Fridge Repairs Sydney | Same Day Fix Near You

This is the call we take most often. The fridge has power, the light comes on, but the compartment is sitting well above 4 degrees. The cause is usually one of a few things: condenser coils choked with dust and pet hair, a failed condenser or evaporator fan, a faulty thermostat or control board, a defrost system failure that has iced over the evaporator, or a refrigerant leak in the sealed system.

You can safely check two things yourself. Make sure the fridge has clearance at the back and sides for airflow, and pull it out to see whether the coils are packed with dust. Anything past that, particularly anything involving refrigerant, needs an ARCtick licensed technician. Call 0401 065 051 and we will diagnose it properly.

A light frost is normal. Thick ice on the back wall of the freezer, ice around the vents, or a freezer drawer frozen shut points to a defrost system fault. The defrost heater, defrost thermostat or timer may have failed, so the frost that normally melts away each cycle keeps building instead. A perished or torn door seal will do the same thing by letting warm, humid Sydney air into the cabinet.

Defrosting the unit will clear the ice temporarily, but if the defrost components have failed it will return within weeks. That is the point to have it looked at.

Water pooling under the crisper drawers or running onto the floor is almost always a blocked defrost drain. Food debris and slime clog the drain channel at the back of the fridge, the meltwater has nowhere to go, and it backs up into the cabinet. Other causes include a cracked or dislodged drain pan, a split water line on models with a water dispenser, or a door seal letting in humid air that condenses inside.

Clearing a defrost drain is sometimes a simple job. If the water keeps returning after you have cleared it, there is a second fault behind it.

Every fridge makes some noise. The ones worth acting on are the new ones. A rattle or buzz from behind the fridge usually means the condenser fan blade is hitting something or the fan motor bearings are worn. A high pitched whine or a grinding sound from the freezer side often means the evaporator fan is fouling on ice. A loud hum with the compressor cycling on and off quickly can indicate a failing start relay or compressor.

Noise is one of the few faults that gives you warning before a full breakdown, so it is worth acting on early.

A compressor that never cuts out is working hard and using power, and it is a sign the fridge cannot reach its set temperature. Dirty condenser coils, a failing door seal, a stuck thermostat, low refrigerant or a room that is simply too hot for the unit are the usual causes. Left alone, constant running shortens compressor life considerably.

This is a classic split fault. On most modern fridges, cold air is generated in the freezer and pushed into the fridge compartment by an evaporator fan. If that fan fails, or if the damper that controls the airflow sticks shut, the freezer stays frozen while the fridge section slowly warms. It looks like a major failure and is often a straightforward repair.