Yeah it is. Have had to put it off for a couple of days. Just found the sodding fridge has conked out . Literally 2 hours after a week of shopping arrived FFS.
Refrigerators are typically very easy to troubleshoot and repair. Treat it just like any other piece of electronic equipment.(SNIP)
EDIT: If the compressor motor is starting to seize up, you may be able to pull a few more noisy days of operation out of it by lubricating the bearings with sewing machine oil and rotating it by hand until it's freed up enough to start. Did this with a furnace draft inducer motor last week.
Refrigeration compressors (aside from some large-scale commercial stuff) are a sealed unit with the pump in an oil bath enclosed in a pressurized tank. None of the above applies; it is serviced by replacement or much more often, the refrigerator is replaced due to particulate contamination in the orifice tube/evap. They deliberately price replacement compressors to encourage this mode of repair, as it is known that replacing the compressor often only works for a short time due to the above-mentioned contamination.
Servicing a refrigerator typically falls into one of three categories of problem:
1) Compressor: This is tested by hot-wiring the compressor and comparing compressor current draw against the data plate. If excessive or marginal, leave compressor run for an hour and see if it gets hot. If you can't hold your hand on it after an hour, or is uncomfortably warm, it's junk. Put it by the curb. If it's good but no power, first look into a faulty defrost timer and secondly into thermostatic control systems.
2) Air circulation. Cold in a consumer fridge is made in the freezer and cold air is pumped to the refrigerator section. It is the balance of airflow between these two zones that defines how cold they get. Second single most common failure is this fan seizing up; this can also result in the evap freezing up. Simple mechanical motor troubleshooting as you describe above. A little non-parrafinated oil (Google Zoom oil) will usually restore the blower fan to normal operation for many more years' service.
3) Frozen evap/ defrost not working. This is the single most common failure mode (aside from ever more complicated electronics that shockingly don't like living in a cold, damp environment); it is usually either air circulation, a faulty defrost cycle timer or most often, the drain tube clogged up with food gunk or biological activity (mold/fungus growth) due to lack of cleaning. Also in this system is a thermal switch attached to the evap somewhere that if it fails will prevent the evap heater element from heating up and actually defrosting the evap. VERY common failure as well.
You'll hear people say "oh, it's just low on refrigerant"... if you hear this you should RUN, not walk, in the opposite direction. Consumer refrigeration has universally been a sealed system literally since the '60s; if it is losing refrigerant, the fridge is JUNK.
Aside from the much more complicated electronic thermostatic controls, the machinery inside that insulated box hasn't changed a lot in the entirety of my lifetime; just more gimmicks and gadgets added on for bling factor mostly.
mnem
chill.