Refrigerator or Freezer That’s Too Warm: Top 6 Reasons and Fixes (With Video!)

Is your fridge giving you the cold shoulder or worse, leaving your milk lukewarm? If your refrigerator isn’t chilling like it used to, don’t worry—we’ve got the solutions you need. Inside this guide, you’ll uncover eight common culprits behind your fridge’s frosty behavior, complete with an easy-to-follow video tutorial that’s just steps away.

Once you have identified the part needed for your fridge, search below using your specific refrigerator model number to identify the exact part needed:

How Cold Should A Refrigerator Be?

The FDA recommends you keep the temperature in your fridge below 40° F (4° C), and your freezer at or below 0° F (-18° C). A refrigerator that’s too cold (below 35° F) might cause your food to freeze, but going to 40° F or above can lead to bacterial growth and prematurely spoiled food. The best way to get an accurate read on your refrigerator’s temperature is with an appliance thermometer. You can then adjust the temperature in your fridge with either the cold control knob found inside the refrigerator door or on the outer control panel if your refrigerator has one.

Let’s take a look at what the problem might be if your appliance isn’t responding to your temperature input.

8 Reasons Your Refrigerator or Freezer is Too Warm

For safety, always unplug or shut off the power to your appliance before performing any maintenance, and to avoid a mess, make sure you’ve turned off the appliance’s water supply, as well, which you can do from under your sink. Once that’s done, you can get started.

1. Condenser Coils

The condenser coils are a set of copper tubes on the back of your refrigerator. They condense refrigerant into its liquid form, causing it to release its heat, which keeps the inside of your appliance cool.

When your condenser coils aren’t working, neither will the rest of your appliance. You might notice that it takes a very long time for the appliance to cool, that the fridge seems to be running more often than usual (or non-stop), or in extreme cases, you may find that your appliance isn’t cooling at all.

Thankfully, the most common problem we see with condenser coils is an easy one to fix: dirt. Over time, condenser coils will accumulate dust, pet hair, and other debris, which will insulate them, making it harder to release heat.

Here’s how to clean your refrigerator’s condenser coils:

1. Access the condenser coils. Most condenser coils are installed on the back of the refrigerator, near the bottom. You may need to pull your fridge away from the wall and remove a back access panel to reach them. It’ll be held in place with a few screws.
2. Carefully clean the condenser coils. An initial pass with a vacuum cleaner may be enough, but you can also clean between coil rows with a condenser coil brush.
3. Clean the surrounding area with a soft, dry cloth.

We recommend cleaning your condenser coils at least once a year – more if you have pets. Not only will clean condenser coils ensure your fridge runs efficiently, it can cut down your electric bill, too.

2. Cold Control

The cold control allows you to set the temperature for your refrigerator and freezer. It’s accessed from inside your refrigerator, on the control panel. Though usually the only part you see is the knob, it also includes a temperature sensor and a set of contacts that tell the refrigerator when to run the compressor. So, if you’ve noticed issues with the compressor, it could be the cold control causing problems.

To test your cold control, you’ll need a screwdriver and a multimeter.

1. Start with a simple test. Before you unplug the fridge, knock on the area around the cold control knob lightly to see if it jostles the contacts inside free.
   1. The condenser might turn on right after doing this. It will fix your problem temporarily, but this could still be a sign of a bad cold control.
2. If you are replacing the cold control, be sure to unplug the refrigerator now. You should never work on an appliance that is receiving power.
3. Turn the cold control to the off position.
4. Remove the control panel and disconnect the wires from the cold control. You may also need to remove the knob and mounting screws to gain full access to the part.
5. Test the cold control with a multimeter set to continuity. Touch a probe to each of the metal terminals on the side of the cold control. It should not have continuity at this point.
6. Turn the cold control into an on position and test with the multimeter again. This time, it should have continuity. If not, the part needs to be replaced.
7. Check the sensor bulb for signs of damage, and the surrounding area for any oily residue from the bulb. If the sensor is leaking or has broken, the entire part will need to be replaced.

3. Defrost Timer

This component controls the defrost cycle in the refrigerator, helping to keep the evaporator free of icy build up. If the defrost timer has gone bad, your appliance’s evaporator may freeze up, preventing cold air from moving through the unit. Usually, when this part is bad, the refrigerator will be slightly warmer than the freezer. Here’s how to test your appliance’s defrost timer:

1. Start by locating it. You can usually find it behind the control panel in your refrigerator, but if your appliance is older, it may be at the bottom, behind the kick panel.
2. First, test to make sure that the timer advances. Mark the shaft with a dry erase marker. Leave it for a few hours and come back later to see if the shaft has moved. If it hasn’t, then the part will need to be replaced.
3. While the fridge is cold, manually advance the defrost timer with a flat head screwdriver. You’ll hear a loud click when it moves into defrost mode. At this point, the compressor should turn off and the heater will kick on.
   1. Wait 1 – 2 minutes and check the heater, which is located in the back of the freezer.
   2. If the heater isn’t kicking on and warming the freezer, you’ll want to check both it and the thermostat. There are instructions for that below. If those parts are both okay, then it’s the defrost timer that’s faulty.

4. Defrost Thermostat

The defrost thermostat is a safety device that measures the temperature in the freezer. It stops the defrost cycle if the interior of the appliance becomes too warm. You can usually find this small component mounted on the evaporator, behind the back wall of the freezer. If it has gone bad, the freezer and refrigerator will both be warmer than usual, but the refrigerator will likely be warmer than the freezer.

To test your defrost thermostat, you’ll need a multimeter and potentially a pair of wire cutters. Your refrigerator will also still need to be cold.

1. Disconnect the thermostat. You may be able to unplug the thermostat for this, but on some models of refrigerator, the thermostat’s wires will need to be cut.
2. While the refrigerator is cold, touch a multimeter probe to each terminal or wire. If the thermostat has continuity, then it’s not the issue. If it doesn’t have continuity, then the part has failed and needs to be replaced.

5. Defrost Heater

The defrost heater kicks on to warm the evaporator during your refrigerator’s defrost cycle. So, if it’s not working, your refrigerator’s evaporator may freeze and stop working. If this is the case, you’ll notice that, while both the freezer and fridge components will be warm, the refrigerator compartment will be warmer.

Here’s how to test your refrigerator’s defrost heater:

1. Gain access to the heater. It is most likely mounted behind the rear panel of the freezer compartment.
2. Test it for continuity with a multimeter. Remove the wires from the heater and test each end with one of the multimeter probes. If there’s no continuity, then the heater is bad and should be replaced.

6. Evaporator Fan Motor

This small electric motor and fan blade circulates cold air throughout the refrigerator. Because of constant exposure to cold temperatures and moisture, the motor’s mechanical parts, like its bearings, will wear down over time. Evaporator fans are always attached to the evaporator, which is usually located in the freezer. Some newer refrigerators will have two evaporators, though – one in the freezer and one in the refrigerator. If this is the case for your appliance, you will want to check both.

Here’s how:

1. Start by checking the fan. Make sure it spins freely. If the fan has trouble spinning, then the motor’s bearings are probably bad, and the component needs to be replaced. If it does spin freely, move on to the next step.
2. Unplug the fan either by removing the wire harness or using a flat head screwdriver to remove the wire terminals.
3. Touch a multimeter probe to each of the fan’s terminals. If the motor doesn’t have continuity, it will have to be replaced.

7. Run Capacitor

This is a small device that supplies extra energy to the compressor so that it runs as efficiently as possible. If the capacitor has failed, the compressor may not be able to continue running after an initial start up. If the compressor isn’t running as much as it needs to, or if it’s shutting off too soon, you may want to check the capacitor. Wear work gloves when checking this part. You will need an insulated screwdriver and multimeter.

1. Gain access to the capacitor. Consult your manual to find out just where the part is located. You can usually find the capacitor either behind the rear access panel or on the appliance’s main control board.
2. Remove the capacitor from the start device either by unscrewing or unplugging it.
3. Inspect the capacitor for signs of damage. If it looks like the part is swollen or has been leaking, then it must be replaced. If there are no obvious visual signs of damage, move on to the next step.
4. Discharge the capacitor. Remove any wires from the capacitor and lay the shaft of an insulated screwdriver across both terminals. Exercise extreme caution when completing this step! Do not touch the metal part of the screwdriver as you do this.
5. Once the capacitor is discharged, check it with a multimeter set to ohms. Touch a probe to each of the capacitor’s terminals. The ohms reading should go up and then back down.
6. Reverse the probes and test the capacitor again. It should do the same thing – ohms reading up and then back down. If the reading doesn’t change, the part is bad.
7. If you have a metal capacitor, check to make sure it hasn’t shorted to the casing by touching one probe to one of the terminals and the other probe to the body of the capacitor. If you get a reading while one probe is touching either terminal, then the part is shorted out and needs to be replaced.

8. Temperature Sensor

The refrigerator’s control board tracks the temperature in the freezer with this sensor bulb. When the sensor reports a warm enough temperature, the compressor will kick on and cool the appliance. So, if a sensor is bad or isn’t reading quite right, the control board won’t trigger the condenser.

To test this part, you will need a multimeter and an accurate temperature reader.

1. Gain access to the temperature sensor. You should refer to the diagrams in your refrigerator’s manual to track down where your appliance’s temperature sensor is. They may be behind the back wall or another access panel or in an air duct.
2. Remove the sensor. This should be as simple as unplugging its wires, but you may have to cut it out to test it.
3. Use the extra temperature reader to check the ambient temperature where you are going to test the sensor, then refer to your multimeter’s tech sheet to see how that temperature converts to ohms.
4. With the multimeter set to ohms, touch the probes to the sensor’s wire harness pins (or bare wires if you had to cut it out). The reading should be close to what is specified in the multimeter’s tech sheet. If it isn’t, then the sensor is bad and needs to be replaced.

Where To Find Us 

If you need any replacement parts for your appliances, you can enter your model number at AppliancePartsPros.com to locate and order them quickly. Most orders arrive in just two business days, and we have tons of great information in our repair help section and YouTube videos to help you troubleshoot.

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