Why Is Your Refrigerator Warm?

The refrigerator is one of the most essential appliances in your kitchen, offering the cold conditions required for storing a host of fresh foods and beverages. Your refrigerator is specifically designed to have a consistently cool interior, which is why a warm refrigerator can be a particularly troublesome problem.

Warm refrigerators can cause food to spoil and ruin ice-cold beverages, causing a major inconvenience to your home. To help you fix this problem, we’ve gathered some helpful information on the common reasons why your refrigerator may be warm.

Images of an open refrigerator with fruits

Refrigerator Is Too Full

Your refrigerator stays at the proper temperature thanks to cold air that’s consistently circulated through the appliance. If there are too many items in your fresh food compartment, that cold air may not circulate properly, resulting in a refrigerator that’s warm.

It’s fairly common for a refrigerator to feel warm if it’s overstuffed, and this problem is obviously easy to resolve. Simply remove items you don’t need from the appliance, and check within a few hours to see if it is cold again. If it feels like the unit is at the proper temperature, your problem has been resolved. If not, there’s likely a bigger issue with one or more of your refrigerator’s internal components.

Evaporator Coils Are Frosted Over

The refrigerator’s evaporator coils help produce cold air for the appliance. This process can create frost, which plugs up the coils and prevents them from working properly.

If your refrigerator is too warm, one of the first things you should check are its evaporator coils. Examine the coils to see if they are frosted over, and if they are, be sure to inspect each component of the unit’s defrost system for defects. The defrost system prevents the evaporator coils from accumulating frost, and a dysfunctional defrost system will result in frosty coils. It can be a challenge to test all of these components, and you may want to hire a refrigerator repair technician for assistance.

Faulty Evaporator Fan

Another common cause of a refrigerator that’s too hot is a faulty evaporator fan. The evaporator fan is located in the freezer compartment and circulates cold air throughout the refrigerator when its compressor is running.

To inspect your evaporator fan, you should unplug the refrigerator and access the fan on the backside of the back panel of your freezer compartment. Be sure to check the fan for excessive frost, and check the fan blades for any damage. You should also check the motor shaft to see that it turns freely. If these components appear normal, you’ll want to use a multimeter to see if the fan is receiving power. This can be difficult for the average homeowner, and may require additional help from a certified home appliance repair expert.

Malfunctioning Electronic Control Board

Most modern refrigerators use an electronic control board to adjust and monitor temperature within the unit, and a malfunctioning control board can result in a host of issues that ultimately cause your unit to be too warm.

Electronic control boards are connected to temperature sensors that automatically monitor conditions in the refrigerator, using this data to control the unit’s compressor, fan motors and defrost system. Problems with your control board can cause issues in these components, resulting in failure of your refrigerator to cool.

Fixing a refrigerator’s electronic control board is nearly impossible for most homeowners, as these boards feature complex designs that power many of your unit’s most important features. If you suspect a malfunctioning control board is the root of your refrigerator problems, be sure to enlist assistance from a professional home appliance repair service.

Refrigerator Repair Services For The Modern Home

A warm refrigerator is utterly useless, leaving your home without the food and beverage storage solutions it requires. However, with some knowledge on the common causes of a warm refrigerator, you’ll be prepared to tackle this problem and restore your appliance to proper working order.

Repairing a refrigerator can be a complex and difficult task. To ensure your issues are properly resolved, you can contact a professional home appliance repair service.