Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a lot of reasons why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to spare yourself a little time and inconvenience, give Durham Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Durham, NC. Our technicians are happy to come out and troubleshoot the cooling problem and fix it for you.

When your refrigerator has lost its cold, it’s time to see what the issue is. A lot of times it’s something as common as a good coil cleaning. But, with these latest fridges, they’re manufactured with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most typical and common causes for this issue. Here are a few of of the issues that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is the cord plugged in? This might seem like it’s a funny question, but we’ve been hired for jobs that this was the reason for the issue. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. Maybe a child or pet did it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the case may be, be sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a very common problem for those with children in their house. After all, children like buttons and dials and so, without knowing they’re doing something wrong, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature isn’t the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

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

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To check this, unplug the fridge and pull it out from the kitchen wall. The fan for many models is just at the bottom or in the back of the freezer section. A lot of times, customers do not think to clean this area of the appliance. But, it is important to keep it clean. And, it builds up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in houses that have pets. So, get a rag and get the collected dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

This is not a suggestion for refrigerators that have the rear coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the outlet and monitor if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

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

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and the fan pushes the cool air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly is not working properly. The temperature control board transports the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the problem but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a little sensor inside the appliance 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 common issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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