Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator coolant

There are many reasons why a refrigerator is not cooling. If you want to save yourself some time and inconvenience, give Rapid Rockford Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Rockford, IL. We are eager to come out and troubleshoot the cooling problem as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator isn’t cold, it’s time to see what the problem might be. Often times it’s something as basic as a routine coil cleaning behind the refrigerator. But, with these modern fridges, they are equipped with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we monitor the most common and easy reasons for this problem. Here are a couple of things that we have determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged in? This might seem like it is a odd question, but we’ve been hired for jobs that this was the issue. Somehow, it was not plugged in. it’s possible a kid did it, or an electrician doing a service visit. Whatever the case may be, make sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the appliance. This is a very common problem for anyone with small children in the home. After all, kids love buttons and dials and so, without understanding they are doing something wrong, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat temperature is not the reason for the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that each of the vents in the freezer are not blocked with food or containers. This is common because bags of frozen veggies get jammed in the back. There might be food in the very back of a freezer that has long been forgotten.

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

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are several causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to take a look at if the freezer is cold but the fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there is a malfunction in the defrost heating system. Or the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what cool and the fan pushes the cool air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly isn’t working the right way. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the fan and compressor, this is not likely the problem but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor within the unit that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen look at it is the best solution but these are some of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES