Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a few reasons a refrigerator isn’t cooling. If you want to save yourself a little time and inconvenience, give Like-New Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Cincinnati, OH. We’re happy to come out and troubleshoot the issue as well as repair it for you.

When your refrigerator isn’t cold anymore, it’s time to see what the problem could be. Most times it’s something as common as a good coil cleaning. However, with these new fridges, they’re equipped with a variety of sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we monitor the most typical and easy reasons for this issue. Here are a few of of the things that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This may seem like a silly question, but we have been hired for appointments that this was the reason for the problem. For some reason, it was unplugged. Maybe a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician doing a service visit. Whatever the case may be, make sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a common issue for families with small children in the home. After all, children like buttons and dials and so, without knowing they are doing anything wrong, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting is not the cause of the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Be sure each of the vents in the freezer area are not blocked with boxes or food. This is very common because sometimes frozen veggies get pushed in the back of the freezer. There could be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten about.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To do this, unplug the fridge and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for most models is just at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. Often times, people do not think about cleaning this area of the fridge. But, it is very important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with houses that have pets. So, grab a clean rag and clean the dust out of the coils and fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Fridge 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 your freezer is cool but your fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another cause.

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

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a small sensor within the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best option 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