I went to replace the fridge thermostat today. I unscrewed the housing found the cables popped out the metal thermostat from the plastic casing.
I should have stopped to unplug the fridge here since I didn't do it before any of this. But I blanked and started unplugging the power wires. I started to smell faint electrical burning smell, realized I was playing with power without turning the appliance off, and unplugged it from the wall.
I finished replacing the thermostat and plugged the fridge back in. Immediately came on and started running.
I'm an idiot yes. Guess I wasn't fully awake yet. I build computers I know to turn power off, I don't know what I was thinking.
Since there was some smell, have I increased the chances of an electrical fire? Are there any signs (burned wires, etc) I can check for -- after unplugging the fridge...
I do assume there would be nothing toxic that one with breathe in from the fridge/electronics/burning whatever.
I do think the fridge is running correctly. The freezer is definitely putting out cold air. Just don't want to burn down the house or anything. I forgot the most important step. Have coffee, don't do this after first getting up, and don't get distracted by kid/dog/wife. And unplug the dang thing.