Understanding Appliance Services

Modern appliances are extremely durable and have many additional features that make life a little easier. When an appliance like your refrigerator stops working, you need to decide if you should replace it or have a refrigerator repair service look at it and see if they can fix it.

Compressor Failures

The compressor in your refrigerator is the most important part of the system. If the compressor stops working, the entire cooling cycle breaks down, and the fridge will not stay cold. The compressor can be tested by a refrigerator repair service to determine if the unit is bad or if something in the system is causing it not to work correctly.

In some cases, low refrigerant levels in the system can cause the fridge not to cool properly and can mimic a compressor problem, but the tech working on the appliance can test the refrigerant levels to determine if that is a factor along with testing the compressor to see if it is working correctly or not. 

Condenser Fan Failure

The condenser fan inside your refrigerator blows air across the condenser coils to keep them from freezing up as the system runs. If the fan motor stops working, the condenser coils get covered in ice and can not do their job properly. 

The refrigerator may start to warm up if the fan is not working, but if you unplug it and let the ice melt, it may begin to cool again. While unplugging the fridge repeatedly is not practical, you can replace the fan to stop the icing and restore the cooling ability of the refrigerator. 

A refrigerator repair service can replace the fan motor for you very easily and get the fridge working, but the motor may need to be ordered, so before they can make the repair, the tech will need to diagnose the problem and get the part numbers from the old part. In some cases, you may have to wait several days for the new part to arrive. 

Dirt And Dust

The condenser coils can collect dust in them over time, and if they start to get clogged enough to reduce the airflow through them, the result will be similar to a fan failure. Every few months, pull your fridge out and clean the condenser coils on the back of the unit with a duster or vacuum cleaner to ensure air can move over them unobstructed. 

If you notice the temperatures in the fridge running higher than usual, you can check the coils and clean them before calling a refrigerator repair service. If cleaning the coils doesn't fix the problem, you most likely need a repair tech to diagnose the issue and determine what needs to be done. 

For more information on refrigerator repair, contact a professional near you.