Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a few reasons why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you would like to spare yourself a little time and inconvenience, give One Pro Appliance Repairs a call for refrigerator repair in Elizabeth, NJ. Our technicians are happy to come out and troubleshoot the problem as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the issue could be. A lot of times it is something as basic as a good coil cleaning. But, with these latest fridges, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we look at the most common and simple reasons for this problem. Here are a couple of of the things that we’ve found can lead to a refrigerator that won’t cool:

Is the cord plugged in? This will seem like it is a silly question, but we’ve been called out to jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, it was not plugged in. Maybe a kid unplugged it, or an electrician doing a service visit. Whatever the cause may be, be sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a typical issue for families with children in their house. After all, children love dials and buttons and so, without knowing they are doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that the vents inside of the freezer area aren’t blocked with containers or food. This is very common because bags of frozen veggies get pushed in the back of the freezer. There could be food in the way back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To do this, unplug the fridge and pull it out from the wall. The fan for several models is right at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back part of the freezer portion. Often times, people don’t think about cleaning this section of the refrigerator. But, it is important to keep it clean. And, it builds up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with homes that have pets. So, get a clean rag and get the collected dust out of the coils and 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 fan moves.

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are many reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to start to check if your freezer is cold but your refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This occurs because there’s a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a pair of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and then the fan moves the cool air around inside the appliance. The damper control assembly isn’t working the right way. The temperature control board provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably isn’t the issue but it is worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a little sensor inside the unit that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians inspect it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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