Hoover HFA29SK fridge not cooling (previously was freezing!)

[colorider]

Hi

This forum's been an excellent source of fixing things by searching but I've got a question now ...

My Hoover HFA29SK, three years old, has started playing up.

A few days ago, the fridge part went down to -8C and froze everything. I thought it might be the dust on the radiator at the back so I cleaned it. It seemed OK yesterday but now it has switched to +10C. It does not matter what I set the thermostat to in both cases (range 0 - 4).

I can hearing blowing from the freezer section i.e. the freezer part is not silent. And humming from the fridge section. The light does switch off properly. The lining around the fridge door seems OK.

What can I do to diagnose the problem?

I cannot see where the temperature reader is in the fridge. If it is the thermostat or the knob that is failing is it easy to replace on this model and where is it (or does anyone know a link to show where)? Everything seems hidden not like in the fridge from my childhood!

Hope someone can help me get a bit further on this.

Thanks for reading,

Colorider.

PS I have put a picture of the temperature control which is on the outside of the fridge in an album //www.diynot.com/network/colorider/albums

 

[colorider]

Hi

The problem has still not been resolved. It went away for a bit but has been alternating between OK temperature (3C in the middle) down to -10C especially overnight in the fridge section. This is a real problem because I have a baby to feed and all the food I cook gets frozen.

Have just read up again and the thermostat probe must be in the unit where the light is housed. Is that correct anyone? I have put two photos in my album called 'fridge'. I have another question. The screw is of a non-standard type. It doesn't look like a torx one, more like a polydrive screw from the pictures on here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives. I'd like to go and get the right screwdriver for the job as I cannot open the light housing currently.

One more piece of information. The fan in the fridge freezer is on the whole time. The freezer is working fine.

If someone could help that would be great. I'm hoping to be able to replace the thermostat but first need to get that housing off!

Thanks

colorider

 

[colorider]

Having a search around, I found this

http://www.espares.co.uk/part/fridg.../677545/901084/frost-free-electronic-con.html

Would anyone know if there are some diagrams on the internet or where this unit might fit? Not saying that this is the problem. It does seem to be continually overfreezing so it seems an idea this unit might be broken?

Thanks

colorider

 

[landynut]

You may find that the air duct from the freezer down the back of the fridge is iced up and not letting cold air into the fridge. remove the shelving and see if there is a rear panel you can take out to get to the air duct. There should be an electric element for defrost in there and what we call a klixon or overheat switch. You need to figure out if power is getting through to the defrost element which is controlled by the timer.

 

[Leccy758]

Those parts are usually found in the top front of Hoover fridge/freezers (behind the trim above the door)

If it is a frost free the first thing we recommend is always do a full defrost for min 24 hours with the door open. Then try again

Note, frost frees do freeze up

 

[landynut]

Those parts are usually found in the top front of Hoover fridge/freezers (behind the trim above the door)

If it is a frost free the first thing we recommend is always do a full defrost for min 24 hours with the door open. Then try again

Note, frost frees do freeze up

My mistake, I was thinking of a westinghouse
Cheers Ezy

 

[JohnD]

I agree. If it is a frost-free freezer then it is very likely that the channels inside the back are blocked with ice. Unfortunately you have to unplug it, take all the food out and leave the doors open for at least 24 hours, until there is no more water dripping inside the cabinet, or into the drip pan at the back (empty out the drip pan frequently or it may overflow and possibly get electrical parts wet)

This happens more often if you accidentally leave the door open for long.

Unfortunately the very cold weather has stopped for a bit, otherwise you could have put your frozen food outside.

Double-wrap all the food in bin bags and preferably carboard boxes as well and put them in a cold place, all stacked tightly together. If you put a blanket or old duvet over you will be surprised how cold they keep. But I would cook and eat any meat products quickly.

Don't bother taking anything apart. You can give it a good clean before you plug it back in.

 

[colorider]

Hi all

Started defrosting it yesterday afternoon.

Put the food outside - thanks for the tips - and it was still at 3C this morning and mostly frozen

Was going to just check - there's only one pipe at the back, I think for the fridge water (not freezer). Is there definitely nothing else I need to do except wait e.g. open up back to get at some water that is coming from the freezer part itself (there is absolutely no water coming from the freezer front ways so far). If someone could confirm this - nothing else to do - that would be excellent!

colorider

 

[JohnD]

i once tried dismantling the back panel, but it was all frozen together by a big block of ice, so now I say just open the doors and leave it all to melt out. If it is in a warm room it will melt sooner, but avoid blowing a fan heater directly at it as you may damage plastic parts. Some people put a pan of hot water inside the freezer but you must put it on a chopping board or something so the hot pan does not touch the plastic.

If I had found out about this sooner it would have saved me the expense of buying a new FF a few years back