Why Is My Fridge Not Cooling? (Fridge and Freezer Both Warm)

If your fridge is not cooling but the freezer is still frozen solid, the cold is being made and just is not reaching the fresh-food side. We cover that case in refrigerator not cooling but freezer works. This guide is for the other one: the refrigerator and the freezer are both warming up, the fridge is not cooling enough to keep food safe, or the light comes on but nothing inside is cold. That points to the part of the refrigerator that makes the cold in the first place.

First, protect your food

According to the USDA, a refrigerator keeps food safe for up to 4 hours if the door stays closed, and a full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full). Keep the doors shut while you troubleshoot and put a thermometer inside. Once the fridge climbs above 40°F, move perishables to a cooler with enough ice to keep it at 40°F or below. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soft cheeses and leftovers that have gone more than 4 hours without refrigeration should be thrown out.

Fridge not cooling? Safe checks to try first

1. Make sure cooling is actually on. Many refrigerators have a showroom or demo mode that keeps the lights and display working while the cooling is switched off, and some have a setting that turns cooling off for cleaning. Samsung displays show OF OF or O FF in this mode, and LG displays show O F F; your owner's manual lists the buttons to hold to leave it. While you are there, check the settings: about 37°F for the fridge and 0°F for the freezer is the usual target.
2. Listen for the compressor. With the doors closed, a running refrigerator makes a steady low hum from the bottom back. GE's service site says that if the fridge is warm and you hear a click at intervals of five minutes or less as it tries to run, the start relay or the condenser fan is the likely culprit. Make a note of it; it tells the technician a lot.
3. Clean the condenser coils, if yours need it. Unplug the refrigerator first. GE notes that most of its refrigerators built since 2001 have coils in a location that does not need cleaning, so check your owner's manual. If yours has coils behind the kick plate or on the back, dust and pet hair on them keep the refrigerator from shedding heat, and a coil brush and a vacuum take about ten minutes.
4. Check the condenser fan. On models with the coils underneath, a small fan at the bottom back runs whenever the compressor runs. If you can hear the compressor but that fan is still, the fan motor has probably failed, and the compressor will overheat and click off.
5. Give it room to breathe. A refrigerator needs air around it to shed heat. GE says at least 1 inch on each side, the top and the back is typical, though it varies by model, so check your manual.
6. Check the room. Refrigerators are rated for a range of room temperatures; Whirlpool's standard models are rated for 55°F to 110°F. If yours lives in a hot garage, check the range in your manual.
7. Reset it. Samsung's power cycle is to unplug the refrigerator or switch off its breaker for 2 minutes, then restore power and give it about 3 hours to show the temperature dropping. Our guide to how to reset a refrigerator has the other brands.

Light on but not cooling

The light and the display do not depend on the compressor, so a working light only tells you that power is reaching the refrigerator. If the light is on and everything inside is warm, the usual suspects are demo mode (check 1 above), a failed start relay or overload on the compressor, a dead condenser fan, or a control board that has stopped telling the compressor to run.

One more check: close the door slowly and watch the light. GE says it should go out when the door is about 1 inch from closed, and that if the light stays on because the door is misaligned, the refrigerator will not cool properly.

Not cooling after a power outage

The moment the power comes back is hard on electronics. If the refrigerator stopped cooling after an outage:

• Check the breaker and any GFCI outlet it is plugged into; a surge can trip either one.
• Give it time. GE explains that after a short outage the compressor overload cycles on and off until the refrigerant system equalizes, then the compressor starts on its own, with no need to cycle the power.
• If it is still warm after several hours, a surge may have damaged the control board, the start relay or, on models with an inverter compressor, the inverter board that drives it.

Our guide to appliances not working after a power outage covers the rest of the kitchen.

What usually fails when both sides are warm

• Start relay or overload. The small device that helps the compressor start. The classic sign is the click-then-silence pattern, and it is a far smaller repair than the compressor itself.
• Condenser fan motor. A fan that has stopped lets the compressor overheat.
• Control board or inverter board. More expensive, so we test the cheaper parts first and confirm a board has actually failed before replacing it.
• Temperature sensor (thermistor). A sensor that reads wrong can shut the compressor off too early.
• Heavy frost. A defrost failure usually warms the fridge side first, but left long enough, ice can smother the evaporator coil until the freezer warms too. Thick frost on the back wall of the freezer is the giveaway.
• Compressor or refrigerant leak. The most expensive repair. Under EPA rules, technicians who service equipment that could release refrigerant must hold Section 608 certification. If this is the cause, you get the full price and an honest repair-or-replace opinion before anything is done.

If the checks above did not bring the cold back, the next step is a technician to test the start relay and condenser fan before anyone condemns the compressor.

What it costs in Atlanta

The diagnostic visit is $80, and it is waived when you approve the repair. Repairs start at $180 labor plus parts, quoted in writing before any work begins. On standard brands, most refrigerator repairs run $250 to $500 in total; see the typical totals on our pricing page. Relays, fans and sensors sit at the low end, control boards cost more, and compressor and sealed-system repairs cost the most. Every repair carries our 60-day parts-and-labor warranty.

Repair or replace?

If the problem is a relay, fan, sensor or board on a refrigerator that is not very old, repair almost always wins. For an older refrigerator with a failed compressor, the numbers can favor replacement; our guide to whether it is worth repairing a refrigerator and our repair-or-replace guide walk through the math.

Schedule a visit or read about our refrigerator repair service. Prefer to talk? Call (470) 778-4087.