Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator too warm

There are a few reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to spare yourself some time and burden, give Avondale Appliance Repair Experts a call for refrigerator repair in Avondale, AZ. We are eager to come out and diagnose the issue as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator is no longer cold, it is time to see what the problem is. Most times it’s something as basic as a good coil cleaning. But, with latest models of refrigerators, they’re manufactured with various sensors too.

Before we investigate further, we inspect the most common and easy causes for this problem. Here are a couple of things that we have determined can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This will seem like it is a silly question, but we have been hired for appointments that this was the reason for the problem. For some reason, it was not plugged in. it’s possible a a pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the reason may be, make sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a common problem for customers with children in their home. After all, kids like dials and buttons and so, without understanding they are doing anything bad, they play with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Check that the vents inside of the freezer area aren’t blocked with food or boxes. This is very common because sometimes bags of frozen vegetables get pushed in the back of the freezer. 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 clean and clear of debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and slide it out from the kitchen wall. The fan for most models is right at the bottom or in the back of the freezer section. Often times, customers don’t think about cleaning this section of the refrigerator. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with homes that have pets. So, grab a clean rag and get the collected dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

This is not a suggestion for refrigerators that have a rear coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it 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 not cooling after these more common ones to start to check if the freezer is cool but your refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens because there is a failure in the defrost system. Or the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and then the fan pushes the cool air throughout the appliance. The damper control assembly isn’t working correctly. The temperature control board which transports the electricity to the compressor and fan, this is not likely the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a tiny sensor within the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians inspect it is the best solution but these are some of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES