Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cooling

There are a variety of reasons why a refrigerator won’t cool. If you want to save yourself some time and hassle, give Spokane Valley Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Spokane Valley, WA. We are happy to come out and troubleshoot the cooling problem and correct it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold, it is time to see what the problem might be. Often times it’s something as basic as a routine coil cleaning behind the appliance. But, with new models of refrigerators, they are equipped with a variety of sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most common and simple causes for this issue. Here are a few of things that we’ve found can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is the refrigerator plugged in? This may seem like it is a odd question, but we have been called out to jobs that this was the reason for the problem. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. Maybe a kid unplugged it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the reason might be, make sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a very typical issue for anyone with small children in the house. After all, children love dials and buttons and so, without understanding they are doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure the vents in the freezer area aren’t blocked with containers or food. This is common because sometimes frozen veggies get stuck in the back. There might be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten about.

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

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Fridge is Not

There are many reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to start to check if the freezer is cold but the refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there’s a failure in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what cool and the fan pushes the cool air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly is not working properly. The temperature control board which transports 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 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