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Your refrigerator has been working properly, but suddenly you notice that the temperature in it is high. Perhaps only in the freezer or refrigerator compartment, or sometimes in both. Often the equipment informs the owner about the temperature disturbance with a special indication. About why the temperature is high, and whether it is always a sign of failure – we will talk in this material.
When the refrigerator is faulty
The increased temperature in the chamber (or chambers) does not always indicate fridge failure. It can be a perfectly normal situation if:
You have just turned on your new refrigerator. It takes 5 hours to 24 hours for the fridge to “freeze” at the desired temperature.
You have just turned your refrigerator on after defrosting it. As with new appliances, the refrigerator will take several hours to reach temperature.
Recently, there was a power outage in the apartment. And the refrigerator did not have time to reach temperature. Perhaps the outage occurred without your presence: in this case, you can tell that the light was out by other appliances. For example, many electric stoves and microwave ovens reset all the settings after a shutdown and by their “zeroing” you can understand that the power was cut.
The refrigerator or freezer compartment has been loaded with too much food at one time. The refrigerator cannot cool a large amount of food at once, causing the temperature to rise. If you are “clogging up” the freezer, use the “super-freezing” function: it will help to cool the food to the desired temperature faster and keep it from spoiling.
The refrigerator has not been defrosted for a long time (models without “No Frost”). If a fridge with a manual defrosting freezer has not been defrosted for a long time, the chamber becomes covered with a layer of ice. Because of this, the cooling capacity decreases, and the temperature in the freezer increases.
The door is not closed tightly. Check if the freezer door and main compartment door are tightly closed. It is possible that something is obstructing the tight closure (panhandle, bottle, bag, etc.), which is causing the door to fit loosely and warm air to enter the compartment.
Possible faults requiring repair
Unfortunately, if none of the situations described above is similar to yours, there is a high probability that your refrigerator is broken. According to the experience of SAN DIEGO APPLIANCE REPAIR technician, most often the high temperature in the refrigerator is related to the following faults.
The thermostat (in models with electromechanical control) is defective.
This assembly is responsible for determining the temperature in the refrigerator: when the preset temperature is reached, it closes or opens the circuit, and as a result, the motor compressor turns on or off. If the refrigerator has several thermostats, the temperature will be high only in the chamber where the thermostat is broken. If there is only one thermostat, the temperature will be high in both chambers.
Temperature sensor failure (in models with electronic control)
In electronically controlled refrigerators, the temperature sensor is responsible for determining the temperature. It transmits data to the control module, which, based on these data, turns the motor on or off. If the refrigerator has separate sensors in both chambers, the temperature will rise only in the one where the node is out of order. If there is one temperature sensor and it is installed in the evaporator, both the freezer and the refrigerator compartment will not work correctly.
Faulty compressor motor
It probably burned out, there was an inter-circuit or winding short circuit to the housing.
Freon leakage
Usually, the leak is in the perimeter heating circuit of the freezer, the “weeping” evaporator of the refrigerator compartment, or in the locking connections. A refrigerant leak causes the refrigerator motor to run nonstop, trying to frost the set temperature. When the freon completely escapes from the system, the motor will not start at all.
The Evaporator defrost system is defective (in models with Know Frost)
No ice in a No Frost refrigerator is normal: periodically the defrost heating element activates, which melts the frost on the evaporator. If the system stops working, the evaporator overgrows with ice. After some time, the ice blocks the ducts which convey the cold air into the refrigerating compartment, and the temperature rises there.
Capillary tube clogged
The freon in the compressor interacts with the machine oil: paraffin is formed, which deposits and clogs the capillary tube. Because of the clogging, the freon does not circulate normally through the system, the compressor works hard, but the temperature still rises.
Damaged rubber seal
The sealing rubber is probably damaged, pressed, or dried out, causing warm air to enter the cavity.
Door hinges of a door damaged
The door hinges are probably loose or deformed: this causes the door to sag and warm air to leak into the gap.
The No Frost fan that blows cold air from the freezer into the fridge compartment is out of order
Probably the fan motor has burned out or its blades are broken. Often the breakdown is connected with the failure of the defrost system.
Defective No Frost damper
It controls the chilled airflow from the freezing chamber to the refrigerating chamber. Probably it is jammed in a “closed” position. The most common cause is a malfunction in the damper actuator.
Solenoid valve defective.
The refrigerators with one motor compressor and independent control of the temperature in the compartments (with drip defrosting in the refrigerating chamber and manual defrosting in the freezer compartment) have two operating modes. The first mode provides cooling of the freezer compartment only, and the second mode provides cooling of both compartments. Switching over of the modes is carried out with the help of the electromagnetic valve. If it “gets stuck” in the “freezer only” position, the refrigerating compartment stops cooling.
The light button is burned out.
In No Frosts, the light button has three contacts: the fan only turns on when the door is closed. The light, on the other hand, only comes on when the door is open.
It is not uncommon for the contacts in the button to burn out, and it starts to work incorrectly. The fan does not receive the command to turn on even when the door is closed, the cold air is not blown from the freezer into the refrigerating compartment and, as a consequence, the temperature there rises.
If you notice that the temperature in your refrigerator is higher than normal and the safety of food is at risk – call or book now.
SAN DIEGO APPLIANCE REPAIR technician will arrive promptly: it is possible to leave on the day of request. All repairs are done at home in one visit. We will find the pinpoint cause of the high temperature in your fridge or freezer and fix your refrigerator.
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