Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to spare yourself some time and hassle, give Jet City Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Seattle, WA. We are eager to visit and diagnose the cooling problem as well as correct it for you.

When your refrigerator is not cold anymore, it is time to determine what the issue could be. A lot of times it is something as simple as a good coil cleaning behind the appliance. But, with these modern fridges, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we look at the most common and common reasons for this problem. Here are some things that we have found lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is the cord plugged in? This will seem like a funny question, but we have been called out to jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, it was unplugged. Maybe a a pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the case may be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a common problem for anyone with small children in their house. After all, kids love dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they play with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature is not the cause of the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Check that the vents inside of the freezer area are not blocked with containers or food. This is common since sometimes bags of frozen veggies get stuck in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Be sure the refrigerator’s 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 a lot of models is right at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back of the freezer section. A lot of times, people don’t think about cleaning this section of the fridge. But, it’s important to clean it. And, it builds up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in homes that have cats and dogs. So, get a clean rag and clean the built-up dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

This is not recommended for refrigerators that have a rear coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it back into the wall and monitor if the cooling fan moves.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

There are many reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to start to take a look at if your freezer is cold but the fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there is a malfunction in the defrost 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 cool and the fan pushes the cold air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly is not working properly. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the compressor and fan, this probably is not the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor in the appliance that tells 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