If the inside light turns on but your food is warm, the fridge has power — so it's not a dead outlet or a tripped breaker. The problem is almost always one of these five things, roughly in order of how often we see them:
1. Dirty condenser coils
The coils on the back or underneath the fridge dump heat outside the unit. Caked in dust and pet hair, they can't release heat fast enough, so the compressor runs constantly but the inside never gets cold. Pull the fridge out, vacuum the coils — if that fixes it, you just saved yourself a service call.
2. Frozen-over evaporator fan or coils
Behind the back panel inside the freezer sits an evaporator fan that pushes cold air into the fridge section. If the defrost system fails, ice builds up around it until the fan jams or the airflow is blocked entirely. You'll often hear a faint buzzing or clicking from inside when this happens.
3. Failed start relay or capacitor
The compressor needs a jolt from a small start relay to kick on. When it fails, you'll sometimes hear the compressor attempt to start, click, and shut off — repeating every few minutes — without ever actually running.
4. Bad thermostat or temperature sensor
If the control board never reads "too warm," it never tells the compressor to run. The light staying on confirms the board has power — it's just not triggering cooling.
5. Refrigerant leak (compressor runs, but nothing gets cold)
If you can hear the compressor humming constantly and it's still not cooling, a slow refrigerant leak is common in older units. This one isn't a DIY fix — it needs a licensed tech with the right equipment.
Is it worth repairing or should I replace it?
As a rule of thumb: if the fridge is under 8 years old, repair almost always makes sense — coils, fans, and relays are inexpensive parts. Past 10–12 years, a major compressor or sealed-system repair is worth comparing against replacement cost. Our techs will give you that number upfront before doing any work.