A refrigerator is today’s necessity. We store food to save time and money and preserve it in advance to use it later. Amongst the entire refrigerator consumer market, Frigidaire’s refrigerators own 12%. Due to its remarkable performance, it is quite useful and efficient. But like many other appliances, it can face some issues while using it for quite a while. The most common complaint that people usually have is the fact that it undergoes temperature control-related malfunctions.
These issues can be due to several reasons which result in the temperature exceeding the normal range limit that is optimum for a refrigerator to work fine. If the upper limit exceeds 42 F or 10 F (in the freezer), then the user may face problems such as the freezer not working but the refrigerator working fine, the ice maker not working, the freezer working but the refrigerator not working, it doesn’t freeze or it doesn’t cool. Whereas, if the temperature exceeds the lower limit of 37 F or 0 F (in the freezer), then the user experiences issues such as the water dispenser not working, the refrigerator being unable to defrost, it starts freezing food or the water beginning to leak.
What to do next? Replace the refrigerator with a new one. Or call an expert to fix it?
Instead of opting for these options, try fixing the refrigerator on your own. Below are some of the most common issues related to temperature control in Frigidaire refrigerators and quick fixes that you can do on your own!
What causes Frigidaire’s Refrigerator control problems to occur?
Like our body’s temperature, a refrigerator also has a set range of temperature within which, if the temperature varies, the refrigerator will still work fine. But if this temperature increases or decreases beyond its normal range, it might start facing problems with temperature control.
For a Frigidaire refrigerator, the temperature is 0 F – 10 F for the freezer and 37 F – 42 F is the cooling temperature. Fixing it may involve resetting the temperature control in the majority of the problems mentioned below.
How to reset the temperature on a Frigidaire Refrigerator?
There are several ways by which you can reset the temperature to its normal limits, i.e. 37- 42 for the refrigerator and 10 – 0 for the freezer after you’ve resolved the issue.
- By resetting the filter. You need to hold the button for a few seconds. This will not only reset your filter but also the temperature of the refrigerator.
- You can reset the control panel. For this, you have to hold the power freeze and power cool button together and wait until it resets.
- You can press and hold the indicator switch for a few seconds (5 – 7) until the freezer resets.
- Sometimes the temperature can rise too high. This can be indicated by an alarm(beep) due to high temperature which can be really annoying. In order to stop the alarm, you can either open the door, shut and reset or you can reset the temperature by tapping the temperature button and choosing the option to reset.
It is common for frigid refrigerators to leak water. This can be due to several reasons. There might be a faulty drain pan, water inlet valve or water filter. But the most common one is the temperature being less than 0 or 37 (freezing and cooling temperatures respectively). This can cause the defrost drain to freeze and water leaks mostly from the lower compartment.
How to fix it?
It is super easy and doable. Just pour boiling hot water on the defrost drain. This will help melt the ice and will prevent water from leaking out.
Dispenser malfunctions
You might experience that your water dispenser suddenly stopped working. This may or may not include ice makers working properly or not. This happens again due to quite a few reasons, such as water pressure below 20 psi, a broken water inlet valve, the dispenser control board not working, the water filter clogged etc. But the most common reason is temperatures below the lower extreme limit of the normal range, both at freezing and cooling temperatures. This can prevent water from reaching the dispenser because the water supply tube has frozen.
How to fix it?
You need to melt the ice in the water tubes. This can be done by unplugging it to disrupt the cooling and letting the ice melt or pouring hot water to melt the ice. Once it’s done, reset the temperature and see if the dispenser started working or not.
The fresh food compartment is freezing instead of cooling
More cooling doesn’t mean that the refrigerator is efficient and working properly. If the temperature gets lower than 37 F it can cause food to freeze which the user doesn’t want in a refrigerator. The purpose of a refrigerator is to keep the food cold, not to freeze. The most common cause is a faulty thermistor. It is responsible for limiting the run time of the refrigerator to prevent the food from freezing. Other causes can be faults in the control board or damper control.
How to fix it?
You need to check the thermostat with the help 0f a multimeter. If the multimeter doesn’t show continuity then it means that the thermostat is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
Does not defrost
Evaporating coils in the refrigerator are responsible for cooling the refrigerant as air passing through it also absorbs the heat and transfers it outside. If the defrost system is unable to melt the frost over the evaporator coil then it will result in the temperature getting colder inside the refrigerator. Faults in any component part of the defrost system, such as the defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat and control board, can result in a broken defrost system. Out of the parts mentioned above a faulty defrost thermostat is where the issue lies most of the time.
How to fix it?
You have to find which component is faulty and then replace it with a new one.
Frigidaire Refrigerator not cooling or freezing.
It is possible that the temperature of the refrigerator has exceeded its upper limit of the normal range. This can cause the freezer and refrigerator to heat up, preventing it from adequately cooling the refrigerator. This can most commonly happen due to a damaged thermostat. Other possibilities include fault in the main control system, too much food stuffed in the refrigerator, uncleaned condenser coils or a broken compressor.
How to fix it?
As mentioned above the way you can check if the thermostat is working or not is by the help of a multimeter. If it doesn’t show continuity then it means that it’s time to replace the thermostat with a new one. Also, check for the condenser coils that might require cleaning after every 6 months.
The frigidaire refrigerator not cooling but the freezer is fine
One can seldom expect that a frigidaire refrigerator’s freezer might work normally but the refrigerator itself will have some issue with its cooling. This can occur due to faults in the control board, evaporating coils, fan motor, or defrost timer. But the most common cause is again a defective thermistor. For a refrigerator to cool properly it is crucial for the compressor and evaporator fan to work properly. This is ensured by the control board as it is connected to a thermistor that can signal the control board that could later control the function of other components in order to make sure the cooling is adequate. Another most common reason is that the defrost thermostat is not working. It couldn’t sense the temperature and send signals to melt the ice over evaporation, lowering the temperature.
How to fix it?
You need to check the thermostat with the help 0f a multimeter. If the multimeter doesn’t show continuity then it means that the thermostat is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
Ice maker fails to work
What can we expect if the ice maker stops working? The most common cause of this problem would definitely be an increase in temperature more than expected as stated above. Image 10 F. For that, you have to reset the temperature by using the methods above. What else can cause it to stop working? The pressure of water below 20 psi, clogged filter and broken water inlet valve.
How to fix it?
Reset the temperature again to its normal limits. Check if there is too much food stored in the compartment. And defrost the coils.
The freezer not working but the refrigerator is
Other reasons could be a faulty compressor/evaporator fan motor, clogged filter or fault in main control but most commonly the culprit is the thermistor again. It fails to give the signals to the control board which could control evaporating coils and compressors.
How to fix it?
Again, you need to check the thermostat with the help of a multimeter. If the multimeter doesn’t show continuity, then it means that the thermostat is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, Frigidaire Refrigerator is amongst the most used refrigerators around the world. Like any other appliance, the Frigidaire Refrigerator can undergo some common issues that can be easily fixed. Instead of taking help and wasting resources, one can fix these issues on their own quite efficiently within a few minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is possible that the coils are dirty and need to be cleaned after every 6 months. Or else you can check for the problem in the thermostat or thermistor with the help of a multimeter to see if it is working or not. If not then replace it with a new one.
Your Frigidaire Refrigerator might not undergo temperature control issues after longer use. It can face issues like the ice maker not working, dispenser not working, not freezing or cooling, freezing but not cooling, freezer failing to work, unable to defrost, refrigerator failing to work and food freezing.
You just have to follow the following steps to reset the thermostat:
1. Long press filter button
2. Hold for 3 seconds
3. Long press power cool and power freeze simultaneously
4. Hold for 3 seconds