Refrigerators are essential but not everyone has a place for a huge fridge. For this reason, people who have small spaces prefer mini-fridges because of the size and the convenience that it brings.
These mini fridges are designed with refrigerating compartment and a small freezer compartment and they cook up just fine. That being said, mini fridge not cooling is a rare occurrence but it happens. So, if you are having the same issue, just follow through with this article because we have all the solutions you need!
How to Fix Mini Fridge Not Cooling?
1. Air Vents
If you don’t know how the refrigerators work, let us tell you that it has air vents that bombard cold air into the fridge. However, when these air vents are clogged up, there will be a delay in cooling or you won’t have any cooling at all. There are three prime reasons behind air vents not giving off cold air.
First of all, people who have pets would understand how the pet’s hair is everywhere. In that case, you should switch off the fridge and check the air vents for pet hair. This is basically the most common yet the most underestimated cause. So, if there is pet hair, remove it and the air vents will start working.
Secondly, if you don’t have pets, there are chances that the air vents are blocked with dust. It doesn’t matter how clean you get, the dust can still accumulate in the air vents, and cleaning it up will restore the cooling just fine.
Lastly, if we talk about the internal air vents, there are chances that you have blocked them by putting a bowl in front of it. So, peek into the fridge and clear the area around the walls. As a result, the air vents will be exposed and will start bombarding cold air into the compartment. To summarize, it doesn’t matter what you are trying, always turn off the fridge while inspection.
2. Door Seal
The door seals are basically the reasons why your mini-fridge stays closed unless you open it up with force. This is because door seals tend to create a tight seal that prevents the door from opening on its own. Keep in mind that the fridge’s door must be closed to ensure it’s trapping the cold air. So, when the door seal is damaged, the door won’t be closed properly and the cool air will keep coming out, hence no cooling within the compartment.
That being said, you need to replace the door seal and it’s better to get a professional to do it. This is because your DIY techniques might result in the ineffective installation of the door seal. On top of everything, you need to get a high-grade door seal because it can impact the overall longevity and prevent damages. Lastly, buy the door seal from the company’s repair center because it will be according to your fridge’s model.
3. Look At The Thermostat
If you haven’t had any luck by tweaking the door seal and air vents, there are chances that the thermostat is disturbed. This is also known as the temperature control knob and is responsible for optimizing the temperature to ensure the best cooling. The thermostat might be broken or cracked which is resulting in thermostat issues. Keep in mind that such knobs will rotate but won’t be able to turn the thermostat around.
The knob will even spin but the thermostat won’t be adjusted. The solution is inspecting the thermostat properly and looking for damages or cracks. If you see some, take out the needle nose pliers from your tool kit and turn the thermostat manually.
While turning the thermostat, you can also set the preferred temperature. Once the cooling starts, you can now call a technician to replace the knob, so you don’t have to use the nose pliers again.
When we are discussing how cooling could be affected by the thermostat, it’s important to think about the settings. This is because in various cases, people switch off the thermostat mistakenly and don’t even know it. So, if there are no cracks on the knob, just turn it around to colder settings and the compressor will start cooling down the fridge.
4. Capacitor
Before we tell you what’s wrong, don’t be confused about people calling it a start relay because these are basically the same things. When the capacitor isn’t working, it won’t be able to start up the compressor.
So, when the compressor isn’t starting up, you won’t get any cooling in the fridge. For this reason, you should check for continuity (use a multimeter). If there is no continuity in the readings, the only option is to replace the capacitor. Also, you don’t need to worry about the costs because replacing a capacitor is extremely economical and the mini-fridge will be back to cooling properly.
5. Overload Switch
The overload switch is exactly what it sounds like; it switches off and breaks off all the contacts related to the switch when it experiences overheating. Basically, it’s impacted by the temperature of the compressor.
So, when the compressor overheats, this switch will cut off the contacts. However, the connection will be cut off even if the compressor isn’t overheating because of a faulty switch. So, you must check the overload switch for continuity, and if you don’t, replace the overload switch. The overload switches are pretty easy to find in the hardware or electrical stores, so get it done faster!
6. Compressor
When the compressor isn’t starting up, it won’t be able to develop cooling and air vents won’t have anything to bombard into the mini-fridge. So, if the fridge is still not cooling, the compressor might have gone bad. For the most part, the compressors get damaged if they get a low-voltage electrical supply. So, call up the technician and have him replace the compressor. Also, replacing a compressor is cost-efficient and it can restore the cooling as nothing happened.
The bottom line is that these solutions are designed to help you restore cooling. However, if there is a need for repair or a replacement, check the warranty to get things done for free!