Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cooling

There are a few reasons for why a refrigerator won’t cool. If you would like to spare yourself a little time and hassle, give Elite Bloomington Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Bloomington, MN. Our repairmen are eager to come out and diagnose the cooling issue as well as fix it for you.

When your refrigerator is no longer cold anymore, it is time to see what the issue is. Most times it’s something as basic as a good coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. However, with these new refrigerators, they are manufactured with various sensors too.

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

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

Look at the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a very typical problem for customers with children in their home. After all, kids are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without knowing they are doing something wrong, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that the vents in the freezer area are not blocked with food or containers. This is common because bags of frozen veggies get jammed in the back. There can be food in the way back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To be sure, unplug the fridge and slide it away from the wall. The fan for many models is right at the bottom or in the back of the freezer portion. Many times, homeowner don’t think to clean this section of the fridge. But, it’s very important to clean it. And, it clogs up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with houses that have cats and dogs. So, grab a rag and get the built-up dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are a few more causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to take a look at if the freezer is cool but your fridge is not. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there’s a failure in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and then the fan pushes the cold air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly isn’t working correctly. The temperature control board that provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this isn’t likely the problem but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor within the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most typical problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES