Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are several reasons for why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you would like to spare yourself some time and inconvenience, give Long Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in CITY, ST. Our technicians are happy to come out and troubleshoot the cooling issue and fix it for you.

When a refrigerator is no longer cold anymore, it’s time to determine what the issue might be. Most times it is something as simple as a good coil cleaning. However, with new fridges, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we look at the most typical and common causes for this issue. Here are some things that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged into an outlet? This will seem like it’s a odd question, but we have been called out to appointments that this was the problem. Somehow, the refrigerator was unplugged. Maybe a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the case might be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the unit. This is a common problem for anyone with small children in their home. After all, kids are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without knowing they are doing anything bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting is not the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that all of the vents inside of the freezer area aren’t blocked with boxes or food. This is very common because frozen vegetables get stuck in the back. There might be food in the back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To do this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the wall. The cooling fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom of the appliance or in the back part of the freezer portion. A lot of times, homeowner don’t think to clean this area of the refrigerator. But, it is very important to clean it. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with homes that have pets. So, get a clean rag and clean the dust out of the refrigerator coils and cooling fan.

This is not suggested for refrigerators that have the rear coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it back into the wall and monitor if the cooling fan moves.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are a few more causes for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to start to check if your freezer is cool but the fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens because there is a malfunction in the defrost system. Or the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another cause.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and the fan pushes the cool air around inside the appliance. The damper control assembly is not working properly. The temperature control board that transports the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably isn’t the issue but it is worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a little sensor inside the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best course of action but these are some of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Ice Maker Isn’t Working
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?
• Refrigerator is Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working