Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator too warm

There are several reasons why a refrigerator will not cool. If you want to spare yourself some time and burden, give Gold Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Fishers, IN. We’re happy to come out and troubleshoot the cooling issue as well as correct it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the problem is. Most times it’s something as simple as a routine coil cleaning. But, with latest refrigerators, they are equipped with a variety of sensors too.

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

Is it plugged in? This may seem like it’s a silly question, but we’ve been called out to appointments that this was the issue. For some reason, the refrigerator was not plugged in. it’s possible a a pet did it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the case might be, be sure it’s plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a very typical problem for families with children in their house. After all, kids like dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Be sure all of the vents inside of the freezer area are not blocked with boxes or food. This is common because sometimes bags of frozen vegetables get pushed 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 check this, unplug the fridge and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom or somewhere in the back part of the freezer unit. A lot of times, customers don’t think about cleaning this section of the fridge. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it builds up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with houses that have dogs and cats. So, find a rag and clean the collected dust out of the refrigerator coils and cooling fan.

This is not a suggestion for refrigerators that have a back coil system. Once all clean, plug it into the outlet and see if the fan moves.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are several reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to check if your freezer is cold but the refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This occurs when there is a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and then the fan moves the cool air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly isn’t working properly. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably isn’t the issue but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor in the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES