Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cooling

There are many reasons a refrigerator won’t cool. If you want to save yourself some time and inconvenience, give Waukegan Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Waukegan, IL. We are eager to visit and troubleshoot the issue and fix it for you.

When your refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it is time to figure out what the issue is. A lot of times it’s something as common as a routine coil cleaning. However, with modern models of refrigerators, they’re equipped with various sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we monitor the most typical and common reasons for this problem. Here are a couple of of the things that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is it plugged into an outlet? This will seem like it is a odd question, but we have been hired for appointments that this was the issue. For some reason, it was unplugged. it’s possible a kid did it, or an electrician while doing a project. Whatever the cause might be, be sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a typical problem for anyone with children in their home. After all, children are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without knowing they are doing something bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the cause of the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure the vents inside the freezer area are not blocked with containers or food. This is very common because sometimes bags of frozen vegetables get jammed in the back of the freezer. There can be food in the back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of debris. To check this, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for many models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer section. Many times, people don’t think about cleaning this area of the fridge. But, it is important to clean it. And, it builds up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in houses that have dogs and cats. So, find a rag and get the dust out of the refrigerator coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are many reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to check if the freezer is cool but the fridge is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs when there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and the fan pushes the cold air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly is not working correctly. The temperature control board which transports the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the problem but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a small sensor in the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best solution but these are some of the most common issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES