Frigidaire Refrigerator Not Cooling?

Always unplug the refrigerator before accessing the compressor area or removing internal panels. Allow any ice to defrost naturally or use a hair dryer on low — never chip at ice with sharp tools as you can puncture the evaporator.

Set the fresh food section to 37°F and the freezer to 0°F. On Frigidaire models with a digital display, press the up/down arrows to adjust. Some older models have a numbered dial — set it to the middle position (usually 4 or 5). Press the power outage icon if the display is flashing after a power interruption.

Frigidaire refrigerators typically have the condenser coils at the back (older models) or behind a front bottom grille (newer models). Pop off the bottom grille by pulling it toward you and vacuum the coils. Dusty coils make the compressor run longer and hotter, eventually causing it to overheat and shut off.

If the freezer is cold but the fresh food section is warm, the evaporator coils may be frozen over, blocking the fan that circulates air to the fridge section. Remove the rear panel inside the freezer and check for a solid block of ice on the coils. If present, the defrost heater, defrost thermostat, or defrost timer has failed.

With the freezer door open, press the door switch. The evaporator fan should start running. If the fan doesn’t spin, the motor is bad. On Frigidaire models, the evaporator fan is behind the rear cover in the freezer, held in place by a few screws.

Unplug the fridge and pull it away from the wall. The start relay is a small component plugged into the compressor. Unplug it and shake it — if you hear a rattle, the relay has failed internally. This is a very common Frigidaire/Electrolux issue and the part is inexpensive.