Posted 6 hours ago

Hotpoint fridge part is freezing up

I have a frost free Hotpoint fridge/freezer (model: HBNF 55181 B AQUA UK) - around 4 years old. I had the fridge/freezer setting (only one dial) on no. 3 out of 5 but ice was appearing on the back of the fridge wall, so I eventually turned it down to 1, however, the formation of ice has got worse (a bottle of fizzy drink in the fridge had some ice cubes in it this morning).

I think that it might be a thermostat issue, but on removing the interior cover (where the light fitting is also), it looks like that it actually needs a PCB board (photos attached)? I am trying to find one online, but I am not sure which numbers on the board to look for. Is it just one part on it that needs replacing, or do I have to replace the entire board (trying to keep the cost down, rather than get somebody out to do it)? Some PCB boards (different brands) are over £200, and I paid around £405 for the fridge freezer about 4 years ago. Photos are attached and any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
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  1. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    Have you checked the door seal? Sometimes people open the door using its edge, which can harm the seal. Is there any crud on the seal which could mean it is not fully sealing? Any perferations in it, perhaps caused by long nails?
    Sophiasky's avatar
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    There are no issues with the door seals, that was one of the first things that I checked.
  2. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    If the door is okay, then pull the contents out of the fridge and look for splits in the plastic shell, especially around the zone where ice is formed.
    Why do you suggest it needs a new board? A look at the photos supplied doesn't reveal anything "blown", although that is not to say it has not given up in some way, but you would be unlucky for a board that has little in the way of stress placed on it, to be faulty withing 4 years.

    With only one dial, you are likely to have only one compressor, so if one section of the FF no longer works then you would expect the other to show problems, were the compressor to be the issue.

    700w per 24 hours (as per specs in the pic) is not that good for a recent unit. My FF is also about 4 years old, and uses 420w per day, with a 5 foot freezer (less than 6 months) using only 360w per day.
    RoosterNo1's avatar
    It's going to be a blocked drain...
    Clean it all out then swill around with warm to hot water - you may need to poke them through with a bit of wire or pipe cleaner etc.
    Usually fish finger crumbs