Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are several reasons a refrigerator will not cool. If you want to spare yourself a little time and burden, give Guthrie Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. Our repairmen are eager to come out and troubleshoot the cooling issue and repair it for you.

When your refrigerator isn’t cold anymore, it’s time to see what the issue might be. A lot of times it’s something as simple as a good coil cleaning. However, with modern fridges, they’re equipped with various sensors too.

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

Is it plugged into an outlet? This might seem like it is a funny question, but we’ve been called out to jobs that this was the problem. Somehow, the refrigerator was not plugged in. it’s possible a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the reason may be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a common issue for those with small children in their home. After all, children are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without understanding they are doing something bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

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

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To do this, unplug the fridge and pull it away from the wall. The fan for many models is just at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, people do not think to clean this section of the appliance. But, it’s very important to keep it clean. And, it clogs up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in homes that have cats and dogs. 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 back coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the outlet and see if the cooling fan spins.

The Freezer is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are many causes for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to check if the freezer is cold but the refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and then the fan circulates the cool air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly working the right way. The temperature control board provides the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably isn’t the issue but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor within the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most common issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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