Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cooling

There are a variety of reasons why a refrigerator will not cool. If you want to save yourself a little time and burden, give H&H Denton Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Denton, TX. We are eager to visit and troubleshoot the problem and correct it for you.

When a refrigerator is not cold anymore, it’s time to see what the issue could be. Often times it is something as basic as a good coil cleaning. However, with new models of refrigerators, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most common and easy reasons for this problem. Here are a few of of the things that we have found can lead to a refrigerator that won’t cool:

Is the refrigerator plugged into an electrical outlet? This might seem like it’s a silly question, but we’ve been hired for appointments that this was the reason for the issue. For some reason, it was unplugged. Maybe a child or pet did it, or an electrician doing a service visit. Whatever the case may be, make sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a very common issue for customers with children in the house. After all, kids are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without understanding they are doing something bad, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat temperature is not the cause of the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Be sure each of the vents inside of the freezer area are not blocked with food or containers. This is very common since sometimes frozen vegetables get jammed in the back. There might be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Check that the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for many models is just at the bottom of the appliance or somewhere in the back part of the freezer section. Often times, homeowner do not think to clean this section of the fridge. But, it is important to clean it. And, it builds up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in houses that have dogs and cats. So, get a clean rag and get the built-up dust out of the refrigerator coils and fan.

This is not suggested for refrigerators that have a back coil system. Once all clean, plug it back into the wall and notice if the fan moves.

The Freezer is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

There are a few more causes for a refrigerator not cooling after these obvious ones to check if your freezer is cold but the refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens if there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and then the fan pushes the cold air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly isn’t working correctly. The temperature control board transports the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably isn’t the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a tiny sensor within 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 problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES