Liebherr Fridge Freezer Not Working

youtheman

As per the title. About 4 years old. Family were reporting that it was getting very noisy. Now both compartments are not working. Power is on (light working etc). I can hear the compressor running also, but the temperature is not dropping. Any ideas of what could be causing this?.

Dardania

coil might be frozen. Try a thorough defrost?

youtheman

Dardania wrote: »

coil might be frozen. Try a thorough defrost?

Thanks for that. But would the fridge not be effectively defrosted by virtue of it being at room temperature for several days?

Dardania

youtheman wrote: »

Thanks for that. But would the fridge not be effectively defrosted by virtue of it being at room temperature for several days?

Yes & no. I had a similar issue with my Samsung fridge - there was a cooling coil shared between the freezer & fridge compartment, and a fan to blow the coolth where it was needed. So when the coil blocked, no air could circulate, internal compartment heated up

youtheman

Thanks again. That would certainly be the 'best case scenario'. So I'll just unplug it for a day or two.

youtheman

Just 2 more points to note, and I'm not sure if they are significant.

Family were reporting a very noisy fridge, but I was away and it was silent when I got back (no sign of compressor running). I was going to try pull it out to see if there was anything obvious (it's integrated), but when I removed the bottom skirting the compressor suddenly started running again (when more air could get at it).

Also, it appears that the temperature is slightly lower than room temp, as if it's working 'slightly'.

Not sure if this lends any weight to your assertion that the coil could be frozen.

Dardania

youtheman wrote: »

Just 2 more points to note, and I'm not sure if they are significant.

Family were reporting a very noisy fridge, but I was away and it was silent when I got back (no sign of compressor running). I was going to try pull it out to see if there was anything obvious (it's integrated), but when I removed the bottom skirting the compressor suddenly started running again (when more air could get at it).

Also, it appears that the temperature is slightly lower than room temp, as if it's working 'slightly'.

Not sure if this lends any weight to your assertion that the coil could be frozen.

interesting - maybe the condenser had difficulty with rejecting heat to atmosphere, and as you say, airflow assisted...

If it's integrated, maybe there's something on top of the kitchen units above that prevent air escaping upwards? And that could be checked?

The Red Ace

with your description of the fault and the fact the compressor started when moved it would suggest it cut out on its thermal overload cutout, has the unit a fan motor? if so it should run with the compressor to aid cooling, remove any dust on the coils and head of the compressor and make sure there is room for airflow. if the compressor got very hot there is the possibility that it got damaged and is not able to pump to the correct pressure if the temp is not being achieved

youtheman

Here's an update. The fridge/freezer is integrated, so much so that I can't seems to be able to pull it out to see the back of it (not entirely sure how its secured). There is very little room at the back for air to circulate, I would say one inch, 1.5 inches max. And no grille in the skirting board to allow air in at the lowest level (not sure if this is against manufacturer's recommendations). I did find I had left a box on the top of the unit, basically restricting air up through the slot, so I removed it. Then I removed the bottom skirting altogether are unplugged it for a few hours. When I plugged it in again the compressor ran first time. After and hour or two ice seemed to be forming on the ceiling of the freezer compartment, but the fridge didn't seem to be getting cold. So I unplugged it again and left it longer (overnight). I plugged it in again this morning and am very interested to find out how its performing when I go home this evening.

youtheman

Had a repair man out today. I wasn't there but he told my wife that it was out of gas. And he said that one of the contributing factors was that there was no grille in the kicker plate for air to circulate. The fridge was manufactured in June 2010. I looked up the manual for the fridge (on line) and it only specifies a 38 mm gap at the back and a 200 cm2 chimney at the top, no mention of a grille at the bottom. So it looks like it may be installed according to the manual (though I have to check the exact dimensions). New one will cost €899. Ouch.

The Red Ace

not a great outcome if it has a leak after 5 years, not having a grille on the kicker board definitely wouldn't contribute to it losing refrigerant, no airflow could cause a compressor burn out but a refrigerant loss on a sealed system only comes from poor quality pipework or somebody fracturing an external pipe. what guarantee came with the unit as it seems rather soon for a fridge at this end of the market to be down in gas. from reading through your previous fault descriptions I assume its not a frost free unit, would someone have punctured the evaporator causing the leakage? Recharging isn't an option with an internal leak as it would leak again whereas an external could be repaired

Onion11

It sounds like exactly the same thing that's just happened to our Liebherr CUP 3021 in the last couple of days. Just wondering if you got in touch with the company at time and how you fared out with it.

Thanks