An instant Pot air fryer is a small kitchen cooking appliance that makes a bigger difference in cooking. However, when any of its components stop working, it makes it a useless unit that gets fixed.
Fan problems are common in air fryers, if your Instant Pot air fan is not working, it requires your attention as there is a hardware issue.
Open thermal fuse, power shortage, burnt wire motor, or faulty circuit board are reasons your Instant Pot air fryer is not working. It requires manual investigation to know the actual cause behind the issue. To address the issue, you’ve to disassemble the unit.
In this guide, We’ve gathered all the information you need to fix an Instant Pot air fryer fan that’s not working.
Table of Contents
Why is Instant Pot Air Fryer Fan Not Working?
A fan is the main component in an air fryer that regulates the hot air inside the basket. In case it is not working, the food inside the basket won’t cook as it requires hot air flow.
The main thing that rotates the fan is the fan motor which is responsible for running the fan. If the motor is not working for any reason, the fan will not work.
The possible reasons behind a not working fan are several, such as a faulty motor, damaged thermal fuse, burnt wires, and the printed circuit board.
If fan-related problems come off in the unit, users have to invest in every possible reason to find the root cause in their unit. Don’t directly replace any part before testing it.
It is necessary to test the components before deciding to replace them. In our test, we found that an open fan thermal fuse is the common reason for most air fryer fan-related problems.
Changing the thermal use can fix this problem. However, as we cannot say that your unit is dealing with the same problem, you’ve to manually investigate the fault.
Whatever the cause is, the owner has to disassemble the top cover of the Instant Pot air fryer to access the electrical components that run the fan.
It becomes easier when we directly look at things without applying possible theories. Every unit is unique, thus the cause could be not similar at all.
Reasons Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid Fan Not Working?
After testing and researching, we’ve collected a list of probable causes behind a not working Instant Pot air fryer fan along with their fixes. Below is the list you only need to fix the fan in your air fryer.
Here’re Possible Causes Why the fan Instant Pot Air Fryer is not Working:
- Open Thermal Fuse
The fan rotates when its motor runs. But it motor only runs when it has a voltage supply. A small component called a thermal fuse is connected to the wire which supplies power to the fan motor.
If this is open(damaged), the voltage will not go to the fan motor and the fan will not work. This fan thermal fuse is small in shape and easy to replace.
It is located on the top side of the appliance, under the top cover. Transformer connected to the PCB sends voltage to the thermostat and then it passes it to the motor.
If the mid-part thermal fuse is damaged, this chain gets broken and causes fan problems.
- Burnt Fan Motor
As we discussed above, the fan motor is the part that rotates the fan and generates airflow in the component.
However, a fan motor won’t get damaged easily, but a consistent electrical short can burn the motor and it will fail to operate the fan.
If all the possible causes are not the reason in your unit, then check the motor. Always check the fan motor last, as it rarely gets faulty in air fryers.
- Power Shortage
Every electrical component in the air fryer requires power to get active for work. Make sure the cord is plugged in, and the lights on the Instant power air fryer are On.
If the appliance is turned on and its lights are flashing, it won’t mean the fan motor has power access. Sometimes damaged internal wiring can cut the voltage supply to the fan motor.
If the wiring connection is broken from the transformer or circuit board, this will cause a power shortage to the fan motor.
- Wiring Problem
There are two thin wires connected to the thermal fuse and fan motor. If any of the wires are damaged or have lost connection with the motor or thermal fuse, this can also cause an Instant Pot fan not to work.
As we can see these wires are from outside the appliance, and we’ve to remove the top cover to access them.
Overheating and power shortage are two reasons why the internal wiring of an air fryer gets damaged.
All the components in an Instant Pot air fryer are interdependent, which means if any of the components is faulty, it breaks the working chain and other components also stop working.
- Faulty Printed Circuit Board
A printed circuit board is the main controlling unit of every electrical component. All the input and output components are linked to the printed circuit board.
It contains several small electrical elements on it. If any of its components get faulty, malfunctioning in the circuit board will be created.
If all the above-described causes are not found in your unit, must check the working of the circuit board. If it is faulty, printed circuit board replacement is the only left solution.
How to Fix Instant Pot Air Fryer Fan Not Working?
Cooking in an air fryer is an amazing experience as it provides oil-free fried foods. If the air fryer fan is not working, this becomes a barrier in this experience.
However, it is fixable and even you can fix it once you know the cause and the solution to the cause.
In this section, we’ve described all the steps you only need to follow to fix a not working air fryer fan, even if it is made by Instant Pot or another company.
Following are the steps to fix the fan of the Instant Pot Air Fryer:
- Time required: 15 – 20 minutes
- Tools required: A screwdriver, a digital multimeter, and a new part to replace(only when something is faulty)
- Unplug the air fryer from the outlet. (it is necessary to unplug the unit for safety purposes). Place the appliance in a free worktop space.
- Take a screwdriver and open the top cover screws. Consider storing all the screws in one container.
- Remove the top cover and look at the thermal fuse. The thermal fuse is connected to a wire that goes to the fan motor from the transformer. Take a digital multimeter and set it to test continuity. Connect the testing probes on thermal fuse connections. If no continuity and the thermal fuse are tested faulty, replace it. If the thermal fuse is fine, proceed.
- Look at the wire that supplies the voltage to the fan motor from the circuit board. If any wire or its connection is broken, fix them. If the wires are fine, proceed.
- Now test the fan motor, if the fan motor seems burnt, or has black marks, probably it is faulty. Overheating can damage the fan motor. Test the motor by connecting it to another transformer. If it is not working, you’ll have to get a new one and replace the motor.
- If the motor is also working, problems may occur in the circuit board or in the safety switch located inside the main unit. Replace the circuit board if it is faulty. Test the switch located inside the main unit where the drawer goes. If the switch is pressed, take it in its right position. Following all these steps, your Instant Pot air fryer fan will start working again.
Note: You can also take the help of a professional technician or contact the manufacturer to fix this issue in your unit.
Bottom Line
If the unit is brand new, you should contact the manufacturer for assistance. Otherwise, check all the components associated with the air fryer fan working.
Sometimes there is a small component to fix, or sometimes an electrical element requires replacement. Thus manually instigating the root cause is necessary to address the issue.