Five common fridge faults and what each one usually means

Almost every refrigerator complaint we see in Nellore falls into one of five symptoms. Each symptom has two or three usual causes, and knowing which is likely tells you whether it is a ten-minute fix at home, a part, or the compressor. Here they are, with the check you can safely do and what the visit costs on our rate card.

1. Not cooling, or not cooling enough

This is the big one, and "gas" is the wrong first guess. In order of how often we find them:

• Blocked airflow. A dusty condenser grid at the back, a fridge pushed flat against the wall, or (inside) shelves packed so tight cold air cannot move. In a frost-free fridge, the cooling coil is in the freezer and a small fan pushes cold air down to the fridge section; if that fan fails, the freezer is fine and the fridge below is warm.
• Defrost fault. The cooling coil ices over into a solid block, air cannot pass, and cooling fades over a few days. The freezer often still feels cold.
• Thermostat or control board. The compressor does not get the signal to run, or runs on a wrong reading.
• Compressor, relay or gas. The compressor tries to start and clicks off, or runs but the system has lost charge through a leak. Only a technician with gauges can say which.

Your check: is the compressor humming? Is the back warm? Is the freezer cold but the fridge warm? Those three answers narrow it a lot. Diagnosis and standard labour for a not-cooling fault is ₹399.

2. Freezer icing up

On a single-door (direct cool) fridge, frost on the freezer plate is normal and you defrost it yourself. On a frost-free fridge it is a fault.

• Defrost heater, timer or sensor has failed, so the automatic melt cycle no longer happens. Ice builds on the back wall of the freezer and eventually blocks the air duct.
• Door gasket leaking. Humid Nellore air gets in all night, freezes on the coil, and overwhelms the defrost cycle. Do the paper test round the door.
• Door left ajar by a packet or a tray. Happens more than anyone admits.

Your check: paper test, and look for anything holding the door off the seal. If the gasket is good and the ice comes back within a week of a manual defrost, it is the defrost circuit. Repair is ₹350 for diagnosis and labour, gasket or heater at MRP if needed.

3. Water leaking

Water inside the fridge, under the crisper, or on the floor.

• Blocked drain hole at the back of the fridge compartment. Defrost water cannot reach the pan above the compressor, so it pools inside and overflows. Clear it with a cotton bud.
• Drain pan cracked or out of place after the fridge was moved.
• Condensation, not a leak — in October to December, water on the outside of the door or on the floor in front is often just humid air meeting a cold surface, especially if the gasket is tired.
• Water dispenser or ice maker line on a side-by-side.

Your check: is the water clean and coming from the back inside, or from the front door? The first is the drain, the second the gasket or the door. Visit and labour is ₹350.

4. Noisy compressor

Fridges are not silent, and a new sound is usually mechanical rather than the compressor dying.

• Vibration through the floor because the fridge is not level, or something on top or behind is rattling against it.
• Fan hitting ice in a frost-free freezer — a scraping or whirring noise that comes and goes.
• Compressor mounts or pads hardened with age; the compressor itself is fine but transmits every vibration to the cabinet.
• A labouring compressor — a louder, rougher hum than before, hot to touch, with weak cooling. This is the one that matters.

Your check: level the fridge, pull it a few centimetres from the wall, and take things off the top. If the noise stays and cooling is also down, book it. Diagnosis and labour is ₹399; the technician will tell you honestly whether it is a pad-and-mount job or a compressor decision.

5. Ice maker fault

Mostly on side-by-side and larger double-door models with an automatic ice maker or water dispenser.

• Inlet valve not opening, or blocked with scale — common where the supply is hard borewell water.
• Ice maker module stuck mid-cycle, so the tray neither fills nor tips.
• Tray cracked or frozen in place.
• Water line kinked or frozen.

Your check: is water reaching the fridge at all (does the dispenser work)? Is the ice maker switched on — many have a lever or switch that gets knocked? Ice maker repair is ₹450 for diagnosis and labour, parts at MRP.

Which of these means "switch it off now"

Two situations where you should switch off at the socket and not wait:

• The compressor clicks on and off every minute or two and the fridge is not cooling. The relay or overload is tripping; running it like that heats the compressor for no gain.
• Any smell of burning, or the plug or socket is hot. That is an electrical fault, not a fridge fault, and the MCB is the right place to switch it off.

Everything else can run while you wait for the visit, and on a hot day it is better to keep the door shut and let it do what cooling it can.