The short answer
On a Black+Decker refrigerator, a refrigerator that does nothing at all is reporting a supply problem far more often than an internal failure. The outlet, the cord and the control setting are free to check and account for most of these; a click-and-pause at the back is where it ends.
What you actually see
- Nothing at all — no light, no hum, no display — Total silence points at supply before it points at anything inside the cabinet.
- The interior light works but nothing runs — A live lamp proves power is arriving and moves the fault past the cord.
- A click every few minutes and no run — Click, silence, click is the overload cycling a compressor that will not start.
Causes, ranked for this refrigerator
- No power at the outlet — Ranks first because it is first because it is free to test and because a switched outlet, a tripped protection device or a dead extension lead account for a large share of these calls. A clean result here does not just remove one part; it removes everything that depends on it.
- Cord or plug damaged — Second because it explains the fault that comes and goes when the plug is touched, which no internal component does. It is worth being sure about this one rather than half-sure, since everything after it assumes a verdict.
- Thermostat satisfied or set to off — Third because many compact units switch off completely at the warm end of the dial, and a control knocked round while loading the cabinet is an instant no-start. This is the entry most often blamed correctly and diagnosed carelessly, so take the extra minute.
What to check, in order
- First — the outlet itself — Check the breaker panel and any protection device on the circuit. A standard household branch circuit is 15 or 20 amps and it may be shared with something that tripped it.
- Second — the cord along its whole length — Unplug the unit and run the cord through your hand from plug to cabinet, feeling for a flat spot, a nick or heat damage at the plug.
Checks an owner can do safely
- Step 1. Test the outlet with something else — Plug a lamp or a charger into the same outlet. If that is dead too, the appliance is not the fault and the circuit is.
Tools: lamp or phone chargerAbout 5 min
- Step 2. Check the breaker and any protection device — Look at the panel and at any protection device on that circuit. Reset once. A device that trips again immediately is reporting a real fault.
Tools: noneAbout 10 min
- Step 3. Set the temperature control to its coldest — Turn the dial through its travel, listening for a click, then leave it at the coldest setting for several minutes before judging.
Tools: noneAbout 10 min
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, so treat a stored charge as live even when the cord is in your hand. Do not run the machine with a panel off to watch what happens, and do not defeat any switch that cuts power when a door opens.
When this becomes a service call
The line is not about confidence, it is about what the next step needs. Call when the outlet is live, the cord is sound, the control is set cold and the compressor still never attempts to start — the next step is a meter on the relay and the windings.
Sources
General guidance- The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) — OSHA 1910.147 and manufacturer service manuals, fetched
- Article 210 — Branch Circuits — NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code), fetched
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
This page is written for Black+Decker refrigerators in general. It does not cover a specific family, a specific model number or a control board revision, and where a family or model page exists it will be more precise than this one — start here to understand the fault, then follow the more specific page for the part numbers and the board layout. The nearest pages of that kind are linked under Related pages.
Related pages
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