Refrigerator Not Cooling? What to Check First

Start with the pattern

Which compartments are warm tells you a lot about where to look.

• Freezer cold, fridge warm: airflow. Most likely a frosted-over evaporator coil from a defrost failure, a stopped evaporator fan, or a stuck air damper.
• Both warm, fridge running: heat isn't leaving the system. Dirty condenser coils, a stopped condenser fan, or a compressor that's struggling.
• Both warm, fridge silent: no power, a failed control, or a compressor that won't start. Listen for clicking every few minutes.
• Too cold, freezing food in the fridge: a stuck damper, a bad thermistor or a setting that got bumped.

Checks you can do safely

1. Measure, don't guess. Put a thermometer in a glass of water in the middle of the fridge. Read it after a few hours.
2. Check the settings, and make sure nothing is blocking the vents inside the freezer and fridge.
3. Look at the back panel inside the freezer. Heavy frost or a block of ice behind it means a defrost problem.
4. Listen for the freezer fan with the door switch pressed in.
5. Clean the condenser coils under or behind the fridge with a vacuum and a coil brush.
6. Check the door seals with the paper test, and make sure the doors swing shut on their own.

If the coil behind the freezer panel is iced over, a manual defrost can buy time. Empty the fridge, unplug it and leave the doors open with towels down for many hours. If it cools again and then frosts up within days, the defrost system still needs repairing.

When to stop and call a technician

• The fridge is above 40°F after you've cleaned the coils and checked the fan.
• You hear clicking every few minutes and nothing runs.
• The defrost problem keeps coming back.
• Anything involving the compressor, refrigerant or sealed system.

See refrigerator repair in Brandon for what a technician checks, and what to have ready when you call.