Hotpoint FF200L Fridge Freezer Issue

[yardie]

earlier I mentioned its a combined damper and thermostat, looking up the part is confusing as it would appear that its not actually a thermostat but a reed switch.

could you confirm this by connecting your dmm to the 2 white wires and on the lowest resistance setting (disconnected from the ff) and move a magnet towards the pcb on the damper i.e close to where the white wires connect to the damper
you should have high resistance when the magnet is removed, low resistance (0 ohms) when the magnet is in close proximity.

or possibly operates in reverse

Its effectively an on/off 'switch'

if this is indeed a reed switch then it acts as an on/off switch rather than a temp sensor

 

[yardie]

as far as 240v feeding it is concerned thats fine providing the circuit it is connected to makes the correct allowances, so dont try connecting directly to 240v

 

[yardie]

do you get a reading of 12v dc on either of the white wires?

 

[yardie]

perhaps beginning to make sense.

its a timer!!!???

wont simply fully open the flap everytime its operated, you are not waiting long enough for it to fully open the flap. when it does fully open it will trigger the reed switch to either switch on or off the compressor or switch on a heater to defrost operated most likely by a relay

test the reed switch on both original and new dampers

 

[BABYCAKES]

earlier I mentioned its a combined damper and thermostat, looking up the part is confusing as it would appear that its not actually a thermostat but a reed switch.

could you confirm this by connecting your dmm to the 2 white wires and on the lowest resistance setting (disconnected from the ff) and move a magnet towards the pcb on the damper i.e close to where the white wires connect to the damper

if this is indeed a reed switch then it acts as an on/off switch rather than a temp sensor

you are correct - it is indeed a reed switch. it appears that the mechanism inside the damper moves a magnet to the reed switch depending on where the flap is. manually moving the flap does not change the status of the reed switch, it depends on the positions of the cogs inside.

the reed switch works on both the new and old damper units.

 

[yardie]

so, now we know both dampers are working (assuming you have had the damper connected long enough to see it open/close the flap) we need to establish the voltage on the reed switch, should only be about 12v dc

then unfortunately we need to trace those wires, there is no getting away from it with the absence of a wiring diagram.

once you have found where the wires go post photos so I can see and identify the component(s).

 

[yardie]

i guess the timer is permanently on/running, at certain intervals i.e when the magnet on the cogs is in close proximity to the reed switch it closes the reed switch (is the reed switch normally open? how often and for how long does the reed switch remain in its active/inactive state?, presumably whilst the flap is closed the reed switch is inactive) completing the 12v cct and operating another device poss/most likely via a relay. the reed switch 12v energises the relay which either turns on/or off a 240v cct, if on - heater perhaps to defrost, if off - perhaps just turns off the compressor so no more cold, as this is a frost free ff it would override the thermostat whose job is to turn on/off the compressor

 

[yardie]

could you post a photo from the rear of the machine at the bottom, compressor etc.. possibly a control board down there too!

 

[sotal]

I have a Hotpoint FF200L but the fridge is not going cold.

I notice that the damper in the fridge is not opening by itself even on the self-test. I replaced it but it still is not opening.

However, if I lift the damper flap, the piston comes out and holds the flap open. It seems as though there isnt enough grunt to open the flap on the damper.

Any thoughts what might be causing this?

If I leave the damper off, then the fridge gets too cold and some of the items freeze!

I realise this is 2 years old but I have this exact problem. Did you ever solve it?

Mine is a slightly different model of fridge freezer but had the same kind of electronic damper.

Like you, I bought a new one and it does exactly the same. I thought I had found a work around by loosening the screw holding the spring plate but it works for a while and then still gets stuck. A gentle push with your finger sets it going again but that is no use when it is in place.

I'm currently running it without the damper in place but the fridge gets too cold some of the time.

 

[Hasty]

Same problem. What i have done is just put little bits of bluetack on damper to keep it open about 2-3mm, fridge is fine and not too cool. Just dont get the control of a fully working thermostat. Save 40 quid too