halacha - Opening a fridge on Shabbat

There are many problems with using electricity on Shabbat, and many ways to understand those problems. The issue of using a fridge is especially problematic (as explained in depth by Rav Nissan Kaplan in this shiur), but the issue I find most confusing is that of opening the door.

According to this excellent answer, there are several reasons as to why opening the fridge might be problematic, and as this question implies, the easiest solution is to remove the light fitting in advance.

My question pertains to the fact that removal of the light fitting only appears to enable one to open the door if we pasken like Rav Auerbach, who held that the problem is either one of minhag or of heating the filament. What happens if one were to pasken like the Chazon Ish, who held that the problem is one of boneh?

I don't understand how the fridge mechanism works, but I would think that the prohibition of boneh would still apply even if the light doesn't come on. If the bulb is broken or is not in its fitting, flicking a switch (in this case, opening a door) still causes the circuit to close.

If one were paskening according to the Chazon Ish, would he need remove the circuitry from his fridge every Friday?

Answer

To make a circuit it must be a complete circuit, i.e. a full unbroken circle.

If there is no bulb then you did not make a complete circuit, since the bulb is part of that circle.

This seems to be a science question, not a halachik one.

Personally I tape down the switch because modern fridges do other functions besides turn on a light. Fancier fridges will turn off the fan when you open the door, to prevent cold air blowing out. Other fridges will count how many times the door gets opened, and after a certain number of times they will trigger the auto-defrost.

It's better to buy a simpler fridge because fancy ones don't do well when these mechanisms are overridden. The simpler ones have frost sensors, or just really long timers to trigger the auto-defrost.

Circuit:

/-----generator--------------------\
|                                  |

|                                  |
|                                  |
\----(bulb)-------#switch#---------/

PS. I assume you know the argument that it's not boneh because it's a routine action. Just like putting a storm window in the window on shabbos is not boneh, because that is a routine action done every night.