Electronic no frost fridge freezer. Fridge department not cold. Fan not coming on. Internal light comes on so power is connected. Fridge is 18 months old. Same problem occurred 3 months after buying. The problem was attended to. It appeared that the fan had frosted up and wasn't operating. What can I do?

Modern consumer refrigerators only have coils in the freezer. In the lower back of the freezer there is a small fan and possible a damper (flap that opens/closes) to push cold air from the freezer to the refrigerator. Given that the freezer is 18 deg, it's probably cold enough to keep the fridge area at typically 34 deg.
So the cooling system (compressor, coils, thermostat) are not working properly to keep the freezer at, typically 0 deg. Possible causes: partial loss of refrigerant gas, icing around evaporator coils (in freezer), compressor failing, dust clogging condenser coils (under fridge), condenser fan clogged or broken (under fridge), thermostat failure.
I'd start with condenser. Remove the slotted trim at the bottom front and look in with a flashlight. Are the coils clean? Pull out the fridge and remove the lower back cover (usually cardboard). You can now see the coils and fan. Clean and blow them out.
If it's icing, it probably means freezer door not closing tight. If auto-defrost not working properly it would probably get worse over the period of a few days so not likely.

My fridge is running but not cold enough: Start out with the easy stuff first...make sure the lights go out when you close the door(s), make sure the doors are closing properly and the gaskets are closing fully and are not torn or ripped. Check to make sure the evaporator fan in the freezer is working, this fan blows the cold air around. If the fan is not working, possible bad fan motor - check for power to the f


The most common fridge "not cooling" problem is a frost free failure. Remove the access panel in the freezer section to expose the evaporator coils. If the coils in the freezer section get plugged up with frost, this frost will block the evaporator fan motor from blowing the cold air around. The fan blade can also hit this frost and either become noisy or stop altogether. Locating the defrost timer can be tricky....they are often hidden behind the back bottom corners of the fridge at the bottom, in the last few years the timers have been located in the ceiling of the fresh food section, and some are behind the cold control cover. Once you locate the defrost timer, slowly turn the screw likeknob in the middle of the defrost timer with a straight screwdriver until the fridge shuts off. You are now in defrost. If the defrost heater (s) comes on now, replace the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. If the heater(s) does not come on, you can continuity test the defrost heater for continuity or test for 120 volts to the heater(s). If you have no power to the defrost heater (s) you can also bypass the defrost thermostat to see if the defrost heater will come on, jumper the wires together to bypass the defrost thermostat. If the heater now comes on, replace the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. If the heater itself is bad, defrost the fridge with a hair dryer, replace the defrost heater (s) and defrost thermostat. If the defrost timer seems "hot" to the touch or is noisy ( like a ticking or screeching noise )...replace it.

Defrost timer


Defrost thermostat


Defrost heater

If the freezer is cold the compressor is Ok. Now if its a two door fridge . Open both the doors while the fridge is On. Press the lower door switch ( the lower light should turn off and you should hear the fan humming sound come on ). While holding the door switch pressed close the freezer door, you should see cold air come out of the slits in the back of the lower compartment. If not icicles have blocked the passages due to the non working of the heating coil.The heating cycle is controlled by the timer switch located near the compressor at the back. Unplug the fridge and remove the timer switch.Note the color of the wires and mark on the old switch. Replace and it will work.Only frost free fridges have heating cycle

The fridge gets its cold air from the freezer through a vent(damper) between the freezer and fridge.The fan in the freezer blows air through it. Make sure this fan is running. You may have to hold the door switch in for it to run. There is a flap you adjust with the fridge temp. control. Make sure it's opening and closing when you adjust the fridge temp.
The problem could be the electronic control if you have one or the mechanical linkages.

If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it'll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.


Your evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.

The fridge gets its cold air from the freezer through a vent(damper) between the freezer and fridge.The fan in the freezer blows air through it. Make sure this fan is running. You may have to hold the door switch in for it to run. There is a flap you adjust with the fridge temp. control. Make sure it's opening and closing when you adjust the fridge temp.
The problem could be the electronic control if you have one or the mechanical linkages.

If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.


Your evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.

Below the evaporator fan is the evaporator coils. Remove the back cover in the freezer to observe the frost pattern. Light frost everywhere(NORMAL) or a partial pattern of ice(LOW ON FREON) or nothing(LOW FREON OR COMPRESSOR PROBLEM).

The fridge gets its cold air from the freezer through a vent(damper) between the freezer and fridge.The fan in the freezer blows air through it. Make sure this fan is running. You may have to hold the door switch in for it to run. There is a flap you adjust with the fridge temp. control. Make sure it's opening and closing when you adjust the fridge temp.
The problem could be the electronic control if you have one or the mechanical linkages.

If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.

hi is this the frost free version ??? if it is which i think it is it could be a fault with temp module{frost free have electronic modules to control the system rather than a old fashioned bog standard thermostat inside the fridge} the fans should be controlled by the module in case of frost free models it could be the module which is playing up

servis frostfree fridge freezer not working after 2weeks holiday returned it had completely defrosted fridge & freezer power supply still connected. warning light on. done all the trouble shooting in the srvice manual still want go cold or freeze. light on in the fridge, no water in the rear tray & cleaned the overflow pipe??. Model No M0330-ALU 5yrs old. think it has 2 seperate thermostats, surely they wont both have gone at the same time???????

The most common problem with refrigerators not cooling when the freezer cooling is the fan which supplies cold air to the freezer. Not easy to get to in most cases. Another problem is the vent to the fridge part is blocked or not operating with the adjustment control.