Why Is My Fridge Not Cold Enough

Key take aways:

• The temperature of your fridge should be between 2 and 3 degrees (or roughly 35 – 38 Fahrenheit)

Most likely reasons your fridge is not cold enough:

• Door seal needs refitting or replacing
• Ice has built up inside the fridge
• Dirty condenser coil
• Faulty evaporator fan motor
• Faulty condenser fan motor
• Faulty start relay
• Faulty thermostat
• Faulty capacitor
• Faulty compressor
• Control PCB

What temperature should my fridge be

The preferred temperature is somewhere between around 2 and 3 degrees C (or roughly 35 – 38 Fahrenheit). Anything much higher and foods will spoil and become a health hazard. Anything much lower and freezing becomes a problem.

To check adjust your fridge’s temperature settings, look for your thermostat. It will either resemble an analogue dial, or a digital display.

To check what the temperature of your fridge is you will need an independent temperature thermometer.

If your fridge’s temperature is too high, refer to our article for more information on what to do if your fridge is not cooling or my fridge is not cold enough.

If your fridge’s temperature is too low, it is likely that your thermostat is broken or covered. Check to make sure that it is not obstructed or covered, and replace it if necessary.

Door Seals

Always double check your door seals are in good order. If there is any damage to the door seal or there are signs of perishing then cold air from the fridge will be able to escape. See our step by step video article:

How to replace a fridge door seal

Ice Build-up

Ice build-up on the inside of the fridge can inhibit heat transfer, reducing efficiency. Reduced efficiency leads to increased bills and a warmer fridge.

Defrost your fridge regularly to avoid these consequences.

Dirty Condenser Coil

One possibility for the fridge not being cold enough is because the condenser coils are dirty. Effectively like a radiator, the condenser must stay clean to disperse heat that’s removed from the inside of the fridge. The dirtier the coils become, the harder they have to work to cool the fridge. If they’re too dirty they won’t be able to bring the inside of the fridge to the correct temperature at all.

Evaporator Fan Motor

The evaporator fan is basically a set of coils all refrigerators have – depending on the make and model it may have one or more. The purpose of the evaporator is to circulate cold air through the fridge – if it’s not working it won’t generate sufficient cold air for the fridge compartment. If there’s only one evaporator it will be in the freezer side, yet the freezer may still get cold.

Condenser Fan Motor

A possible symptom of the fridge not being cold enough is that there’s something caught in the condenser fan motor blade. Either that or the fan motor may be defective. Located underneath or at the back of the fridge, the purpose of the condenser fan motor is to draw air over the condenser coils to cool them.

Start Relay

A small device attached to the side of the compressor, the start relay provides power to get the compressor started. A defective start relay will mean that the compressor cannot function and the fridge won’t get cold. If it’s defective, the start relay should be replaced.

Temperature Control Thermostat

The thermostat provides the multi-purpose function of allowing sufficient cold air to pass through the evaporator fan, compressor and condenser fan. If the cooling system fans are running but the fridge is not cooling, it’s recommended you check the thermostat. Take a look at our video guide on:

How to replace a fridge thermostat

Start Capacitor

The problem of a fridge not cooling to the sufficient temperature could mean the compressor has difficulty starting. Acting as a battery for the compressor to boost it during start-up, if the start capacitor is burned out the compressor won’t be able to start as frequently as it should. A defective one should be replaced.  For help see our step by step guide:

How to replace the capacitor on your fridge

Thermistor

As the name might imply, a thermistor is sensor that monitors the air temperature and is connected to the control board. A defective thermistor will make the fridge over-cool or not cool at all.

Temperature Control Board

The temperature control board supplies voltage to the compressor and fan motors. Best advice with temperature control boards is to check all other potential faults first, as they’re often misdiagnosed.

Compressor

A compressor is a motor which compresses the refrigerant and circulates it through the condenser coils and evaporator. It’s best to get any seemingly defective compressors checked and replaced by a professional.

Main Control Board

This is the least common of all the potential problems if your fridge isn’t cooling sufficiently. Check the cooling fans, cooling controls and defrost system first, as faults with these components are more likely.