In short
A cabinet that will not start is a supply-side fault far more often than a mechanical one. Confirm the outlet is live and that the appliance is actually receiving it, then look at the start relay, and treat the compressor as the last suspect rather than the first. Every step below removes a whole class of fault rather than a single part. The first two steps cost nothing at all.
What you actually see
- A click every few minutes, then silence — The start relay is trying, the compressor is not taking, and the overload opens again.
- A short buzz at the back and nothing else — The compressor is being asked to start and is stalling against pressure or a bad winding.
- No interior light, no display, no hum — The cabinet is completely inert when you open the door.
- NEAR MISS: it runs constantly and is simply not cold — That is a cooling fault, not a start fault, and it is a different page.
The causes in order of likelihood
- Undersized supply, extension lead or converter — The one to suspect first. It leads on a compact cabinet because the appliance draws so little that an undersized or shared supply never announces itself any other way. A long lead, a shared outlet or an inverter that sags under starting current leaves a small cabinet clicking, with no fault inside the appliance at all.
- No usable power at the outlet or the cord — The second suspect. A tripped breaker, a failed outlet, a damaged cord-set or a switched socket someone turned off.
- Main control board not calling for cooling — Third, and less common. The board decides whether the compressor runs at all, and one that has lost its output leaves everything else looking healthy.
- Start relay or capacitor failure — Fourth, and less common again. The relay drops the start winding in and out. When it fails the light works, control power is normal and the compressor only clicks.
- Body: Ranked for a Bourdeau refrigerator specifically. The order is the value here; the list on its own would be the same list anyone could write.
The diagnostic order
- Try the outlet with something you know works — A lamp or a phone charger settles the supply question in seconds and rules out the single most common cause.
- Open the door and watch the interior light — Light with no running means control power is fine and the fault is downstream; no light at all sends you back to the supply.
- Listen at the back for a click on a repeating cycle — A regular click with no start is the start relay signature and it separates relay from board without any tool.
- Body: The order below is written for a compact cabinet, where the supply is the weak point and the cooling hardware is nearly always innocent.
What you can do now
- Plug something else into the same outlet — If it does not work either, the fault is the outlet or the breaker and not the appliance.
- Take the appliance off any extension lead or power strip — Run it direct from a wall outlet for an hour and see whether it starts.
- Reset the control: unplug, wait several minutes, plug back in — A supervisor board that has latched an error frequently clears on a genuine power cycle rather than a quick one.
- STOP if the next step means testing a relay or a winding — That is a meter on live terminals and it is where the owner-side work ends.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. The start relay and compressor terminals stay dangerous after the cabinet goes quiet.
When this becomes a service call
Call once the outlet is proven good and the cabinet still does nothing, and call immediately if the plug or cord shows heat damage, if the breaker trips, or if the compressor hums and never starts. Sealed-system work is licensed work. Move perishable food somewhere cold first, then deal with the appliance.
Pages of the same class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the appliance class rather than for one Bourdeau family or model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the more specific answer and should be preferred over this one; the brand and appliance hub linked below routes to everything more specific that exists today.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
