Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator too warm

There are a variety of reasons for why a refrigerator isn’t cooling. If you would like to spare yourself some time and hassle, give Westminster Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Westminster, CA. We are eager to visit and diagnose the issue and fix it for you.

When your refrigerator is no longer cold anymore, it’s time to determine what the problem could be. Most times it is something as common as a routine coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. However, with these latest refrigerators, they’re equipped with a variety of sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most common and simple reasons for this issue. Here are a few of of the things that we have found can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is the cord plugged into an outlet? This will seem like a silly question, but we have been called out to jobs that this was the reason for the problem. Somehow, it was not plugged in. it’s possible a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the case might be, make sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a typical issue for customers with children in their home. After all, children love dials and buttons and so, without knowing they are doing something bad, they play with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature is not the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Components to Inspect?

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

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To do this, unplug the fridge and pull it away from the wall. The fan for most models is just at the bottom or in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, people do not think to clean this area of the appliance. But, it is very important to clean it. And, it clogs up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with homes that have cats and dogs. So, find a rag and get the built-up dust out of the refrigerator 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 wall and notice if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are a few more causes for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to check if your freezer is cool but your fridge is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there’s a failure in the defrost heating system. Or if the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and the fan moves the cold air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly working the right way. The temperature control board provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this isn’t likely the issue but it is worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a little 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 typical problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES