Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator will not cool. If you want to spare yourself a little time and inconvenience, give our Madison appliance service a call for refrigerator repair. We’re eager to visit and diagnose the problem as well as correct it for you.

When your refrigerator isn’t cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the issue could be. Most times it’s something as basic as a good coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. However, with these latest models of refrigerators, they’re manufactured with various sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we monitor the most typical and easy causes for this problem. Here are a few of of the things that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged in? This may seem like it is a funny question, but we have been hired for jobs that this was the issue. Somehow, it was unplugged. Maybe a kid unplugged it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the cause may be, be sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a common issue for those with children in the house. After all, children are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without understanding they’re doing something bad, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Components to Inspect?

Check that the vents in the freezer area aren’t blocked with food or boxes. This is common because sometimes frozen veggies get pushed in the back. There could be food in the very back of a freezer that has long been forgotten.

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and slide it out from the kitchen wall. The fan for a lot of models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. Many times, people do not think to clean this section of the appliance. But, it is very important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with houses that have dogs and cats. So, find a rag and clean the dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are a few more causes for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to start to take a look at if your freezer is cool but your refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens because there is a failure in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and then the fan circulates the cold air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly isn’t working correctly. The temperature control board which carries the electricity to the compressor and fan, this isn’t likely the issue but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a little sensor within the unit that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best option 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