Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cooling

There are several reasons for why a refrigerator will not cool. If you want to spare yourself a little time and burden, give One-Call Sugar Land Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Sugar Land, TX. We are happy to visit and troubleshoot the problem and correct it for you.

When your refrigerator is not cold, it is time to figure out what the problem is. A lot of times it is something as common as a good coil cleaning behind the appliance. However, with new fridges, they are equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we monitor the most common and easy causes for this issue. Here are some issues that we have found lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is the cord plugged into an electrical outlet? This might seem like a silly question, but we have been called out to appointments that this was the problem. Somehow, it was unplugged. Maybe a kid 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. This is a very common problem for customers with children in their home. After all, kids are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure each of the vents inside of the freezer area are not blocked with containers or food. This is common since frozen veggies get stuck in the back. There could be food in the way back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten about.

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To be sure, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the wall. The fan for a lot of models is right at the bottom or in the back part of the freezer portion. Often times, customers do not think about cleaning this section of the appliance. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it builds up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have dogs and cats. So, get a clean rag and clean the dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

There are several causes for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to start to take a look at if the freezer is cold but your refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens when there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what cool and then the fan pushes the cool air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly is not working correctly. The temperature control board carries the electricity to the compressor and fan, this isn’t likely the issue but it is worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor in the unit that tells the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best course of action but these are a few of of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES