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Why the fridge does not switch off: an overview of frequent breakdowns

The freezer is one of the commonly used domestic appliances, but rather cumbersome and not safe from breakage. However, some faults are not immediately noticeable. For example, there are cases when the fridge does not turn off. The device produces the necessary amount of cold, the food doesn’t expire, but the compressor runs continuously. It is impossible to leave such a situation without attention because it can change to the worst very quickly.

The reasons for the continuous performance of the refrigerator

Very poor operating conditions or incorrect settings often lead to the situation when the blower runs continuously.
Here are some common mistakes:
• the device is placed in such a way that its rear grate touches the wall or is located almost close to it;
• the refrigerator is too close to a hot radiator or other heating appliance;
• the room where the unit is located is too hot, the requirements of the operating conditions are not met;
• the enabled built-in Super Freeze function must be turned off manually or for some reason does not switch off automatically;
• the thermostat is set to the maximal position and the ambient air is too warm.

All of these situations are caused by heat transfer breaking. The device does not produce cold being located near the wall panel heater. The principle of refrigerator’s action is based on the constant removal of thermal energy inside the refrigerator and transfer it to the ambient air. If the air is too hot, the heat will not be absorbed. The compressor will continue to work, unsuccessfully trying to reach the temperature set on the thermostat.
Moreover, the greater the difference between the temperature inside the refrigerator and the outside, the more heat energy needs to be moved. This causes more difficulties for the unit to achieve the desired performance. For example, in the super-freeze mode, the heat transfer must be very intensive. If the heat does not have time to leave the refrigerator, thermal sensors will not fix the cold level specified by the program and the command to turn off the compressor will not come. So, the equipment will continue to work.
There may be other causes of this type of damage associated with the wear of individual parts of the device. For example, if the integrity of the rubber gasket on the refrigerator door is damaged it will lead to breaking the tightness of the internal space. It turns out that the refrigeration equipment takes thermal energy from the cooling room, but the heat leaks inside through insignificant gaps. And although the air inside feels like cold, the sensors report that the temperature is not low enough. The compressor continues to run non-stop.
The next reason why the fridge can function in this way is the failure of the thermal relay, which sends incorrect information to the control center. Finally, the compressor itself may wear out and operate with insufficient power without providing a sufficient drop in temperature.
Another reason why the refrigerator does not switch off is the freon leak. The refrigerant plays the role of heat carrier in the system. It absorbs the scattered heat particles inside the fridge’s room, then moves it out. If the amount of the coolant in the system is insufficient, then the cooling rate will slow down resulting in the non-stop performance of the refrigerator.
The importance of accurate diagnosis and timely professional repair
It is somewhat easier for owners of modern models to deal with the problem definition if a self-diagnostic function is built into the unit. Breakdowns can be reported by tagged codes that are displayed on the control panel. To decrypt the message, you need to use the instruction manual containing all the necessary information. However, one should not blindly trust this information, sometimes in order to accurately identify not only the problem but also its cause, it is necessary to carry out a detailed diagnostics of the device state from the experts.

Better do not wait until the sound of the compressor running becomes constant. If the intervals between shutting down and turning on the compressor are noticeably reduced, and the periods of work have increased, most likely, it is time to think about how to identify the problem and how to solve it by contacting professional repair service.

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