Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cold

There are many reasons for why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to spare yourself a little time and hassle, give Lawson’s Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in CITY, ST. We are happy to come out and diagnose the cooling problem as well as repair it for you.

When a refrigerator isn’t cold anymore, it is time to see what the problem could be. Often times it’s something as common as a routine coil cleaning. However, with latest refrigerators, they are manufactured with various sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we inspect the most typical and common causes for this problem. Here are some things that we have found can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged in? This may seem like it is a odd question, but we’ve been called out to appointments that this was the issue. For some reason, it was not plugged in. it’s possible a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician while doing a project. Whatever the case may be, make sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a common issue for families with children in the home. After all, children like dials and buttons and so, without understanding they are doing anything wrong, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature isn’t the reason for the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

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

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To do this, unplug the fridge and slide it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom of the appliance or in the back part of the freezer portion. Many times, homeowner do not think about cleaning this section of the refrigerator. But, it is important to clean it. And, it fills 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 suggested for refrigerators that have a back coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the outlet and notice if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are a few more reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to start to take a look at if the freezer is cool but your fridge is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there is a failure in the defrost heating system. Or if the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and then the fan moves the cool air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly working the right way. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably isn’t the problem but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a tiny sensor within the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best course of action but these are a few of of the most typical problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES