An LG Refrigerator That Stopped Cooling in Both Compartments in Alhambra

When Both the Fridge and Freezer Go Warm: An LG in Alhambra

A homeowner in Alhambra called A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance about an LG refrigerator that had stopped cooling, and not just in one section. Both the refrigerator and the freezer had gone warm. That detail matters more than it sounds, because where a refrigerator fails tells you a great deal about why.

One warm compartment versus two

Most refrigerators make all of their cold in one place and share it between the two compartments. So when only the refrigerator section goes warm while the freezer stays cold, the story is usually about air distribution, a fan or a defrost problem that stops cold air from reaching the fresh-food side.

When both compartments go warm at the same time, that points somewhere else entirely. It usually means the unit is struggling to make cold at all, and that turns attention to the parts responsible for producing and rejecting heat: the condenser coils, the condenser fan, the compressor, and the sealed refrigeration system. If those cannot do their job, neither compartment gets cold, no matter how well the air is being moved around inside.

The most common reason a whole refrigerator quits

Before assuming the worst, our technician started with the most common and most fixable cause: the condenser coils. These are the coils, usually underneath or behind the refrigerator, that shed the heat the unit pulls out of your food. Their entire job is to release that heat into the room. When they are caked in dust, pet hair, and grease, they cannot release heat efficiently, and a refrigerator that cannot get rid of heat cannot make cold. The compressor runs and runs, the whole box drifts warm, and the unit works itself harder and harder for less and less result.

This is one of the most overlooked maintenance items in any home, and in a lot of no-cooling calls it is the root cause or a major contributor. So the coils and the condenser fan that pulls air across them were checked and serviced.

From there, the technician evaluated the rest of the cooling side, confirming the compressor was running and the unit was actually able to produce cold once its ability to reject heat was restored. Checking the whole chain, rather than stopping at the first thing found, is what separates a repair that lasts from one that has the refrigerator warm again in a week.

What we did

We serviced the refrigerator and addressed what was keeping it from cooling, cleaning and restoring the components the unit depends on to make and hold cold. With the work done, our technician confirmed both the freezer and the refrigerator compartment were pulling back down into their proper temperature ranges, not just starting to feel cooler, but actually reaching the temperatures that keep food safe.

That verification is the important part on a total no-cool call. A refrigerator that is beginning to recover and a refrigerator that is genuinely holding temperature are two different things, and only one of them keeps your groceries safe.

Keeping a refrigerator cooling

The single most valuable habit for refrigerator longevity is keeping the condenser coils clean. Vacuuming or brushing them a couple of times a year, more often if you have pets, dramatically reduces the strain on the compressor and prevents a large share of the no-cooling failures we are called out for. Give the refrigerator some breathing room, too, since a unit crammed tight against a wall or into a tight cabinet cannot shed heat well. And keep an eye on how hard and how often it is running. A refrigerator that never seems to cycle off is often a refrigerator quietly telling you its coils need attention.

About A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance

We service LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, GE, Bosch, Sub-Zero, and every other major refrigerator brand throughout Alhambra, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley. Our technicians are certified and carry common parts, which is why a cooling repair can often be diagnosed and completed in a single visit.

We quote the price upfront before any work begins, we waive the service call fee when you go ahead with the repair, and every completed repair is backed by our full repair warranty. If your refrigerator has gone warm in both the fridge and the freezer, call sooner rather than later. When the whole unit stops cooling, the food inside does not have long, and the fix is often simpler and less expensive than people fear.