Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator won’t cool. If you would like to save yourself some time and inconvenience, give Astra Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Wichita, KS. We are happy to come out and diagnose the problem as well as repair it for you.

When your refrigerator is not cold, it is time to determine what the issue is. Most times it’s something as basic as a good coil cleaning. However, with these latest refrigerators, they’re equipped with various sensors too.

Before we look too deep, we inspect the most typical and easy causes for this problem. Here are a few of things that we have determined can lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

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

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

Which Refrigerator Components to Inspect?

Check that the vents inside of the freezer are not blocked with boxes or food. This is common because sometimes frozen vegetables get stuck in the back. There could be food in the back of a freezer that has long been forgotten.

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of all debris. To be sure, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for several models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back part of the freezer section. Many times, people don’t think to clean this section of the appliance. But, it’s very important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially with houses that have dogs and cats. So, find a clean rag and clean the dust out of the coils and fan.

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

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 take a look at if the freezer is cold but your refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils have frost on them. This occurs if there’s a failure in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set 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 is not working correctly. The temperature control board which provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the issue but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be defective, which is a little sensor inside the appliance that displays the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at 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