Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator coolant

There are a variety of reasons why a refrigerator won’t cool. If you would like to save yourself a little time and inconvenience, give Dunn Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in CITY, ST. We are eager to come out and diagnose the cooling issue as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold, it is time to see what the issue is. A lot of times it is something as simple as a good coil cleaning behind the appliance. However, with new refrigerators, they’re equipped with a variety of sensors too.

Before we investigate further, we inspect the most common and simple causes for this problem. Here are a couple of of the issues that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator that won’t cool:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This may seem like it is a silly question, but we’ve been hired for appointments that this was the reason for the issue. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. it’s possible a kid did it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the case might be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a common problem for those with small children in their house. After all, children like dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Be sure each of the vents in the freezer are not blocked with boxes or food. This is very common because bags of frozen veggies get stuck in the back of the freezer. There could be food in the way back of a freezer that has been forgotten.

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the wall. The fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom or in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, customers do not think to clean this area of the appliance. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it fills up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have cats and dogs. So, grab a clean rag and get the built-up dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are several causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to start to take a look at if the freezer is cold but the fridge is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens if there’s a failure in the defrost heating system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and the fan pushes the cold air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly is not working correctly. The temperature control board that provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this is not likely the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a tiny sensor in the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians inspect it is the best option but these are some of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES