Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cold

There are many reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you would like to save yourself some time and hassle, give Five Star Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Yucaipa, CA. We’re eager to visit and troubleshoot the cooling issue as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it is time to see what the problem could be. A lot of times it is something as common as a routine coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. However, with modern refrigerators, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we inspect the most common and simple causes for this problem. Here are some issues that we’ve found can lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is the cord plugged into an electrical outlet? This will seem like it is a odd question, but we’ve been hired for appointments that this was the problem. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. it’s possible a kid did it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the case may be, be sure it’s plugged in.

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

Which Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Check that all of the vents inside the freezer are not blocked with boxes or food. This is common since frozen vegetables get stuck in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten about.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and slide it away from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for several models is just at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. Many times, customers do not think to clean this area of the refrigerator. But, it’s important to keep it clean. And, it fills up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with houses that have cats and dogs. So, grab a rag and get the dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are many reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to check if your freezer is cold but your fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens because there’s a failure in the defrost system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and the fan pushes the cold air around inside the appliance. The damper control assembly isn’t working the right way. The temperature control board provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the issue but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a little sensor inside the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES