Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator won’t cool. If you want to spare yourself a little time and inconvenience, give Hawk Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in California. Our technicians are eager to come out and troubleshoot the issue and correct it for you.

When a refrigerator is no longer cold, it’s time to determine what the problem might be. Most times it is something as basic as a good coil cleaning. However, with these latest fridges, they’re equipped with various sensors as well.

Before we investigate further, we look at the most common and simple causes for this issue. Here are some things that we have found lead to a refrigerator that will not cool:

Is the refrigerator plugged into an outlet? This will seem like it’s a odd question, but we’ve been called out to appointments that this was the issue. Somehow, the refrigerator was not plugged in. it’s possible a child or pet did it, or an electrician while doing a service visit. Whatever the reason might be, be sure it is plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside of the refrigerator. This is a very typical problem for families with children in their house. After all, kids love dials and buttons and so, without understanding they’re doing something bad, they play with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting is not the cause of the warm refrigerator.

Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

Check that each of the vents inside the freezer aren’t blocked with boxes or food. This is very common because sometimes frozen vegetables get pushed in the back of the freezer. There might be food in the way back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To do this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it away from the kitchen wall. The fan for a lot of models is right at the bottom or somewhere in the back of the freezer unit. Often times, people don’t think to clean this section of the fridge. But, it’s important to clean it. And, it clogs up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially with homes that have pets. So, grab a rag and get the dust out of the coils and fan.
This is not recommended for refrigerators that have the rear coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the outlet and monitor if the fan spins.

The Freezer Unit is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are many reasons for a refrigerator that won’t cool after these obvious ones to check if your freezer is cold but the refrigerator isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs when there is a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost has a problem. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and then the fan circulates the cold air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly is not working the right way. The temperature control board that carries the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the issue but it is worth mentioning.

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 issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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