Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you would like to spare yourself a little time and burden, give Gold Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Glendale, CA. We are eager to come out and diagnose the problem and 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 common as a routine coil cleaning behind the appliance. However, with these latest refrigerators, they are equipped with various sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we monitor the most common and simple reasons for this issue. Here are a few of of the things that we’ve found lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is the cord plugged into an electrical outlet? This might seem like a odd question, but we’ve been hired for jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, it was not plugged in. Maybe a child or pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the cause might be, make sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a very typical issue for anyone with small children in the home. After all, kids love buttons and dials and so, without knowing they’re doing something bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Check that the vents inside the freezer are not blocked with containers or food. This is common since bags of frozen vegetables get stuck in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has been forgotten.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the kitchen wall. The fan for many models is just at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, homeowner do not think about cleaning this area of the fridge. But, it’s important to keep it clean. And, it fills up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with homes that have dogs and cats. So, grab a rag and clean the dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are several reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these more common ones to check if your freezer is cold but your fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens when there is a malfunction in the defrost system. Or the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every fridge has a pair of evaporator coils. These 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 transports the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the issue but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be malfunctioning, which is a little sensor within the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best course of action but these are some of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Ice Maker Isn’t Working
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?
• Refrigerator is Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working