Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a lot of reasons a refrigerator will not cool. If you would like to spare yourself some time and burden, give ARC Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Woodland Hills, CA. Our technicians are happy to visit and diagnose the cooling issue and fix it for you.

When a refrigerator has lost its cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the problem could be. Most times it is something as common as a routine coil cleaning. But, with these modern refrigerators, they are equipped with a variety of sensors too.

Before we investigate further, we monitor the most common and easy reasons for this issue. Here are a few of of the things that we have found lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged in? This might seem like a silly question, but we have been hired for jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, it was unplugged. Maybe a a pet unplugged it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the reason might be, make sure it is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a typical problem for anyone with children in their house. After all, children are fascinated with buttons and dials and so, without understanding they’re doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat setting is not the reason for the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure each of the vents in the freezer aren’t blocked with food or boxes. This is common because frozen vegetables get pushed in the back. There can be food in the very back of a freezer that has long been forgotten about.

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 kitchen wall. The cooling fan for many models is right at the bottom or in the back part of the freezer section. Often times, homeowner do not think to clean this section of the fridge. But, it is very important to keep it clean. And, it builds up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in houses that have dogs and cats. So, get a clean rag and clean the collected dust out of the coils and fan.

This is not recommended for refrigerators that have the back coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the outlet and see if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator is Not

There are a few more reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to start to check if your freezer is cool but the refrigerator is not. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This happens because there’s a failure in the defrost heating system. Or when the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another cause.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These 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 that provides the electricity to the compressor and fan, this is not likely the problem but it is worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a small sensor within the unit that tells the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best solution but these are a few of of the most typical issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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