Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons for why a refrigerator won’t cool. If you would like to save yourself a little time and hassle, give Swift Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. Our technicians are eager to come out and diagnose the cooling issue and repair it for you.

When your refrigerator is no longer cold, it’s time to figure out what the issue is. Often times it is something as basic as a good coil cleaning. However, with latest refrigerators, they are manufactured with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we look at the most common and simple causes for this issue. Here are some things that we’ve found lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

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

Look at the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a typical problem for those with children in their house. After all, kids like dials and buttons and so, without understanding they are doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

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

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and slide it away from the wall. The fan for a lot of models is just at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, people don’t think to clean this area of the refrigerator. But, it is very important to clean it. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have dogs and cats. So, find a rag and get the collected dust out of the coils and fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are many causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to start to check if the freezer is cool but your refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens because there is a failure in the defrost system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and then the fan pushes the cold air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly is not working correctly. The temperature control board which carries the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably isn’t the issue but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a small sensor inside the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Ice Maker Isn’t Working
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?
• Refrigerator is Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working