Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are several reasons why a refrigerator isn’t cooling. If you want to save yourself a little time and burden, give F&D Huntington Beach Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Huntington Beach, CA. We are eager to come out and diagnose the problem as well as fix it for you.

When a refrigerator isn’t cold, it’s time to see what the problem is. Most times it is something as common as a routine coil cleaning. However, with these modern refrigerators, they are equipped with a variety of sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we inspect the most typical and easy causes for this problem. Here are a few of issues that we have found lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This may seem like a funny question, but we’ve been hired for jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. Maybe a kid did it, or an electrician doing a project. Whatever the case might be, be sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a common problem for those with children in their house. After all, children like dials and buttons and so, without knowing they’re doing anything wrong, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Inspect?

Be sure all of the vents inside the freezer area are not blocked with containers or food. This is common since bags of frozen vegetables get pushed in the back of the freezer. There can be food in the very back of a freezer that has been forgotten about.

Be sure the condenser cooling fan is clean and clear of all debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and slide it away from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for most models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back part of the freezer unit. Often times, people don’t think about cleaning this area of the fridge. But, it is important to clean it. And, it builds up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with houses that have cats and dogs. So, get a rag and get the dust out of the coils and fan.

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

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are several reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to start to check if your freezer is cool but your refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This happens because there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost experiences an issue. The evaporator fan motor can be another cause.

Every refrigerator has a pair 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 is not working correctly. The temperature control board that provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this is not likely the issue but it’s worth mentioning.

And, the thermistor could be defective, which is a small sensor inside the appliance that tells the temperature. Having one of our repairmen inspect it is the best solution but these are some 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