Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a lot of reasons a refrigerator will not cool. If you would like to save yourself some time and hassle, give Tyson’s Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in CITY, ST. Our technicians are happy to come out and troubleshoot the issue and correct it for you.

When your refrigerator is no longer cold anymore, it is time to see what the problem might be. Often times it’s something as basic as a routine coil cleaning. However, with modern models of refrigerators, they’re equipped with various sensors too.

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

Is the refrigerator plugged in? This will seem like it’s a silly question, but we’ve been called out to 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 during a service visit. Whatever the case may be, make sure it’s plugged in.

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

Which Refrigerator Components to Inspect?

Check that all of the vents inside the freezer area are not blocked with food or boxes. This is common because sometimes bags of frozen veggies get stuck in the back. There can be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To do this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for a lot of models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer section. A lot of times, homeowner do not think about cleaning this area of the appliance. But, it’s important to clean it. And, it clogs up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in houses that have dogs and cats. So, grab a clean rag and clean the dust out of the coils and fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are a few more reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to take a look at if the freezer is cold but your refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens when there is a failure in the defrost system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another cause.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and the fan circulates the cold air around inside the appliance. The damper control assembly isn’t working properly. The temperature control board which transports the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably isn’t the issue but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a tiny sensor inside the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best course of action but these are some 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