Okay, explain this one
In 2017 I got a wonderful new refrigerator. I fell in love with it instantly, and my love for it has only deepened as it ages. But about a year ago its light went out.
I was going to replace it. I meant to replace it. I had every intention of replacing it. But as time went on I realized I did just fine without the light. The light in my kitchen illuminated the inside of the refrigerator quite adequately. So I put the task off and put it off, because changing the light in this particular model is actually a bit labor intensive.
As I said, a year passed. I had almost forgotten that refrigerators have lights, because I really didn’t miss mine.
And then suddenly, about three days ago – what do you think happened? The light went on when I opened the fridge. And it’s been working just fine ever since.
So my question is: what happened? It’s a complete mystery to me. I did nothing differently. Nothing at all happened of which I’m aware that might have affected my refrigerator. And yet it’s been working perfectly.
Go figure.
Neo’s refrigerator light mystery:
Very weird!
1. Do you have a bored cat?
2. Do you have a new handyman?
… or a neighbor allowed to wander your place?
My refrigerator oddity:
There are ice & water outputs on the freezer door. The water stops flowing — randomly. Often, for many weeks!
Apparently, it freezes up.
I’ve not been able to find a pattern.
My guess is that some frozen food overcrowding beside the water tube is the cause. But I literally can’t find the pattern or culprit.
I really love the cold water, when it works!
It’s clearly a case of spontaneous appliance healing, a rare but well documented phenomenon.
There is a pushbutton doorbell like switch that the door pushes against while closed, shutting of the current to the light.
With door open, switch open, providing current to light.
Switch may have been stuck in closed position.
Probably not that simple, it rarely is.
Fullmoon, do you know of a button for frozen water tubes??
Interesting how it died during Biden administration and was reborn during Trump admin.
Similar to egg prices., border crossings, terrorist nuclear advancement
Coincidence?
I report, you decide.
Assuming an incandescent bulb, it’s possible that the filament broke when it went out and then vibration or some sort of shock swung to two pieces of filament in contact with each other and they welded together.
Possible, but fullmoon’s supposition of a stuck switch is much more likely.
My automobile “check engine light” indicated a problem. Scan tool indicated catalytic converter issue. I drove for about 100 miles with the “check engine light” on. I did some more extensive YouTube “research”—one solution of adding lacquer thinner rang a bell. Some 2.5 years ago I had added lacquer thinner to the gas tank for that problem. (Supposed to clear gunk out of the catalytic converter.)
When I was about ready to add the lacquer thinner, the “check engine light” went off. My scan tool indicated there was no longer a catalytic converter problem. I added the lacquer thinner, anyway. My scan tool and the state inspection scan indicated the catalytic converter was fine.
Could be a loose contact point somewhere in the circuit that’s causing the intermitent power loss. So when the compressor kicks on or the door is closed a little hard or the fridge is otherwise jostled or there’s temperature changes causing metal parts to slightly shrink or grow you end up disconnecting or reconnecting the loose contact.
I agree with Nonapod’s theory of a loose contact point.
We’re in the season of Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit…?
That’s what a friend’s mom told him caused the next Kleenex to pop up from the box.
“That’s what a friend’s mom told him caused the next Kleenex to pop up from the box.’
Vintage Cadillac had a foot operated switch that would advance the radio station.
Waved my hand in front of radio while taking 10 year old neighbor for a ride.
Told him “animal magnetism” caused the radio to change stations.
He waved his hands for a couple of minutes, then gave up.
I assume the loose contact point explanation makes the most sense. But the thing I don’t get is that the light was out for a year or even over a year. Then suddenly, it’s on. I didn’t do anything different with the fridge. I opened and closed the door the same way each time, many many times a day..
fullmoon has it.
neo:
Another possibility, if your refrigerator’s light bulb is incandescent, an extra-hard shutting of the door could have shaken a broken filament back into contact.
When I was a kid my dad would bring burned out incandescent light bulbs back to life by rotating them and flicking them until the broken filaments “hooked” each other and completed the circuit.
Actually, it has an LED light bar.
Possibly the light was a little loose in the socket, opening/closing the door jarred it a little.
Frozen water – open the icecube compartment and check to see if the icecubes are frozen together. If so, break them apart.
Shirehome, ice cube compartment:
Interesting! I’ll take on that experiment! Thanks! :^)
Grunt, that’s a neat way for a parent to teach some science, some frugal economics, and some survival techniques!
Grunt, interesting tip. A similar thing played a role in a problem my old Celica was having one time, when the ignition system failed to work in a very puzzling way. It turned out to be a thin, loose wire buried somewhere near the engine block.
We have had several fridges with ice problems. Even without the automatic ice maker or in-door chiller. We had 2 fridges where water vapor from the no-frost collected as ice around the main computer board, throwing off the thermostat and freezing everything in the fridge.
Repair man told us it was more common when the freezer is on the bottom. We also had short circuits due to the “French doors” on one of these fridges.
Things are not static. They constantly expand and contract with temperature. Also a lot of electrical wiring is installed with tape or glue gun and snap-together connectors. It is likely that temperature or minor jostling caused a contact to separate, and then caused it to reconnect.
I agree with Nonapod’s diagnosis. Did you have company? My wife and I tend to close the refrigerator door gently. But when the grandkids are in town, they slam it shut (drives me absolutely nuts). A stronger than usual closing of the door may have provided the force to bring a loose connection fully closed. Of course, if Nonapod is right, the next firm closing of the door may result in the light going out again.
“New Neo – A blog about political change and kitchen appliances, among other things”
Interestingly, I had almost the same experience with the freezer drawer of my refrigerator. Unfortunately, it’s in a place that’s not as well lighted as Neo’s kitchen and it was a significant inconvenience. I kept forgetting about it until I needed something and then I’d get aggravated all over again (but didn’t take the time to fix it).
Then about a month later it started working again–and then a day or two later quit again. Long story short, there were two different causes. First, the light bulb itself was loose and also the switch–a toggle that moved when you open and close the draw–was dirty. I fixed both of those things and now it’s working perfectly.
I used to be able to go on chess.com and win at the low level about half the time. Now my toaster plays chess at the Grand Master level. So have you changed your diet? Your refrigerator is much smarter than you are. Perhaps it did not approve of the contents you were putting in it. Try adding some high cholesterol junk food and see if the light goes back out.
Nonapod is halfway there. Dirty contact inside the switch. Once it got cleaned, it made a circuit and started working again.
The question is, how did it get cleaned if you didn’t take it apart and spray it with contact cleaner?
My theory is that one day you opened the door with your morning martini in your hand, spilled a bit when your hand hit the door, and the gin splashed onto the contacts.
Some assumptions went into creating this theory.
You should discard your fridge immediately. Someone (probably ICE) obviously snuck into your house and installed surveillance gear.
Of course, your new fridge will probably have the surveillance gear already installed, so really you’re already doomed.
…Or maybe it’s witches…
@fullmoon:Waved my hand in front of radio while taking 10 year old neighbor for a ride…
I once did that with a knee-pedal-operated sink in a deli, I would tell new hires it was voice-activated, and then watch later to see how much time they spent yelling at the sink. Most people figured it out very quickly, thankfully.
Our refrigerator door switch is mounted to the sheet metal on the side of the fridge. It started going wonky, with the light intermittently activating and then not activating. By flicking the little plastic toggle usually activated by the door very vigorously a few time you could get it to pop on. Note that on our fridge that the switch is NOT directly connected to the light, but rather activates a relay on the PCB of the fridge controls. Eventually it just crapped out, and the light would never go on however much we whacked the switch.
So I ordered a new switch from an on-line appliance parts company. All it required to remove was to turn off the power at the breaker and use a putty knife with a thin blade and it popped right out of the sheet metal. Remove the connector, put it onto the new switch, and pop it back into it’s little square hole in the sheet metal. Turn the power back on and (as Otis said), “Wallah!” Working light switch.
I tore apart the old one, and what had failed were the ultra-cheap electrical contacts of the mechanical switching mechanism. Instead of silver/cadmium-oxide contact surfaces they were some cheap contacts, visibly corroded and no longer making an electrical connection.
Two years later the new switch started going bad, so I ordered 2 switches this time. I’ve still got one as back-up.
My now deceased, former fridge oft times had frozen water lines that prevented the water dispenser from working.
What cured the problem?
There was a power outage that lasted about 6 hours or so, and when the power came back on, voila, the water dispenser worked just fine.
Was surprised to see that despite 6 hours of no power, all the frozen food items in the fridge were still frozen and all the other items – milk, veges, eggs, etc., – were still rather cool (temperature wise, that is).
Of course, we avoided opening the fridge door during the outage.
When we bought a new fridge about a year ago, the sales person told us that we could expect it to last about 10 years before it dies.
In my basement, still working just fine is about a 40 year old fridge; just keeps on ticking.
@neo: I had almost forgotten that refrigerators have lights, because I really didn’t miss mine.
Me too!
As others have diagnosed. it’s likely an intermittent connection somewhere in the path.
Which means … the intermittent giveth and the intermittent taketh away. Don’t be surprised if it stops working again.
Fun topic! Years ago when our son was in high school we hosted a French exchange student who fit the stereotype. Our fridge light had been out quite a while and replacing it wasn’t a priority for us. He made sure to inform us that in France “we have lights in our refrigerators.”
Lol, you didn’t screw it enough!
In-door ice dispenser: When it’s stuck, take the handle of a wooden spoon and shove it down the dispenser tube.
Good story about the French exchange student. Fits my experience with the French.
I was privileged to shush a few French whilst visiting Mount Vernon a few years ago. The area around George and Martha’s tomb is clearly marked to maintain quiet and respectful behavior, but they were loud and boisterous, so I asked them to quiet themselves, which they did. Well, in truth, really didn’t ask them, nor did they seem to like it. Oh, well. I suppose they went home and told stories about the Ugly American. But I kinda like to think Lafayette would have approved.