How can you tell if your fridge freezer is broken?

Determining whether your residential refrigerator-freezer is permanently broken involves checking specific operational and temperature symptoms. Clear indicators of a broken unit include a compressor motor that emits a repetitive clicking sound every few minutes as the start relay fails to engage, interior compartments that remain warm despite continuous motor running, heavy frost choking the evaporator coils due to a dead defrost system, or tripping the kitchen circuit breaker repeatedly. You can troubleshoot power and temperature stability using an independent standalone thermometer. You can verify that your refrigerator-freezer is broken when confirmed electrical power, clean condenser coils, and hard power resets fail to make the compressor run or restore cold storage temperatures.