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I came to work on Monday to find that my mini fridge (Frigidaire FRC25B2GB, purchased < 2yrs ago) isn't working. It had completely defrosted, so had been off a while. It was on a power strip that was off, so I just assumed the power had surged and the strip shut off. When I tried to turn the power strip back on, the fridge compressor would turn on for a couple of seconds, then stop. The power cord wouldn't turn on with the fridge plugged in. It seemed like there was something going on with the fridge that was keeping the power cord from turning on. I eventually plugged the fridge directly into the wall, but it no longer makes any noises to attempt to start and certainly isn't getting cold. (btw, other electronics have power when using the same outlet so I know the outlet works)

I have a repair shop that's willing to look at it for $30 if I bring it in, but this is 1/3 of the purchase price so I'm hesitant to do that. Who knows what they would charge to actually repair it? Is this something I could fix myself (no electrical knowledge), or should I pay the repair shop, OR should I just toss it and buy another one?

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I had the same thing happen but i accidentally hit the defrost button – Eric May 9 at 22:04

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up vote 5 down vote

Well, even if they find the problem they are still going to charge you 30$+parts+install time= a colossal waste of time and money. I've owned a numerous array of mini fridges and none of them last much longer than 2 years, the workmanship on these just isn't worth fixing.

Unless the fix is something you can readily check, like a reset button, I'd cut you losses and buy a new fridge. Also because the compressor started and then died, so it sounds like a blown compressor, which is not worth replacing.

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up vote 2 down vote

I recommend tossing it--the cost of repair can easily exceed the replacement price. Also, newer units may even be more efficient, which means even if you break even on fix-vs-replace, replacing could save you more money in the long run.

But do recycle:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=recycle.pr_refrigerator_rec

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