In one paragraph
A refrigerator that is completely silent and dark has lost its supply; one that has power but never runs the compressor is a different fault, and the interior light tells you which within seconds. The reason no power at the outlet heads the ranking on a Criterion is simple: these units are frequently owner-installed in a closet, a garage or a basement corner, so what feeds the machine is as suspect as the machine. Outlet, breaker, plug and control settings are owner checks; the start relay, compressor and control are not.
What you can see and hear
- No light, no fan, no hum at all — A supply fault: outlet, plug, breaker or cord.
- The light works but nothing ever runs — Power is present; the control or the compressor circuit is not starting.
- It clicks every few minutes and stops — A start relay trying and failing to start the compressor.
- NEAR MISS — It runs but does not get cold — That is the cooling page — the machine is alive and failing at its job.
Likely causes in order
- No power at the outlet — Top of the list on this brand: these units are frequently owner-installed in a closet, a garage or a basement corner, so what feeds the machine is as suspect as the machine. A tripped breaker, a switched socket or a residual-current device tripped by something else entirely leaves the cabinet dead with nothing wrong inside it.
- A cabinet that was moved and started too soon — Second most likely: Where a refrigerator has been laid down or heavily tilted, oil can migrate into the refrigerant lines, and starting it immediately risks the compressor.
- A cord pinched or unplugged behind the cabinet — Third and the least likely here: A refrigerator pushed back hard traps its own cord, and the plug can be pulled part-way out without ever looking loose from the front. A store-brand unit is usually carried home and set up by the owner rather than by a delivery crew, and setup errors survive for years.
Working order
- Plug a lamp into the same outlet — A dead outlet ends the appliance diagnosis before it begins. It leads because these units are frequently owner-installed in a closet, a garage or a basement corner, so what feeds the machine is as suspect as the machine, so proving or clearing it immediately narrows everything below.
- Ask how the cabinet was transported and how long it stood before being switched on — A recently laid-down cabinet needs to stand upright for several hours before power is applied.
- Pull the cabinet forward and look at the plug and the cord run — A plug half out of the socket is a common finding after a kitchen clean or a delivery.
Hands-on checks
- Test the outlet, cycle the breaker fully, and check any residual-current device — Kitchens often have a device that protects several sockets at once; reset it properly rather than nudging it.
About 10 min
- If it was moved lying down, leave it upright and unpowered for several hours, then start it — The waiting is the fix; there is nothing else useful to do in the meantime.
About 15 min
- Stop here if the next move needs a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Working safely on this machine
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Refrigerant is licensed work: oil or a hiss at the compressor means stop and call, and two people move a cabinet this size.
When to stop and call
Call once the outlet is proven live, the plug is seated, the control is set and the cabinet still will not run — particularly if you can hear it clicking and stopping at the back. One line to keep in mind while you wait: A refrigerator holds food safely at 40 °F (4 °C) or below.
The same machine, other symptoms
The limits of this page
Everything above is generalized across the Criterion refrigerator range rather than tied to a model. Nothing more specific exists to send you to at the moment; a model-level page, once written, is linked here and is the better answer. Deliberately not here: wiring colours, resistance values, torque figures and part numbers, which differ between families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
