Is your refrigerator not cooling properly? Here is how to fix it.
As a rule, refrigerators maintain temperature from 36 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If your refrigerator is plugged in and getting power but not cooling properly, do not get upset. Most of the issues can be attributed to temperature settings, doors not properly sealed, and food items blocking the air vents.
Follow these simple tips to get your refrigerator cooling properly:
- Check the temperature in your refrigerator
You can find the temperature controls either in the back of the fresh food compartment, near the top of the fresh food compartment, or on the dispenser panel. The ideal storage temperature can vary, depending on the type of food being stored. Set the proper temperature to reduce food spoilage.
- Check the refrigerator doors
Make sure that refrigerator doors are closed completely and door gaskets are sealing properly. If the doors do not close on their own when you open the door halfway, adjust the leveling legs so that the front is higher than the back.
- Make sure your refrigerator contains a sufficient amount of food
All items in your refrigerator absorb the cold and help the refrigerator to maintain a constant temperature. When you open the refrigerator door, the cool air rushes out and warm air rushes in. The more items in the refrigerator, the less cool air is needed to keep the refrigerator cold.
- Check the air vents
To ensure proper cooling never block the air vents by placing food or containers in front of the vents. If you notice that your refrigerator is not cooling, move these items away from the air vents.
- Clean off the condenser coils
To cool the air inside the compartments, refrigerators use a compressor to pump refrigerant through two different kinds of coils. The condenser coils usually located at the bottom of the appliance and the evaporator coils normally found behind the rear panel. The refrigerant in gas form is first pumped into the condenser coils where the gas is condensed into a hot liquid. The condenser coils dissipate the heat as the liquid travels through them. Over time, these coils will collect dust dirt and hair preventing the coils from properly dissipating the heat and reducing the refrigerators ability to cool. You should use a condenser coil brush to clean off the coils periodically to ensure optimum refrigerator operation.
If you have checked all the points above but your refrigerator still does not work properly, you might want to schedule an appointment with our professional technician. Do not hesitate to call us (818) 600-2559.
Things that might be causing the issue:
- Malfunctioning condenser fan motor
A malfunctioning condenser fan motor could also prevent the refrigerator from cooling properly by failing to draw air past the condenser coils. The component can fail mechanically or electrically. A broken fan blade or a blade that does not turn freely could indicate a mechanical failure. If the motor is receiving power but does not run, then the motor has probably failed electrically. Once the refrigerant has passed through the condenser coils and a capillary tube, it travels to the evaporator coils where the liquid expands into a gas making the coils cold.
- Defective evaporator fan motor
The evaporator fan motor draws air over the coils to cool it and circulates the air through the freezer and refrigerator compartments. If the evaporator fan motor is defective, the cold air will not be circulated into the refrigerator. If the motor is unusually noisy when the refrigerator is running, or the fan blade does not turn freely, you should replace the motor with a new one. You can also use a multi-meter to test the motor windings for continuity a continuous electrical path present in the motor. If the motor tests negative for continuity, then the component has failed electrically.
- Faulty start relay or capacitor
The start relay or capacitor works in conjunction with the start winding to cycle the compressor on and off. If the relay or capacitor is faulty, the compressor may fail to cycle properly or may not work at all.
- Evaporator frosted over
The evaporator coils collect frost as the air passes over them. Since frost build-up can cause airflow problems, the coils require periodic defrosting. Older models needed to be defrosted manually, but most of today’s models use an automatic defrost system, consisting of a defrost heater, a defrost thermostat and a defrost control. Depending on your model, the control may be a defrost timer or a defrost control board. If the control thermostat or heater fails, the evaporator coils will likely frost over causing poor cooling in the refrigerator. You can test both the heater and thermostat for continuity to determine if a continuous electrical path is present. Be aware you will need to test the thermostat at a temperature of 15 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for a proper reading. If both the thermostat and heater tests positive for continuity, it is likely that the control is defective and will need to be replaced.
- Malfunctioning temperature control board
The temperature control board allows voltage to be sent to the compressor and the fan motors. If the control board is malfunctioning, the cooling system won’t cycle on. Since this is not a common problem, you should verify that the other components are working properly before replacing the board.
If you want your refrigerator to be cold, but not so cold that it freezes things, the temperature should be a few degrees above the freezing point of water. You can find more interesting facts about refrigerators here.