LG [CH] fault codewhat it means and how to fix it

CH and CL are the two codes in this category where a manufacturer’s code list states in plain terms that the appliance has detected a refrigerant leak, and LG publish two documents about them that read very differently. The master code list gives CH as a high side of cycle leak, indicating a refrigerant leak on the high pressure side, which can be caused by a faulty valve, and says it appears when the temperature and compressor sensors show abnormal values; CL is the same finding on the lower side, and both sit under the blanket instruction to request service. Their dedicated article for ER(E) CH/CL is more careful and more useful. It calls the code an inspection code that notifies of a symptom of a refrigerator temperature defect when degraded cooling power is detected, twenty-four hours after power is applied at installation, and it then splits the answer by when the code appeared.

If it appeared after a new installation or a relocation, LG say there may be a problem with the cycle — refrigerant leakage, compressor failure, valve failure and so on — and it should be checked by an LG service technician. If it appeared while you were using the appliance, LG say it can appear temporarily when the door has been left open for a long period, when the electricity supply becomes unstable, or from other electrical factors; turn the power off or trip the breaker, reset it about five minutes later, and have it checked by a technician only if the same symptoms recur. Read together, the two documents say the same thing at different resolutions. What the appliance has noticed is a pattern rather than the gas itself: the compressor is running and the temperatures are not behaving the way a correctly charged system behaves, so the board infers lost cooling power. A door left open and a genuine leak look alike to that test, which is why LG allow one reset in the in-use case and none after an installation or a move, when the pipework has just been handled.

Two things are worth knowing before the call. The sealed system is not serviceable at any owner skill level, and the refrigerant in a modern domestic fridge is R600a isobutane, which is flammable. LG’s own gas smell article is the practical test: if refrigerant is leaking the fridge and freezer compartments will not cool and food may thaw, so if the food is still frozen or cold, the smell is probably not the refrigerant. Economically, a confirmed sealed system leak on a domestic fridge is usually the point at which the appliance is replaced rather than repaired, because recovering, repairing and recharging the circuit costs more than most fridges are worth. One terminology correction, because it is nearly universal in UK repair content and wrong: R600a is a hydrocarbon and is not an F gas, so F-Gas certification does not apply. The person to call is a competent refrigeration engineer. F-Gas does cover older appliances charged with R134a, and the rating plate inside the appliance tells you which yours is.

1. 1

   Work out which case you are in. LG split the answer by whether the code appeared after a new installation or relocation, or while the appliance was in use.

2. 2

   If it appeared in use, do LG’s reset: turn the power off at the plug or trip the breaker, and restore it about five minutes later. Check the door had not been left open and that nothing is on a shared extension lead.

3. 3

   If it appeared after installation or a move, or if it comes back after the reset, book an engineer. LG’s instruction for both is a service technician, and a second reset tells you nothing.

   If you can smell gas near the appliance, or the pipework has been pierced, follow the smell-of-gas guidance instead of this page: ventilate, keep flames and switches away, and do not plug anything in or out nearby.