Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cold

There are several reasons a refrigerator won’t cool. If you want to spare yourself some time and hassle, give Horizon Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. We are eager to visit and troubleshoot the issue and correct it for you.

When your refrigerator isn’t cold, it’s time to see what the issue is. A lot of times it’s something as simple as a routine coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. But, with latest models of refrigerators, they are manufactured with a variety of sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most common and common reasons for this problem. Here are a couple of of the things that we have determined can lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This might seem like it is a odd question, but we have been called out to appointments that this was the problem. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. Maybe a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the reason may be, be sure it is plugged in.

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

Which Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that all of the vents in the freezer are not blocked with containers or food. This is very common since frozen vegetables get pushed in the back. There can be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To check this, unplug the fridge and slide it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom or somewhere in the back part of the freezer portion. A lot of times, customers do not think about cleaning this section of the appliance. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it clogs up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in houses that have pets. So, grab a rag and get the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

There are many reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to start to take a look at if the freezer is cool but the fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there is a failure in the defrost system. Or when the automatic defrost has a problem. 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 circulates the cold air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly working correctly. The temperature control board which transports the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably isn’t the issue but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a little sensor inside the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best option but these are some of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES