Napa residents know that their household appliances have been a cornerstone of continuous food preservation and day-to-day operations Homeowners who find themselves struggling with a broken down cooling appliance can find themselves in a dire situation As such homeowners throughout the region demand fast and reliable local service from professionals who understand the mechanical complexities of the machines they service Whether you have a commercial-grade kitchen or a small condo your primary food preservation unit must remain in constant operation to avoid significant food waste and costly purchases of new appliances With Economy Appliance Repair you can rely on our prompt and trustworthy service to ensure that your home remains functional with minimal downtime in between services
Keeping your fridge in working condition is an important part of maintaining your food preservation unit As such homeowners need to remain aware of what signs indicate professional intervention is required to get their systems working optimally Routine property maintenance keeps the unit running as expected while also helping it to improve energy efficiency when the weather demands it Homeowners can also rest assured that certified refrigeration maintenance is in their best interest as they seek to protect their assets against mechanical failure and improper integration with existing appliances In short trusting an experienced local professional ensures that your food preservation unit is doing its job correctly
Modern residential kitchens house a variety of advanced food preservation equipment that may encounter mechanical failures from time to time When your primary cooling unit begins malfunctioning it is important to take swift action to identify the underlying cause of the malfunction The following are ten common signs that suggest the need for professional assistance when a fridge refuses to cool and the ways in which professional repair services can assist in resolving them
1 Dirty Condenser Coils
The condenser coils on your fridge are tasked with the critical role of rejecting the heat extracted from the interior of the fridge to the ambient environment After years of operating in a kitchen environment these coils accumulate pet hair food debris and dust which reduces their ability to reject heat effectively This causes the compressor to run on a frequent basis without actually cooling the interior of the fridge
To clear dirty condenser coils simply unplug the fridge and clean the coil with a vacuum cleaner or a brush every two years to remove the accumulated dirt
2 Faulty Evaporator Fan Motor
The evaporator fan facilitates the circulation of cold air from the evaporator coils to the interior of the fridge to maximize cooling efficiency If the fan motor fails the evaporator coils will no longer transfer cold air to the fridge interior You may notice that your fridge freezes at the back while the front portions of the fridge remain at room temperature In addition you may not hear the characteristic humming sound that emanates from a functioning evaporator fan
3 Defective Start Relay
The start relay is a small mechanical switch that is attached to the compressor and provides the initial power to the fridge compressor to allow it to start running The start relay is faulty when the fridge compressor is not energized even when the thermostat indicates that cooling is required A defective start relay causes the fridge to be non-functional
You may detect a clicking noise coming from the back of the fridge to indicate that the start relay is defective
4 Worn Door Gaskets and Seals
Door gaskets are made of magnetic rubber material that seal the doors of the fridge and freezer to ensure that cold air does not escape when the doors are closed Over time the rubber material tends to dry out and crack or stick to the fridge body even when the doors are closed This compromises the ability of the fridge to hold the cold air inside When warm ambient room air infiltrates the fridge interior the compressor runs continuously in an effort to offset the rising temperatures
5 Frost Build Up on Coils
A healthy auto-defrost fridge remains free of frost deposits on the evaporator coils because the defrost heater is tasked with melting the frost layer on a regular schedule If the auto-defrost mechanism fails due to a faulty defrost timer heater or thermostat thick deposits of frost will form on the evaporator coils which blocks the flow of cold air in the fridge
With reduced cold airflow in the fridge the interior temperatures start to rise even as the compressor runs continuously
6 Malfunctioning Thermostat
The thermostat in your fridge is responsible for sensing the internal temperatures and controlling the operation of the compressor and fans to maintain the desired temperatures A faulty thermostat may cause the control circuits to become unresponsive to cooling requests from the temperature sensors to result in a non-functional fridge
Test the thermostat circuit with a continuity tester to confirm if there is an open circuit in the thermostat which may require it to be replaced
7 Blocked Air Vents
A fridge comes with a series of air vents that help to circulate cold air inside the refrigerator to maximize cooling efficiency If these vents become blocked due to overstocking the fridge with groceries the flow of cold air is impeded which causes the fridge interior to experience pockets of warm and cold areas Simply rearranging the items in the fridge may resolve this heating problem
8 Low Levels of Refrigerant
The refrigerant used in a fridge is a chemical compound that facilitates the exchange of heat between the interior of the fridge and the ambient air If the fridge refrigerant has developed a leak in the copper lines or the evaporator coil the amount of refrigerant in the closed circuit will diminish drastically
A complete refrigerant leak in a closed-loop system will cause the fridge to fail to cool completely
9 Damaged Main Control Board
The control board in the fridge controls the power to the compressor fans and other components to ensure that the control circuitry operates correctly If the control board experiences a short circuit due to electrical surges or faults that arise in other components the functionality of the control board deteriorates
A qualified repair technician must evaluate the control board to determine the source of failure in the control board
10 Malfunctioning Compressor
The fridge compressor houses the mechanical components that pump refrigerant as it circulates through the closed circuit of the fridge This is arguably the most crucial component in the closed-loop system of the fridge If the internal components of the compressor malfunction it is no longer able to compress the refrigerant to cause the fridge to lose its cooling ability
A faulty compressor should be assessed by an experienced professional to evaluate the extent of the damage and the best way to proceed with either repair or replacement In most cases compressor failure is a severe mechanical fault
Hiring a Professional Repair Technician
Although some aspects of property maintenance can be carried out independently most severe mechanical failures require the expertise of a qualified repair technician Homeowners should always consider hiring a professional repair technician if they detect abnormal electrical clicking noises coming from the fridge the fridge compressor completely stops running they observe signs of gas leaks or the fridge has stopped working despite routine maintenance work In short homeowners need to leave complex electrical or gas repairs to certified technicians to avoid electrical shocks severe property damage or gas leaks