Hotpoint fridge not cold !

2 posts

Our Hotpoint RL78 fridge is only 4 years old and has just stopped going cold! My guess is that this is the thermostat gone. Hotpoint quote £89 to fix, pretty outrageous.
Am I right in thinking that this is the thermostat, I can get one for £18 but can anyone advise how to fit it, is it something a novice could do for example? I'm not even sure where it goes, someone mentioned it is in the light fitting assembly bit next to the temperature dial, does anyone know for sure?
Thanks in advance.
Tony

From Brighton, 1 post

have the exact same fridge and it has done exactly the same thing after only 3 years!

How can a company that can produce an unbelievably reliable washing machine (well mine is) produce such fridges.

If I knew 3 years ago the £150 I paid would be money down the drain on top of the £89 call out charge I would have spent extra money buying a Bosch or something as reliable.

2 posts

Originally posted by xmaspast on 15 Dec 2005 10:32 AM
Originally posted by tonysab on 17 Oct 2005 10:21 AM
For info ours did turn out to be the thermostat, we got a local chap to fix it for £40

From Cheshire, 1 post

Originally posted by tonysab on 15 Dec 2005 10:50 AM
Originally posted by xmaspast on 15 Dec 2005 10:32 AM
Originally posted by tonysab on 17 Oct 2005 10:21 AM
For info ours did turn out to be the thermostat, we got a local chap to fix it for £40Pleased to hear you got a good outcome with your Hotpoint. I suppose you know that Hotpoint is now the same as Indesit, Ariston and Scholtes. My father is just about to buy a Hotpoint Fridge Freezer as his Bosch Fridge Freezer needs a new 'control panel' apparently, which will cost £149 and have to come from Germany, then the local firm will have to fix it, so it will cost over £200. The Bosch was purchased in 1999, an absolute rip off. I am not sure that the Hotpoint fridge freezer will be any good as we had 3 different ones delivered recently and they were all faulty. Couldn't fault Comet and the customer service though. In the end I got an AEG on offer from Currys, much cheaper than John Lewis, who seem to be very expensive all of a sudden. I just have a feeling no appliance is as good as it used to be. My daughters Indesit washing machine is rubbish compared to my old one, so, in spite of all the talk about saving the planet etc. I have a sneeky feeling the big companies are after planned obsolesnce in a very big way. Either that, or they are ater are after sales repair money, just the same way as the car manufacturers are making money from the repairs of our ever more complicated computer managed cars.

From Portland,or, 12 posts

Originally posted by tonysab on 17 Oct 2005 10:21 AM
Our Hotpoint RL78 fridge is only 4 years old and has just stopped going cold! My guess is that this is the thermostat gone. Hotpoint quote £89 to fix, pretty outrageous.

Am I right in thinking that this is the thermostat, I can get one for £18 but can anyone advise how to fit it, is it something a novice could do for example? I'm not even sure where it goes, someone mentioned it is in the light fitting assembly bit next to the temperature dial, does anyone know for sure?

Thanks in advance.

TonyThis could be one of a couple problems, pull your fridge away from the wall so you can access the back bottom. With it plugged in and on, you should here the fan(s) start to run, if so check the compressor (it's round, black, and has lines going in and out of) it should be vibrating, if not, it is probably you relay or your overload (sometimes both) this is a readily available part from GE. If your compressor is running then it is probably your thermostat. They are very easy to replace. MAKE SURE POWER IS OFF The head unit (ceiling of fridge compartment) is held on by a couple of screws, take them off and unplug the wire harness. The thermostat is the thing that has the long capillary tube sticking out of it going halfway around the head unit. Unplug the wires, plug wires into new one, and reinstall, DONE. Note: some new capillary tubes don't come with the plastic cover, so just take the one off the old one and reuse.

1 post

I paid £427 for a Hotpoint oven and 2 1/2 years later that has got problem. Always thought Hotpoint was a good make but am having second thoughts plus when you send email to complain about cooker they don't reply

1 post

i agree with above - we have hotpoint rla54 fridge - initially it worked ok - kept things cold, now just being over 2 years old it just leaks so much so that I have to get rid of the water every day!

hotpoint's customer service are non existent, at least the ones who should reply to e-mails (they don't), and this really is a poor fridge - good at being a magnet repository though

I DON'T RECOMMEND ANYONE TO PURCHASE HOTPOINT FRIDGE

1 post

i know this is now 2008 but in 2001 i purchased both the RL78S and matching Freezer RZ68S (which fingers crossed is ok) in graphite grey. i purchased these from Argos as a package deal £328 delivered 03sept2001 24march05 i noticed my fridge temperature had risen from chilled to warm, i read through the literature that comes with the products and rang the hotpoint service number only to be told that even though the parts were free until the product was 5years old the labour was chargeable at some ridiculous amount. luckily I have a friend who is an electrician so i purchased the thermostat which upon delivery came to £23.01. This is now January 2008 and yet again the same thing has happened. Basically they have you by the short and curlies because parts are only guaranteed if fitted by a Hotpoint Engineer! i wish that i had paid the extra and forked out for a reliable Zanussi fridgefreezer because I cant afford to buy a new fridge so yet again i am going to have to fork out for another thermostat and hope that my friend will fit it for me. wonder how long this one will last? Noticing the number of people who have made a note regarding this product it is obvious that this is a manufacturers fault and they are aware of it? I wouldnt be suprised how many more people have read this and have had the same problem but not made a comment. Very annoyed Hotpoint customer!

From Portland,or, 12 posts

GE Hotpoint refridgerators are goog and bad. Bad because they break down alot. Good because you get plenty of practice fixing them! The other goog thing is that they are not hard to fix. Not getting cold is a common problem with many solutions. The most common are the evaporator fan not working or lagging. This fan is located behing the back poanel in the freezer compartment. When the fridge is on you should hear it, if not, it needs replaced. Another problem is that your vent holes are clogged with ice. In the fridge compartment on the cieling, there are two retangular shaped holes, if they are dripping or if you can feel ice in them, there's you problem. Really easy to fix with a turkey baster and a cup of hot water. The third common problem is your evaporator coils are iced over. Behind the freezer back wall is your evaporator coils, if they are covered with ice, that's bad. Defrost them with a blow dryer. If it continues to happen it will either be you defrost timer, defrost element, or defrost thermostat. If you need further explination or step by steps, let me know.

1 post

I have a proline fridge /Freezer. Fridge is ok but nothing happening in the Freezer section. Any ideas