why does my fridge keep causing my main switch to trip?

The fridge is the most unlikely problem. You say it only trips the switch when other appliances are plugged in. The thing to do is unplug the fridge and then plug in other items one at a time. This will isolate the problem. Problem appliances are toasters top of the list and kettles. Toaster can cause mains trips even when only plugged in. Also can cause trips when they are plugged in but the wall switch is off. If all fails buy a new fridge as repair can be expensive.

The switch trips when the current being drawn is too high. It could be that the switch is old and tripping at too low a current. However, it could also be that you have too many things running on the same line. For example, the switch probably trips at 15 amps. If you have the fridge and say a 1000 Watt microwave plugged in to the same circuit, and the microwave is on when the fridge compressor kicks in, everything can be working properly and the breaker can trip.

Try the microwave in a different circuit. Are there any outlets in the kitchen that still ahve power when the fridge breaker trips?

On the other hand, the compressor in the fridge can be failing. For example, a bearing in the compressor can be going bad, which makes it harder for the moving parts to move. This would cause more current to be drawn, to overcome the friction of the failing bearing....

All of the above answers are wrong (ANF is nearly there!) as they have not understood your question.

You have some appliances with earth leakage, none of which appears to be enough alone to trip your rcd. however a certain combination will pass enough current to earth to trip. Normally about 30ma. The ONLY WAY to fix this properly is to test each appliance for insulation resistance with an insulation tester, to find the culprit(s). Additionally you could have leakage in your fixed wiring, any combination up to about the rcd's rating will trip. DO NOT assume that it's the fridge, it may just be adding the final few milliamps.

I am having a similar problem where switching OFF something can cause the RCD to trip. My electrician believes it is a fault in the return (-ve) side of the house wiring and is having a job tracking it down.

It needs specialist knowledge and equipment to check out all the wiring so get an electrician in.

everyone seems to have missed the obvious,is the fridge fitted with an automatic light when you open the door ? if so then the light can be at fault and give an intermittent fault,does it trip as you open or close the door ? if so then it could be the switch either got wet in it or gone faulty.as fridges are a sealed system then its usually cheaper to replace them than have them repaired.

You're running too many appliances at once. Since the fridge always needs to be on, you need to cut down your use of other appliances to remedy the problem.

Possible a short curcuit

one of two things,1 breaker is going bad (weak) 2 your compressor is shorting out. breaker= fixable bad compressor = buy new one.

could be a faulty bulb i had same problem. if not that your motor could be overheating.

it is passing to mutch current.mybe fixable.