Refrigerator is not cooling like it should. It's getting full power and the settings have not been adjusted.

Question

Ice is melting, milk is warm. It happened over night.

Answer 1

Warranty?

Service calls are around $50 & usually deducted from the cost of the repair!? Also some will give you a few tips & tricks to try over the phone....

Have you had any electrical spikes lately???? My compressor went out after 10 years--it had suffered an electrical spike YEARS before that blew out my kitchen light, microwave, & dustbuster. No one realized my fridge had been affected cause it continued to work. However, it had been damaged in such a way that it only degenerated slowly for 2 years b4 finally failing--too late for the homeowner's insurance to cover it. However, I had purchased extended warranty, so it was covered thank God!

Compressor repairs are high! $500... sometimes cheaper to get a new fridge!

There are a couple of good websites for DIY home repairs & troubleshooting your appliances..... Sorry I don't have the links, DIY & TROUBLESHOOT APPLIANCES are in the search engine if you do a search.

Answer 2

Maybe your condenser coils are dirty and need cleaned. Or possble you have a defrost problem. All cooling is done in the freezer section , then circulated to the fresh food side through a vent or air baffle. If your evaportor coils get blocked with ice , you don't get any air circulated to the refrigerator side and the cooling in the freezer section is poor at best.
Look on the back wall of freezer for any heavy frost or ice, thats how you can usually tell if there is a defrost problem.
If it is iced up it will need to be manually deiced and the failed parts diagnosed or replaced. There are three components to a defrost system, the timer, or board, the heating element and the bi metal defrost safety thermostat.If there is no ice ofr your frost pattern is not covering most or all of the evaporator coils, you may be low on freon or your compressor is not pumping properly. at this point you would definitely need a tech,

Answer 3

Before you call out the Calvary, there are a few things you can check, if the fridge hasn't been moved in a while chances are it's pretty dusty under there. Pull it away from the Wall and get your vacuum check around the compressor make sure the vents are clean if it gets to hot it won't work right and it shortens the life of the compressor, also try turning up the dial to see if the compressor kicks on, if it does it may just need to get recharged. Good luck.

Answer 4

A tech. will always check the easiest first. Make sure the light is going out. A 40 watt bulb will add an awful lot of heat if it's on 24/7.

Answer 5

I've had the same problem twice.
1st time it was a compressor had gone bad, was gonna cost a bunch to replace so i bought a new fridge.
2nd time it was a small timer motor that turns the entire fridge off to let it defrost. The motor was around 20 bucks and cost $60. for installation.
I hope you have a more simple less expensive problem.

Answer 6

The compressor is damaged. If it's an old fridge, you should consider buying a new one. Have it checked anyway, the refrigerant could be leaking.

Answer 7

pull it away from wall and check the the cooling rack in back for excess dust , or try turning off thermostat and resetting it all the way to high you should here the fan kick on , or it is just old, maybe time to just upgrade good luck

Answer 8

Kind of sounds like your thermostat. Had to get mine replaced last year, it's usually under $100 for the part and labor.

Answer 9

Look in your freezer and make sure you don't have it so crammed full that the vents in the back are covered, if they are covered that is your problem.