Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are several reasons for why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to save yourself some time and burden, give CRT Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair. We are happy to come out and diagnose the problem as well as correct it for you.

When your refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it’s time to determine what the problem might be. Often times it is something as common as a routine coil cleaning. But, with these modern refrigerators, they are equipped with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we look at the most typical and simple reasons for this issue. Here are some of the issues that we have determined lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is it plugged in? This may seem like it’s a funny question, but we’ve been called out to appointments that this was the issue. Somehow, it was unplugged. Maybe a a pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the case may be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a common problem for families with small children in their house. After all, children like buttons and dials and so, without knowing they are doing anything bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting is not the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Check that the vents inside of the freezer aren’t blocked with containers or food. This is very common because sometimes bags of frozen veggies get stuck in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the very back of a freezer that has long been forgotten about.

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the wall. The fan for many models is right at the bottom of the appliance or in the back part of the freezer section. Many times, people do not think to clean this area of the fridge. But, it is important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have dogs and cats. So, find a rag and clean the built-up dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

There are several reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to check if your freezer is cool but the refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs because there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another cause.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and the fan circulates the cool air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly working properly. The temperature control board that transports the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably is not the problem but it’s worth mentioning.

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

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES