There are several potential reasons your fridge may be freezing up and many different ways to fix these issues. If the following causes and solutions don’t fix the problem for you, contact American Appliance Repair for help.
It May Be Your Door Seal
One potential cause is a faulty door seal. If you have a fault gasket, warm air could seep into your fridge, which then requires it to work harder than it should. This can in turn cause freezing up. To find out if your door seal is working properly, put a piece of very thin paper between the door frame and the gasket. Then try to pull the paper out. If it comes out easily – or does not stick at all – then your seal is faulty. If it does hold, then it is likely not the seal.
You May Have Issues with Your Thermostat
The job of your fridge’s thermostat is to control your fridge’s condenser, compressor, and evaporator. If the thermostat is not working correctly, then none of those elements will be working correctly. To test for this, following these steps:
- Make sure your appliance is powered on. Does your light bulb work when you open the door? If it does, then it is on.
- Check to ensure that the thermostat is turned on by checking the power indicator. It should be located near the display panel.
- Listen closely to your fridge to see if you can hear the fridge working.
- Use a multimeter to check your thermostat and ensure it is working correctly.
Your Fridge’s Sensor May Be in Failure Mode
Your fridge has a temperature sensor that sends the temperature to the fridge and freezer so that adjustments can be made. If it not working, then there may be an issue with the sensor. Access your sensor by looking at your owner’s guide to find the location. Look to see if you can find visual signs of damage to the sensor, then use a multimeter to test and ensure it is working.
Issues with Defrost Heaters or Regular Required Defrosting
Your fridge’s defrost heater melts any ice and frost that forms from the evaporator coils. If should be located under the evaporator. Test this by visually inspecting it for damage and using a multimeter to ensure it reads between 200 and 400 ohms.
Finally, it may be that your fridge simply needs manual defrosting. This may be the case if you have an older fridge and freezer. If you are having this issue, we generally recommend replacing your fridge with an updated model that handles defrosting for you, though we can also do a manual defrost if you would prefer.
