Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are many reasons why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to spare yourself a little time and burden, give Sterling Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. We are happy to visit and diagnose the cooling issue and repair it for you.

When a refrigerator is not cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the problem could be. Most times it is something as simple as a good coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. But, with new fridges, they are equipped with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we look at the most common and common reasons for this problem. Here are some issues that we have found lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is it plugged into an outlet? This might seem like a silly question, but we’ve been hired for appointments that this was the reason for the problem. Somehow, it was not plugged in. Maybe a kid did it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the case may be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a very common issue for those with small children in the home. After all, kids love dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they play with them. So, check that the thermostat setting isn’t the reason for the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Be sure each of the vents inside of the freezer aren’t blocked with food or containers. This is very common because sometimes bags of frozen veggies get jammed in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the way back of a freezer that has been forgotten about.

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for many models is just at the bottom or in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, people don’t think about cleaning this section of the refrigerator. But, it’s important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with houses that have cats and dogs. So, grab a clean rag and clean the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are many causes for a refrigerator not cooling 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 occurs when there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what cool and then the fan pushes the cool air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly is not working properly. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably isn’t the problem but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a small sensor in the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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