Frigadare freezer gets very cold, lower refrigerator gets no cold at all

There is only one source of cold in many refrigerators. If yours is a top freezer, then most likely it is in the freezer.
But the thermostat that you set temperature with is in the refrigerator, not the freezer.
In the cold garages, what can happen is that the refrigerator stays cold enough that it does not call for cold. So the freezer does not get enough cold.
The freezer control works by diverting cold air into the freezer WHEN THE RERIGERATOR HAS TURNED ON THE COOLING. If it is not turned on, oh well.
The best you can do for this is to put both on max cold. Then the refrigerator will call for more cold at a lower temperature, and the freezer will get it more often and will divert more when it is cooling.
This can result in the refrigerator freezing things too. You can try raising the refrigerator setting JUST A LITTLE and see if both work, but keep freezer on max cool.
This works for my situation, but ambient temperature fluctuations in the garage make this dicey. We don't put things like lettuce in the refrigerator in the garage in the winter because freezing damages them.
Good Luck

Check the heater coil in rear of freezer. Mine was burned out. Letting ice build up on the cooling fins. Replaced with new type double heater coil and fixed proble. You'll have to remove the cover off rear wall of freezer section to access it.

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong withyour refrigerator and why it is not cooling

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heatman101

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong with your refrigerator and why it is not cooling

Refrigerator not Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

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Water Running in refrigerator from Freezer

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heatman101

Set dials to middle setttings, if the colder /warmer dial is peffed max cold its max cold freezer!!! so move to warmer and the freezer will give more airflow to the reefer , the reefer is reliant upon the freezer for its cold air.

No, the fridge will not get cold any more. The coolant goes to the coils in the freezer. The fridge takes a small amount of cold air from the freezer to lower its temperature.

I am sorry to say that unless you can find a way to repair the puncture and refill the system with freon, you are going to have to buy another refrigerator.

Hi,
As the weather is getting warmer for many people their freezer and/or refrigerator do not work right because of a dirty condenser coil...

Check out this tip that I wrote about that... it is a great place to start trouble shooting your unit...and something that you can do rather then calling a repair person to do a simple thing for you...

Refrigerator Condenser Coil Cleaning Refrigerator Repair
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4024657-refrigerator_condenser_coil_cleaning

Refrigerator Troubleshooting Refrigerator Compressor
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3885294-refrigerator_troubleshooting

Refrigerator Compressor Start Capacitor and Start Relay
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4023749-refrigerator_compressor_start_capacitor

heatman101

In most refrigerator freezers, the refrigerator gets its cold from the freezer. The evaporator fan circulates air over the coils in the freezer and cold air circulates into the refrigerator through vents. If the vents are blocked or closed, then the fridge will not get cold enough but the freezer will. If neither is cold enough, then the number of possibilities increases.
Lowering the freezer temperature will increase the cooling cycle activity. Setting the refrigerator temperature may have little affect on the cooling cycles because it simply changes the vent opening size. Decreasing the fridge temperature opens the vents more and increases air circulation from the freezer.
The temperature can be adjusted using the controls found inside the refrigerator or freezer. The ideal freezer temperature is about 0 to 5 degrees (F) and about 38 degrees (F) for the fridge.
Measure the temperature by placing a cup of water with a cooking thermometer into the refrigerator for about 2 hours or more. To test the freezer, substitute alcohol or cooking oil.

CHECK THE FREEZER FAN MOTOR AND FAN SWICH IF SO EQUIPTED

May require a complete defrost before it is returned to normal operation.