Juicer Not Working? Here’s 8 Known Causes & Fixes

Is your juicer not working? Your appliance might need deep cleaning. Here are 8 known causes & fixes.

If you’ve ever tried to manually get a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice, you know how tedious and effortful it can be, not to mention the mess it leaves all around the kitchen. This is where juicers come in to save the day.

These appliances are amazing, and while they’re neither flashy nor sophisticated, they’re definitely essential to our everyday lives.

Since their invention in the 1930s, they have revolutionized the way in which we operate our kitchens and extract the healthy juices contained in vegetables and fruits.

So, what happens when yours is not working? Are you stuck having to manually squeeze your orange juice for the rest of your life? Absolutely not! There are many causes that could be responsible for this situation. From internal pulp buildup to overheating and overloading, the possibilities are infinite.

Depending on your appliance’s age, some explanations are more likely than others, but you should leave no stone unturned.  This is why I’ve prepared the list below including the most common culprits behind this occurrence, so you can explore them in detail and find the solution that works best for you.

It’s important that we go from external to internal factors to avoid spending unnecessary money or doing repairs that could void your warranty and cause additional issues.

Without further ado. Let’s dig in!

Your Juicer Won’t Turn On

As stated above, you could spend an entire day researching the most common causes behind a nonoperational juicer, but that’s all been taken care of.

All you need to focus on right now is finding the right one, and addressing the issue as soon as possible.

If your juicer is not working, it could be due to:

• A bad outlet
• A bad cord
• Improper assembly
• Overloading
• Pulp buildup
• Overheating
• A blown Fuse
• A fried circuit board

#1 You Have a Bad Outlet

Check your outlet for faults

What if I told you there’s nothing wrong with your juicer per se?

You would not believe how many people every year spend large amounts of money trying to find the reason behind their malfunctioning appliances, only to find too late that the culprit was the power source.

If your wall outlet is failing, the issue could manifest itself in several ways, such as breakers tripping, short circuits, and a nonoperational juicer.

Trying to use your appliance by drawing power from a compromised outlet is not only dangerous but counterproductive as well.

Doing so could create additional problems over time.

Solution: Test a different outlet.

To either confirm or rule this out as a possibility, you must unplug your appliance, and take it to a different section of the house to plug it back into a different outlet. If this resolves the issue, mystery solved.

Additionally, if you’re feeling up for a challenge, you could try to test the suspicious outlet for continuity by using your multimeter. This is optional but definitely advised, as a faulty outlet could be the first symptom of a larger problem in your home’s electrical wiring.

#2 Your Power Cord Is Damaged

Damaging your power cord is easier than you think

If testing a different outlet didn’t work, the problem might be in the power cord.

We often fail to pay attention to our appliance’s power cords, as we assume they’re just as sturdy as the appliances themselves, but they are not. As a matter of fact, they can be easily damaged by keeping them tangled, stored away improperly, or pressed against objects at weird angles.

This can not only result in your juicer not working, but also cause short circuits and other more serious electrical disruptions.

If you suspect this to be the issue, I would advise against operating it until you do the proper replacements.

Doing otherwise could make things worse and compromise your appliance’s lifespan.

Solution: Try a different power cord.

You probably don’t store power cords for a rainy day like this one, and that’s ok, you can buy one at any online marketplace for cheap.  All you need is your appliance’s make and model and some moderate research to make sure you’re buying the right one.

Alternatively, if you do have a spare cord to test right away, you can follow the steps from the previous point and try operating your juicer with a different cable, on a different outlet.

Did that work? Great! Did it not? Read on, there’s still a lot of ground to cover.

#3 Your Juicer Is Improperly Assembled

Reassemble your juicer carefully

In case neither trying a different outlet nor replacing the power cord worked, we’ll move on to discuss potential improper assembly.

If you’re in the habit of cleaning your appliance after every use, good for you! This is one of the best ways to extend its lifespan and prevent other problems from arising.

That being said, there’s a chance that you might have failed to put everything back together correctly during the last cleaning cycle.

This could be causing your juicer to be nonoperational. Juicers require freedom of movement, so any part that could be obstructing the appliance’s range of motion is a problem.

Solution: I know it’s the last thing you want to hear, but you’ll have to take your appliance apart, and then carefully reassemble it, making sure all the pieces are sitting tightly where they belong.

Look at the bright side. If this is the issue, the solution was free!

#4 You’re Overloading The Appliance

Make smaller batches whenever possible

Can you overload a juicer? Certainly. It’s actually easier than you think.

If your juicer is not working, there’s a chance that you might be juicing batches too large for your particular model. I understand that the whole point of owning a juicer is making tedious, time-consuming tasks, simpler and quicker, but there’s a limit.

Normally, juicer manufacturers will include a maximum capacity or rate of operation in the user manual. Following these indications is not only advised but mandatory.

Doing otherwise will not only render your juicer nonoperational but also dramatically decrease its lifespan.

Solution: Give your user manual another read-through, you’ll find all the information you need there.

Alternatively, if you find yourself frequently preparing several batches of juiced vegetables and fruits for friends and family, it’s not a bad idea to look into some larger models.

This will meet your needs, and keep your appliance operating under its maximum capacity at all times.

#5 There’s Pulp Buildup

Whether you love or hate pulp, its presence in the fruit you’re juicing is unavoidable.

While you can configure your juicer to keep most, if not all, of this substance away from the final product, some remnants of it will stick to your appliance’s basket.

This is not problematic if you clean it regularly, but if you don’t, some stringy pieces (especially from celery) could cause operational issues. It’s advised that you always wash your juicer’s basket after using it to prevent this.

If you disassemble your appliance and notice extreme buildup, you can use a toothbrush and some cleaning mixture of water and bleach in equal parts to scrub the basket clean.

Make sure to use gloves, and wash them with water afterward to remove any residual bleach.

Solution: If you are unsure about how you can disassemble your juicer, there should be detailed instructions in your user manual explaining the process in detail.

#6 Overheating

Do not exceed your juicer’s limits

If you clean your juicer regularly, pulp buildup is most likely not the culprit behind your problem, but exceeding your appliance’s operating capacity could be.

Modern juicers are built to be resilient and work efficiently over long periods, but they’re neither perfect nor indestructible. You should always use your appliance carefully and under your manufacturer’s recommended indications.

Putting your juicer under excessive stress will cause it to overheat, which can result not only in temporary malfunction but permanent damage. It’s better to juice in several shorter periods, than in fewer longer ones.

Doing this will extend your appliance’s lifespan and prevent most future problems from arising. Moreover, any damage to your juicer caused by operating it under abnormal conditions will result in a void warranty.

Solution: Be conscious about the amount of fruit or vegetables you’re putting in every batch. If you find yourself constantly in the need to prepare large batches quickly, it would be a good idea to look into other, larger juicer models that will let you get the amounts you need in fewer cycles.

#7 You Have a Blown Fuse

Watch out for blown fuses

Provided that none of the previous points have solved your problem, we’ll have to get a little more technical.  If your juicer is not working, there’s a chance that you have a blown fuse.

In case you’re not familiar with what this little component does, you can think of it as your appliance’s personal bodyguard. Whenever it detects a potentially harmful power spike coming into your circuit board, it “blows”, and cuts off all electrical conductivity, thus preventing further damage.

This is not a bad thing, in fact, a blown fuse means your appliance lives to see another day. That being said, you only have one, so you’ll have to replace it as soon as possible. Try to unplug your juicer until you have a new one installed.

Solution: Follow these steps to access your fuse:

1. Unplug your appliance
2. Turn it upside down to identify the screws at the bottom
3. Once you locate them, undo them with a screwdriver
4. Remove the outer lid and expose your appliance’s internal wiring
5. Locate the suspicious fuse and gain comfortable access to it
6. Test it for continuity with your trusty multimeter

Although performing the last step is advised, identifying a blown fuse is fairly simple without using a meter, all you have to do is look for blackening and a broken filament inside the fuse’s glass body.

#8 Your Circuit Board Is Fried

Power surges are your circuit board’s enemy

Lastly, we have to take a look at the most important component inside your juicer, the circuit board. This is the lifeblood of your appliance. Without it, it simply cannot function.

If you’ve tried all the previous points with no success, it might be time to consider the possibility that your circuit board is fried. This could have happened for a number of reasons, one of them being a blackout.

Normally, whenever there’s a big power surge, your juicer’s fuse is there to save the day, and there’s no further damage done to the rest of your appliance, but what happens when the fuse has already blown, and there’s another power spike? You guessed it, your circuit board fries.

To make matters worse, blackouts are not the only danger to your board. Leaking juice can also cause it to fry. This is not very common, but if there’s even the tiniest crack inside your juicer, some liquid could seep through and reach it.

As you can imagine, water and electricity don’t mix well together.

If this is what’s keeping your juicer from working, there are two main routes you can take, and they will depend greatly on your warranty status and your manufacturer.

Solution: If you’re still under coverage, and your manufacturer accepts repairs stemming from external factors such as blackouts or factory defects, you can send your juicer in for repairs. Usually, free of charge.

However, if the damage happened due to overheating, or other abnormal operating conditions, you will not be covered.

In this case, you’re better off buying a new juicer. A replacement circuit board is not expensive per se, but:

• The cost of labor to replace it is significant

• There’s no real guarantee that the appliance will work as it used to

There are always great deals online, so if you decide to buy a replacement, you can probably get it without breaking the bank.

Conclusion

Having your juicer fail can be a nightmare. How are you supposed to get through the morning without your freshly squeezed orange juice?

It’s funny how we take our kitchen appliances for granted until the moment they fail and leave us in uncomfortable situations. In those moments, they seem so precious and essential. And they are!

Juicers are somewhat complex. They seem simple from the outside, but in reality, they’re performing all sorts of internal processes as they operate, which means that even the slightest failure in any component, can throw off the appliance’s rhythm.

If your juicer is not working,  you should always try to isolate the possible culprits and analyze them individually before going in for repairs. This will not only save you time and effort, but also copious amounts of money you do not need to spend.

Make sure to always check your appliance’s power sources and warranty status prior to tampering with it, and do not hesitate to call a technician to help you when in doubt.

The desire for learning is wonderful, but not when it means you’re putting yourself at risk in the process. Keep safety a top priority. Always.

Thank you for sticking with me all the way to the end, I hope I helped you resolve the issue. If you found this article helpful and learned something new, why not keep expanding your knowledge with our other incredible resources below?

Enjoy the fresh juice!