Fridge won’t get cold? Refrigerator not blowing cold air? Your refrigerator lights are on, you can hear the fan blowing air in the refrigerator, but the air is not cold. If this is your situation, then the repair is probably going to be a reasonably easy DIY job. When your refrigerator has working lights, the inner fan (or blower) inside the fridge is still blowing and the air is room temperature, then possibly the problem is the Compressor Start Relay. The start relay is a small device mounted to the side of the compressor. It provides power to the winding for a split second at start up to help the compressor run. The other component that may have failed could be the Start Capacitor. The start capacitor acts almost like a battery to give the compressor a small boost during power up.
The purpose of this guide is to give you some options to check yourself. The parts explained above may or may not be your issue but it is worth looking into before calling a repairman. If you are not comfortable with removing and replacing parts on your refrigerator, then call a repairman.
The relay and the capacitor are what help start the compressor. The compressor is what produces the cold air to cool your refrigerator. If one of these two parts are faulty, then the compressor will not run and therefore there can be no cold air. The refrigerator can be on but if the compressor is not running the air will not be cold inside your refrigerator. This is a very common reason why most refrigerators stop cooling but keep blowing air.
If you hear a clicking sound coming from the back of the fridge, then the compressor start relay is most likely working properly and is not the issue. If this is the case then the next most likely part that has gone bad is the start capacitor. These 2 parts are cheap and can be found at appliance stores and home improvement stores, even local smaller hardware stores should have some basic parts. Refrigerator compressor parts can also be found online and at extremely reasonable prices.
How to replace relay and or capacitor on a refrigerator
We recommend unplugging the refrigerator from power and sliding it out from the wall. Remove the panel on the back bottom of the fridge and visually inspect the start relay and capacitor for signs of damage. You may find signs of melting or burned areas. These parts will be on the side of the compressor. Test the start capacitor first with a capacitance meter and the start relay. If one of these parts is burned, melted, etc, and you don’t have a meter, then you can either call a repairman, go buy a multimeter, order the part online, or remove the part and take the part with you to an appliance store and match it up with the same part.
How to install a universal relay on your refrigerator compressor
There can be other issues why your refrigerator is not blowing cold air such as a bad compressor, bad temperature control thermostat, dirty condenser coils, or even the main control board may be defective. (There is a refrigerator troubleshooting guide here that can help you even further if needed.) If the Condenser Fan Motor was defective, (the blower fan in the refrigerator) then you would NOT hear it running/blowing. This help guide is to help you troubleshoot when the fan in the refrigerator is still blowing but you do NOT have cold air.
NOTE: Remember to always check to be sure that the temperature control dials or knobs inside your refrigerator are set correctly before you start removing panels and parts!
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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Carmen,
What is the model number of your Whirlpool Side By Side Refrigerator?
-RR
My refrigerator is doing the exact same thing. I’m getting ready to check it now and see if there’s a relay switch like you are talking about. So wish me luck!
I have a side by side Whirlpool and neither side will get cold but cold air is blowing out the bottom.
I had problem with my commercial cooler TMC manufacturing. Problem was cooler was working but stop cooling, i got repairman he put 3 in one part and cooler worked 1-2 hours and my fuse on electrical panel going off whenever i turn on and repairman telling me maybe compressor is no good, but cooler cooling perfectly those couple hours.
I had no idea that getting a refrigerator to start blowing cold air again could be such an easy problem to fix. However, I imagine this would still be difficult for some people, especially elderly folks who might have trouble moving and getting around to the back of the fridge. In that case, and if you don’t feel confident enough in yourself to pull off the repair job, it might be best to call a professional to help with the problem rather than risk your safety.
Jason,
If you replaced the condenser fan and start relay on the compressor and you still have same issue of NO COLD AIR… You may have a bad compressor. If you can hear the compressor running and you are sure it is running, then you could have a board issue or a wiring issue somewhere in the fridge. Most likely the r134 refrigerant did not leak out. The compressor may be faulty or a board or wiring issue is preventing it from cooling. Can you give us the model number of your GE fridge?
-RR
GE fridge where the evaporate fan was barely turning, fridge not cold, compressor running as was condenser fan. Changed the evaporate fan motor. Fridge now blowing air inside but not cold at all. Researched, found most probable issue now is comp relay. Switched it out, still same issue. Was told could be the other part that attaches to comp, called the overload or the start capacitor but they were not in stock so I did not purchase. I hear compressor running (and I did this whole time) so to me now it sounds like all the freon leaked out? Or possibly a comp that runs but is broken in some other way. What’s your take?