Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are several reasons why a refrigerator won’t cool. If you want to spare yourself a little time and burden, give First Rate Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Moore, OK. We are happy to come out and diagnose the issue as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator is not cold anymore, it is time to determine what the issue is. Most times it’s something as simple as a good coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. But, with modern fridges, they’re manufactured with a variety of sensors as well.

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’ve determined can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is the cord plugged into an outlet? This might seem like it’s a silly question, but we’ve been called out to jobs that this was the problem. For some reason, it was not plugged in. Maybe a kid did it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the case might be, make sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a very typical issue for families with children in the home. After all, kids are fascinated with dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything wrong, they play with them. So, check that the thermostat setting is not the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Be sure the vents inside of the freezer aren’t blocked with food or boxes. This is very common since sometimes bags of frozen vegetables get jammed in the back of the freezer. There could be food in the way back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten about.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To do this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the wall. The fan for most models is just at the bottom of the appliance or in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, customers don’t think about cleaning this area of the fridge. But, it is important to clean it. And, it fills up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have cats and dogs. So, get a rag and clean the dust out of the refrigerator 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 monitor if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are several causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to take a look at if your freezer is cold but the fridge is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there is a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what cool and then the fan circulates the cold air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly is not working the right way. The temperature control board carries the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a small sensor inside the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best course of action 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