Your refrigerator is perhaps the most important appliance in your home. When it suddenly stops cooling, your groceries are at risk of going bad, and you may be in line for a major repair bill if you don’t have a refrigerator warranty. In this guide, we help you figure out what to do if your fridge stops cooling, from diagnosing to fixing the problem.
Consider the Simple Explanations Why Cooling Stopped
If your fridge stops cooling, the first thing to do is to consider the simplest explanations—did the fridge accidentally get unplugged, or was the power shut off? Did the thermostat inadvertently get turned all the way down? Is there a big bag of frozen vegetables blocking the freezer vents?
If none of these issues exist, it’s time to troubleshoot for some more complex problems.
How To Diagnose and Fix a Fridge That Isn’t Cooling
Here are five common reasons why your fridge may not be cooling and how to address them.
Dusty Refrigerator Condenser
There are coils located under or behind the fridge that cool and condense the refrigerant. Sometimes, so much dust or dirt collects on these coils that the heat can no longer be released efficiently, and it winds up in your fridge instead.
Clean off the debris with a handheld vacuum or special refrigerator coil brush and see if that resolves the problem.
Broken Condenser Fan
The condenser fan is situated in a cabinet at the bottom of the fridge, near the compressor and condenser coils. Note: Fridge models with the coils on the back instead of the bottom won’t have a fan.
The fan keeps the compressor and coils cool, so if it breaks down, the fridge will begin to heat up. Check to see if dust or debris is present on the fan blades—this could keep them from spinning properly. If so, gently wipe the blades clean with a towel. If the blades don’t rotate at all, the fan’s motor may need to be replaced.
Broken Evaporator Fan
There’s another set of coils, called the evaporator coils, in a panel behind the freezer. Refrigerant runs through these coils and turns into gas, making the coils cold.
The evaporator fan’s job is to draw the cool air from these coils and circulate throughout the entire unit—first through the freezer and then the refrigerator or fresh food compartment. If the evaporator fan motor is broken, then cool air won’t circulate properly.
Sometimes you wind up with a freezer that’s still pretty cold—because that’s near where the coils are—but a fresh food compartment that isn’t cold at all because the cool air isn’t getting pushed there. If the evaporator fan is the problem, you’ll likely need to replace the fan’s motor.
Frost-Covered Evaporator Coils in Refrigerator
As mentioned above, the evaporator fan draws cool air from the evaporator coils and moves it throughout the entire unit, including the freezer. But if the fan stops working, the coils may frost over.
Remove the back panel in your freezer to see if the coils are frosted. If so, empty out the freezer and fridge, unplug the unit, and let the coils thaw for a day or two.
If the fan has been working and the coils are frosted over for some other indeterminate reason, you may need to hire a professional. The cause of the frosted-over coils can range from a broken defrost thermostat to a malfunctioning defrost heater.
Broken Air Inlet Damper
The air inlet damper is located between the freezer and the fresh food compartment, controlling the amount of cold air that passes from the former to the latter. If the damper breaks or gets blocked, the cold air won’t circulate the way it’s supposed to.
Inspect the damper to determine whether it is opening and closing properly. If it isn’t, you’ll need to replace it with a new one.
Other Refrigerator Issues That Stop Cooling
If your fridge is still giving you problems beyond these scenarios, it’s time to call in a repair person. The issue could be anything from a malfunctioning compressor to a defective temperature control board, which would require a professional diagnosis and intervention.
Our Conclusion
Refrigerators have a lot of small parts that can get broken, covered in frost, or otherwise obstructed from working properly. If your fridge stops cooling, you can fix a number of these little problems yourself. However, if you’ve checked that none of the above issues is the case, it’s time to call in a professional and move your food to a backup or a trusted garage fridge or throw it out. If you or a professional determines that your fridge is beyond repair, consider replacing it with one of the most highly rated refrigerators, according to our team’s research.