Johannesburg · Local appliance technicians
Fridge not cooling in Johannesburg
Keep the doors shut first. A closed fridge holds its cold for a few hours and a full freezer for much longer. Then check the free things, and WhatsApp us the make and what it is doing.
90 SARACCA-accredited refrigeration contractors listed across Gauteng
Get a repair quote
An appliance technician near you phones you and quotes before any work starts. Nothing to pay to be put in touch.
What this usually involves
Keep the doors closed. The usual food-safety guidance is that a closed fridge keeps food cold for about four hours, and a full, closed freezer for about two days, or one if it is half full. Every time the door opens, that time gets shorter.
Check the free things: the plug point with another appliance, the breaker, and the thermostat dial inside, which gets knocked when the shelves are packed. Then look at the back: a fridge pushed hard against the wall, or with thick dust on its coils, cannot get rid of its heat.
Note what it is doing. Is the light on? Can you hear the compressor running or clicking? Is the freezer cold while the fridge is warm? Is there heavy ice on the back wall of the freezer? Those answers tell a technician most of what they need before they come out.
If the food is going to be at risk before it can be fixed, a cooler box with ice, or a neighbour's freezer, buys time. Food that has been above fridge temperature for hours is not worth the risk.
How it works
- 01
Tell us the make and the fault
Brand, rough age, and what it is actually doing. That is usually enough for a technician to know what part to bring.
- 02
A technician calls you
We find a technician near you and check them before passing your job on. They phone you, and tell you straight if it is not worth fixing.
- 03
Quoted before the work
Callout and repair priced up front, so you can decide whether to fix it or put the money towards a new one.
How we check a technician first
- We speak to them before your jobBefore your job goes to a technician, we find one near you and talk to them ourselves. That is a different thing from the SARACCA register on this site, which is a public list of accredited companies and most of the companies on it have never heard of us.
- We check their public recordTheir existing reviews, their trading history and whether the business is who it says it is. If we cannot find any of it, we do not refer to them.
- We stop referring to anyone who lets you downTell us what happened. If they let you down, we stop sending them work.
That is the whole list. We are not going to show you a badge for something we have not done, and we are not going to call a company checked because it appears on somebody else's register.
- Fixedusually one part, not a new machine
- Freenothing to pay to be put in touch
- Pricedcallout and repair quoted up front
- Honesttold straight if it is not worth fixing
WeFix247 is not a repair company. We are a referral service that finds you a local technician, checks them and stays out of the way. You deal with them directly and pay them directly.
What decides the price
The most useful thing a technician can tell you is that a repair is not worth doing. This is what decides the price, and what to ask before you agree to anything.
| Call-out and diagnosis | Usually charged whether or not you go ahead, because somebody drove out and opened the machine. Ask up front whether it comes off the bill if you do go ahead. |
|---|---|
| The part | Most of the cost on most repairs. Whether it is still made matters as much as what it is: an obsolete part on an older machine is the usual reason a repair stops being worth it. |
| Still under warranty? | If it is, the manufacturer's authorised service agent should do the work. Letting anybody else open it can void the warranty, which is a much bigger cost than the repair. |
| Fridges, freezers and air conditioners | Anything that opens the sealed refrigerant system is a different class of job and should be done by a registered gas practitioner. A regas quoted suspiciously cheap is worth a second question. |
| Repair or replace | A rule of thumb worth applying: if the repair is approaching half what the machine is worth today, and the machine is past halfway through its life, it is usually the wrong spend. Ask the technician what they would do. |
Worth asking, before you say yes
- Is the call-out taken off the bill if I go ahead with the repair?
- Is the part new or reconditioned?
- Under the Consumer Protection Act, parts and labour carry three months. Are you giving longer, and in writing?
- Is it worth fixing, honestly, or should I put the money towards a new one?
- Is that including VAT?
Rather fill in a form than WhatsApp? Get a repair quote at the top of this page.
Questions people ask
Why is my freezer cold but my fridge warm?
In most frost-free fridges the cold air is made in the freezer and blown into the fridge. If the fan has stopped or the passage has iced over because of a defrost fault, the freezer stays cold and the fridge warms up. That is a repair, not a new fridge.
My fridge stopped working after load shedding. Why?
Power coming back on can arrive as a surge, and surges damage compressor start relays and electronic control boards. Both are parts a technician can usually replace. A plug-in surge protector for the fridge is worth having afterwards.
Do you repair the appliances yourselves?
No. WeFix247 is a referral service. We find a technician near Johannesburg, check them, and pass your job on. They phone you directly. You deal with them and pay them, not us.
Is it worth fixing or should I just replace it?
Ask the technician on the phone before booking anything. A decent one will tell you straight when a repair costs more than the machine is worth. That answer is free and it is the most useful thing in this whole process.
What does a callout cost?
The technician quotes you the callout and the repair before doing the work. It varies by appliance and by what is wrong, so anyone giving you a firm number before seeing it is guessing.
What do I need to have ready?
The make and model, roughly how old it is, and what it is actually doing. The model is usually on a sticker inside the door or on the back. With it a technician can often bring the right part first time.
Why are other appliance technicians listed on this site?
Because SARACCA's register is public and useful: it lets you check that a contractor is accredited before they open up a fridge or an aircon. We show the accredited contractors near you and link each one to its own entry on the SARACCA site. It is not a list of who we recommend, and most of them have never heard of us. We do not show their phone numbers. If you want a technician, WhatsApp us and we look for one near you who is free. Any company on the register can have its entry taken off this site for free by sending one message.
What happens to my details?
They go to the technician who is going to phone you, and nowhere else. We do not sell contact details on. Message us and they are removed.
Is a repair covered by any kind of warranty?
Yes. Under the Consumer Protection Act, any new or reconditioned part a technician installs, and the labour to fit it, is covered for three months from the date of installation, or longer if they specify that in writing. That does not cover ordinary wear and tear or damage from misuse. Ask the technician to confirm it when they quote you.