is, the damper will be closed and the fan will not spin. As you understand, everything depends on the control module, including the operation of the defrost. If you have checked all the elements and they are in good order, then it is better to call a specialist, let him do the diagnostics again and make a diagnosis.