Refrigerator tips, maintenance and troubleshooting…

Brush and vacuum the condenser at least twice a year for maximum energy efficiency. Place two thermometers in your refrigerator, one in the freezer and one in the fresh food compartment. Check the thermometers each time you open the door. The freezer temperature should be less than 10°F and the fresh food compartment should be between 36 and 38°F.

When a refrigerator is warming up and your frozen food starts thawing out, most of the time the problem is not the compressor or loss of Freon but rather an electrical component failure.                                           

Please read our legal Disclaimer first!!!

NOTE: There are many components that make up the modern day refrigerator, failure of virtually any one of them usually results in the same end results, either the fridge is not cooling or it is too cold. Proper diagnosing can be difficult and time consuming; they require the expertise of a qualified technician with the knowledge of trouble-shooting components and special diagnostic tools. Please contact us for help!  

• Fridge will not run:
• Fridge runs NON STOP, but fresh food is warm / frozen food is thawing:
• Fresh food compartment is freezing:
• Water on the floor, or in the bottom of the fridge:

Fridge will not run:

1. Check for power, (does fridge light work?) Check house breaker panel for blown fuse or tripped breaker.
2. If the fridge is getting power but not starting your problems can be a (stuck) defrost timer, failed cold control, compressor or compressor relay/safety. Please contact us for help!

Fridge runs NON STOP, but fresh food is warm / frozen food is thawing:

1. Make sure if the fridge is equipped with a light that it is going off when the door is closed, manually push the door light switch button to test. If it stays on replace switch. A light staying on all the time in your fridge can generate enough heat to warm the inside of the fridge and thaw food.
2. Make sure the freezer door is closing tightly and not allowing warm air in. Excessively worn or leaking door seals should be replaced. Most doors can also be realigned if required.
3. Many fridges have a condenser (grill mounted on fridge back or box shaped condenser mounted under the fridge often cooled by a fan). Be sure this fan is running and that there is not excessive lint or dust build up restricting the cooling of the condenser. This is a very important part of the fridges performance.
4. A leaky door makes your refrigerator very inefficient and costly to operate. Small cuts, slits, or breaks in refrigerator door gaskets can usually be filled or glued with white Silicone bathtub caulk.
5. On refrigerators with coils underneath rather than on the back, particularly Coldspot, Whirlpool, GE, Hotpoint, and Amana, clean the coils twice a year and check that the fan underneath is blowing air out through the “kickplate”. Also on those brands ensure that the rear cardboard cover is securely attached.
6. Your problem could be trouble with the defrost circuit or a failing compressor. You may need to contact us for help!

Fresh food compartment is freezing:

• Turn the temperature control to a warmer position. If the situation doesn't improve likely your cold control has failed. We need to replace the "temperature control", please contact us for help!.

Water on the floor, or in the bottom of the fridge:

1. Manufacturers have different ways to dispose of the water created during automatic defrost cycles. The  most common design routes the water down a rubber tube on the back of the fridge to a tray beneath. This tube often gets plugged with breadcrumbs, peas etc. and can generally easily be removed and cleaned.
2. Make sure the end of the hose is sitting in the defrost tray.
3. If your hose was not plugged and you have found water running down the back wall inside the fridge or a pool under the bottom crisper has formed. Check if there is a small funnel located on the back wall near the top inside the fridge. It can also get plugged; you can use a small wire and work it in and out of the hole.
4. Some designs do run the water down the back wall and have a drain hole under the crisper, make sure it is not plugged.

Please read our legal Disclaimer first!!!

Sample electric diagram for side by side Frigerator:

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