RefrigeratorRepair.center (844) 681-4650Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm Book a visit
A bare hand running along the door gasket of a refrigerator, testing where it has stopped sealing.

What you can check yourself

Troubleshooting
guides.

The checks that are safe to do on your own, and the point at which doing more stops being sensible.

(844) 681-4650

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Three guides
  • Read before you book
  • Says where to stop

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 681-4650

Troubleshooting,
guide by guide.

This section is for the owner who has noticed something wrong and wants to know what can be checked before anyone is booked. Every guide here stays on the outside of the machine: thermometers, door gaskets, the tilt of the cabinet, the grille, the vents inside the compartments, the settings menu and the label with the model number on it. None of it needs a tool you would have to buy.

All 19 guides
A person's hand writing on a blank notepad on the worktop in front of an open refrigerator.
5-minute read

Five observations that narrow a refrigerator problem down before anyone visits

Is the freezer cold, is there frost, is it running, did it drift or drop, and has anything changed about where it stands.

A hand closing a refrigerator door on a strip of plain white paper held between the gasket and the cabinet.
5-minute read

The paper test, and four other checks that cost nothing

Door seal, level, grille, vents and settings. Each one removes a branch of the diagnosis before a technician is even booked.

An open refrigerator door, a hand shining a small flashlight onto the inner side wall of the fresh-food compartment.
5-minute read

Where the model number hides, and why nothing works without it

On a Kenmore the first three digits say who actually built the appliance. On everything else it decides which parts are carried.

What you can check yourself.

The checks are written across every kind of refrigerator we repair, from a freestanding French door unit to a built-in, a column pair or an undercounter drawer, because the same observation can point in different directions depending on how the appliance is put together. Where a type needs a different approach, the guide says so.

Each guide also says where to stop. Mains wiring, the sealed system and lifting a built-in out of its opening are not places for experiments, and a clear note of what you saw is worth more to a technician than a panel that has already been taken apart.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerFive observations that narrow a refrigerator problem down before anyone visits

A refrigerator troubleshooting checklist rests on five observations: whether the freezer holds near 0°F while the fresh-food side climbs past 40°F, where frost has formed, which sounds are missing (compressor, condenser fan, evaporator fan), whether the problem drifted or dropped suddenly, and what changed nearby.

The short answerThe paper test, and four other checks that cost nothing

For the refrigerator door seal paper test, close the door on a strip of printer paper every six inches around the gasket, corners included, and pull: firm drag means a seal, no drag means a gap.

The short answerWhere the model number hides, and why nothing works without it

The usual refrigerator model number location is a sticker inside the fresh-food compartment, high on a side wall or ceiling near the light, or low behind the crisper drawers.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What repairs cost
  1. 01Diagnose
  2. 02Quote before any work
  3. 03Parts
  4. 04Repair and check

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 18 problems
A gloved hand holding a thermometer probe on the middle shelf of an open refrigerator compartment. Food safety applies

Refrigerator Not Cooling

7 causes, cheapest first

 A bare hand held flat in front of the cold-air vent at the back of an open refrigerator's fresh-food compartment. Food safety applies

Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold

5 causes, cheapest first

 Thick white frost covering the rear panel and the shelf edges inside an open freezer compartment. Problem

Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator

4 causes, cheapest first

 Dust-matted condenser coils at the back of a refrigerator that has been pulled away from the wall. Problem

Refrigerator Running Constantly

5 causes, cheapest first
A family preparing a meal together in their kitchen
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
troubleshooting.

Will doing these checks change what a visit involves?
It usually shortens it. A technician who already knows the freezer is cold, the seal passes and the grille is clear can go straight to the parts that are left.
Do I need to unplug the refrigerator for these checks?
For most of them, no; several only work with the unit running. The guides say when power has to be off, such as before reaching toward a fan.
Which guide should I start with?
Start with the five observations. They sort the problem into a family, and the other two guides then tell you which checks are worth doing for that family.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides
The rear wall of an open refrigerator compartment with its air vents, shelves half loaded in front of it.
Why it is doing that

Common problems

A clean condenser coil and its fan behind a refrigerator, the access panel leaning against the wall beside it.
How not to need us

Maintenance and prevention

A refrigerator door standing open on a compartment that has been emptied, a cool box and a bag of ice on the floor in front of it.
Is this dangerous, and is the food still good

Safety and food

A showroom-like run of cabinetry with a column pair, a French door unit and an undercounter drawer in one line.
Which kind do you actually need

Choosing and comparing

Gloved hands adjusting a leveling foot at the base of a refrigerator standing half inside its cabinet opening.
Getting it in, and getting it right

Installation and setup

Not sure which section?

Start from your question

The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it.

19 guidesWhere to start Where to start

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your refrigerator working again.

Three short steps online, or one call. Tell us what you are seeing and pick a window that works.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 681-4650
(844) 681-4650 Schedule a repair