Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator coolant

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator isn’t cooling. If you would like to spare yourself a little time and burden, give Choice Carmel Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Carmel, IN. We’re eager to visit and diagnose the cooling problem as well as repair it for you.

When your refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it is time to see what the problem could be. Most times it’s something as simple as a good coil cleaning. But, with new models of refrigerators, they are manufactured with various sensors too.

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

Is the cord plugged into an outlet? This will seem like it is a odd question, but we’ve been hired for jobs that this was the reason for the problem. Somehow, it was not plugged in. Maybe a a pet unplugged it, or an electrician while doing a service visit. Whatever the cause might be, be sure it’s plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a common issue for families with small children in the house. After all, kids love buttons and dials and so, without understanding they’re doing something bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Components to Inspect?

Be sure all of the vents inside the freezer area aren’t blocked with food or containers. This is very common because frozen veggies get jammed in the back. There can be food in the very back of a freezer that has long been forgotten.

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of debris. To be sure, unplug the fridge and slide it away from the wall. The cooling fan for a lot of models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer portion. A lot of times, homeowner don’t think about cleaning this area of the refrigerator. But, it’s important to keep it clean. And, it clogs up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with houses that have cats and dogs. So, get a clean rag and clean the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are many reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to take a look at if your freezer is cold but your fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens when there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another reason.

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

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor inside the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best option but these are some of the most common issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES