Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

refrigerator not cold

There are many reasons a refrigerator isn’t cooling. If you would like to save yourself a little time and hassle, give Las Cruces Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Las Cruces, NM. We are eager to come out and diagnose the cooling issue as well as repair it for you.

When your refrigerator is no longer cold anymore, it’s time to figure out what the problem might be. A lot of times it is something as basic as a good coil cleaning. However, with modern refrigerators, they’re manufactured with a variety of sensors too.

Before we investigate further, we monitor the most typical and common reasons for this issue. Here are some of the issues that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged into an outlet? This might seem like it’s a odd question, but we have been called out to jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, it was unplugged. Maybe a kid did it, or an electrician during a project. Whatever the cause may be, be sure it’s plugged in.

Look at the thermostat inside. This is a very common issue for those with children in their home. After all, kids like buttons and dials and so, without understanding they are doing something bad, they mess with them. So, be sure that the thermostat setting isn’t the cause of the warm fridge.

Which Refrigerator Parts to Troubleshoot?

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

Check that the condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To be sure, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the kitchen wall. The cooling fan for several models is right at the bottom of the appliance or in the back of the freezer portion. A lot of times, customers do not think to clean this area of the fridge. But, it is very important to clean it. And, it builds up with fuzz and dust quickly, especially in houses that have cats and dogs. So, get a rag and get the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

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

The Freezer is Cold but the Fridge Isn’t

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

Every fridge has a set of evaporator coils. These coils are what gets cold and then the fan pushes the cool air around inside the unit. The damper control assembly working correctly. The temperature control board that transports 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 inspect it is the best option but these are some of the most common issues.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES