Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a lot of reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to save yourself a little time and inconvenience, give Storm Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. Our repairmen are happy to come out and diagnose the cooling issue and correct it for you.

When a refrigerator is not cold, it’s time to figure out what the problem could be. A lot of times it’s something as basic as a routine coil cleaning. But, with these 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 a couple of things that we’ve found can lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is the refrigerator plugged into an outlet? This may seem like a silly question, but we have been hired for jobs that this was the reason for the problem. For some reason, it was not plugged in. Maybe a child or pet did it, or an electrician while doing a service visit. Whatever the reason may be, be sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a very typical issue for anyone with children in their home. After all, kids are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without knowing they’re doing anything wrong, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat setting isn’t the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure the vents inside of the freezer area are not blocked with food or containers. This is very common since sometimes frozen veggies get jammed in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the wall. The cooling fan for most models is right at the bottom or in the back of the freezer unit. Often times, homeowner do not think to clean this area of the refrigerator. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have cats and dogs. So, find a clean rag and clean the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

This is not suggested for refrigerators that have a rear coil system. Once all clean, plug it into the wall and see if the cooling fan moves.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are several causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to check if the freezer is cool but your fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens when there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and then the fan pushes the cold air around inside the appliance. The damper control assembly working properly. The temperature control board provides the electricity to the compressor and fan, this isn’t likely the problem but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor in the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best option 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