10 possible reasons behind “refrigerator not cooling”

On a hot summer afternoon, you open your refrigerator in a hope to enjoy a glass of chilled juice. But you find that your refrigerator not cooling. What an unpleasant moment! Here are 10 possible reasons behind “why is your refrigerator not cooling enough or not cooling at all”:

1. Frosted evaporator coil

There are evaporator coils and circulating fan in the freezer zone of the refrigerator. Poor cooling can be a result of excessive frost development on the evaporating coils. Over time frost accumulates over the coils and fan. When frost gets accumulated over the evaporator coils, they get insulated. Due to this the circulating fan is unable to draw air over the frosted coils. There may still be a small amount of cooling because the frost over the coils, but with no air flow over the coils.This frost should be removed by manual defrosting or automatic defrost (in frost free refrigerators) for proper cooling inside refrigerator. .

2. Faulty evaporator fan 

The fan circulates the cool air from the freezer to other compartments inside refrigerator. When evaporator fan stops working it cannot circulate cool air inside the food section. Due to which the freezer continues to be cold but food section does not cool.

Here are some Fan Motors you can find online:-

1. Fan Motor Suitable for Godrej Frost Free Refrigerator (Genuine) 
2. Fan Motor Suitable for Samsung Refrigerators,- with 2 Pin Connector 
3. Fan Motor Suitable for LG/BPL Frost Free/Double Door Refrigerators- 3 Pin Connectors(Multi Color)(Match and Buy) 
4. Fan Motor Suitable for Videocon Frost Free Refrigerators-2 Pin Connector
5. Fan Motor Suitable for Whirlpool Refrigerators (Black) 

3. Out of order defrost system

In any frost free refrigerator there is a defrost system which controls the cooling and defrost cycle. The components of the defrost system are: a defrost timer and a defrost heater:

A defrost timer switches the refrigerator between the cooling and defrost mode. If it goes bad and stops at cooling mode, it causes excessive frost to build up on the evaporator coils which reduces the air flow. Or when it stops at the defrost mode it melts all the frost and does not go back to the cooling cycle.

Here are some defrost timers you can find online:-

1. Samsung Double Door Refrigerator Defrost Timer 
2. Whirlpool W10822278 Refrigerator Defrost Timer 
3. Refrigerator Deforst Timer for Godrej Refrigerator – 8 Hours – 39121523SD00028 (Genuine) 
4. Spareworld Defrost Timer Compatible with LG Double Door Refrigerator (3+1) Pin 
5. Spareworld Defrost Timer Compatible with Videocon Double Door Refrigerator 

A defrost heater melts the frost developed over the evaporator coil. But if it goes bad then excessive frost accumulates on coils reducing the cool air flow inside the refrigerator.

So when either of the 2 become faulty, the refrigerator does not understand when to cool and when to defrost.

4. Faulty compressor 

A compressor is the heart of the refrigeration cycle. When it does not work properly then the entire cooling process does not even start. The job of the compressor is to compress the refrigerant from a low pressure cool vapor into high pressure hot vapors. This compressed refrigerant in the form of hot high pressure vapors then flows through the condenser where it get condensed into high pressure liquid. This liquid then flows through the evaporator coil where it evaporates and cools down to a low pressure vapor. Air flows over the cooling coils and keeps the refrigerator cool. So when the compressor is out of order, this refrigeration cycle does not even start.

5. Insufficient refrigerant level

If compressor is the heart , the refrigerant is the blood of the cooling cycle. Refrigerant leakage or under limit refrigerant also effects the cooling inside the refrigerator.

6. Dirt insulated condenser coils

When high pressure hot refrigerant condenses in the condenser, lot of heat is dissipated during this conversion. But when the condenser coil is dirty and loaded with debris, heat does not flow out of the coils properly. This heat stays inside the refrigerator and reduces the cooling.

7. Defective condenser fan 

In your refrigerator there is a condenser fan that forces hot air out of the refrigerator. So when it goes bad  the hot air cannot be released into the room and remains inside the refrigerator. Because of this the temperature inside the refrigerator shoots up. A faulty fan motor or defective fan blades prevent the condenser fan from working properly.

8. Defective start relay

A start relay is a small device located near compressor. It helps compressor in starting up. If the start relay is defective, then the compressor will not start and so the cooling process in the refrigerator will not commence.

Start Relay you can find online:-

1. VINAYAK Refrigerator Start Relay for Universal(Brown) 
2. Pardzworld Compressor Relay(4 Pin) + Overload Protector(1/6th) Suitable for 165 LTR to 300 LTR Double Door Refrigerators 
3. SRTech™ Refrigerator Start Relay for Universal(Brown) 
4. ELECTROPRIME Universal Start Relay Refrigerator Freezer Compressor IC-4 Replacement Part Kit 

9. Defective start capacitor

There is a start capacitor that gives boost to the compressor to start up. If this capacitor is burned out, the compressor might not start up and the refrigeration cycle will not commence to cool the refrigerator.

10. Faulty thermistor

A thermistor is a sensor that control the air temperature inside refrigerator and controls the start and stop of cooling cycle. If it goes faulty, then the refrigerator does not cool at all or cools continuously.

“Refrigerator not cooling” is a very common problem and can be taken care by good refrigerator repair professionals.

Here are some of the top selling fridges that we would recommend:

1. Samsung 253L 3 Star Inverter Frost Free Double Door Refrigerator  
2. LG 284 L 3 Star Inverter Linear Frost-Free Double Door Refrigerator  
3. Whirlpool 300 L Frost-Free Multi-Door Refrigerator  
4. Godrej 290 L 3 Star Inverter Frost-Free Double Door Refrigerator 
5. Haier 320 L 2 Star Inverter Frost-Free Double Door Refrigerator 
6. Panasonic 335 L 2 Star 6-Stage Inverter Frost Free Double Door Refrigerator 
7. Bosch 288 L 3 Star Inverter Frost-Free Double Door Refrigerator