Refrigerator Circuit Tripping

[Leopard]

In the space of the last 2 days, our fridge has unexpectedly tripped its circuit and shut off. We didnt realize this until we noticed it first thing yesterday am. An over the stove flourescent light shares this circuit and weve turned it on 24/7 as an indicator to us if this occurs again. In 2 days, its turned off three times, at random times. Each time Ive flipped the breaker back on and the fridge has returned to being on.

Weve no idea of the age of the fridge as we bought this house 2 yrs ago. I could just pull & replace the breaker as Ive installed new ones before elsewhere..but I dont know if it is the prob or merely an indication that the fridge is dying..no other outward signs and the food's still chilled .

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Im a DIY guy w mechanical skills but fixing fridge is beyond me..and Ive never encountered a bad breaker in the 3 houses Ive lived in over 35 yrs..

thanx to all for a fine forum

[Kman]

What size is the breaker (amps)? Are there any other lights/receptacles etc. that share this breaker?

Easiest and cheapest thing would be to replace it and see if it continues to trip. Of course, this may or may not fix the problem. If you think there is a problem with the refrigerator, it might be safer to have that checked out.

[Leopard]

Hello and thanx for your reply..that was fast I just posted this at 3 am as I was unable to sleep ,tossing about this issue.. The breaker is 20 amps..and I beleive the flourescent light to be the only other item on this line> I believe they share the same outlet as the light also went out along w the fridge. I didnt think a flourescent had enough whizz to trip a circuit.

[Kman]

I'm no electrician, but I'm sure you could run quite a few lights without any problem. Refrigerators usually have their own circuit so that a faulty light or receptacle won't trip the breaker, causing a loss of power to the frig. Some refrigerators do have a momentary surge when the compressor first kicks in.

I would probably check the receptacle itself to make sure it's in good shape and the connections are tight. Beyond that, if the hot and neutral wires are connected tight at the box, that just leaves the light (plus the switch), refrigerator, and breaker as the potential culprits.

I think you said the breaker tripped the first time with the light off, so that might rule out the light itself. If the switch is good, I'd move on to the breaker. It's a pretty cheap and easy fix, so I'd replace it.

The catch there is that you could have a refrigerator problem that is tripping a worn out breaker. Installing a new breaker might be temporarily "masking" the refrigerator problem.

Certainly no guarantees, but my money is on the breaker.

[pushkins]

Compressors draw a high amount of current when they first "kick" in, sometimes when a compressor is showing signs of fault the draw is more than normal as the compressor has to work harder to start and this sudden draw can trip a breaker. Breakers basically work by being sensitive to draws over their limit (15 amp....20 amp...etc...).
I've never seen a fluorescent light trip a breaker, usually when the ballast goes they either flicker or barely glow.
What sort of electrical panel is it ?.......check the breaker's connections a loose connection could produce these problems. Changing the breaker is also a good idea if your in doubt, it's not often a breaker goes bad but it has happened and might well be a good $4.00 spent.

[Leopard]

Hi there and thanks for your diagnosis.. I was wondering about signs of an aging fridge..and thought what if some component grabs for more power than it needs because its on the blink..you answered that concern as Ive been told the compressor might do that...

The fridge is old..how old I dont know ..whenever Ive attempted to reserach major applicance age..Im led on a scavenger hunt from website to cobbled website..link to link ..so that Ive often given up the trail of trying to determine my model and serial ## and date of mfg..just to have an idea of when replacement looms near..

any thoughts on where I might find a less tedious model & sn search.

and I will prob replace the breaker first..thanks

[pushkins]

If you post here on this site in the "appliances section" we have a great guy who knows plenty about appliances, I'm sure with the model number, brand etc... he will be able to track down a year for you.

[Leopard]

Yes and thanks again I would like to use that info to determine the fridges age. Fortunately, other than those 3 times several days ago..its stopped tripping nd I hope that the episode was isolated.

This is to be expected when after 33 yrs I move from a major metro burbs to the middle of Arkansas rural at that..in a home where weve had to fix a number of things..twice..theyve not stayed fixed the first time!