Today I woke up to find that my fridge decided to stop cooling. My first thought was, I needed a new fridge. Fortunately that was not the case.

Step 1: Do not panic, there are many things that can go wrong with your refrigerator that you can fix yourself.

Step 2: Check to make sure all the obvious issues are not the problem.

• Make sure the breaker did not trip.
• Make sure the door was not slightly open.
• Check for evidence that there was not power failure.
• Check the coils under the refrigerator and clean them if needed

Step 3:  If none of those presented an issue, then you will have some work to do. Troubleshoot the problem by the following steps below.

The refrigerator does nothing, no fans, no lights, not cooling… This is a power issue.

1. Double check the breakers. If the breaker has tripped then there is an issue with to power on that circuit.  If this happens more than once or twice before you call an electrician find out what is on that breaker. Switch the break to OFF and check to see what is not working. Sometime it may be lights, microwaves, electric car… etc. If you find something that is a power hog move it to another circuit and that should take care of the problem.
2. Make sure it’s plugged in and that the outlet is working. You can test the outlet with a lamp. If the lamp work in the same outlet then you can assume the outlet is good.
3. Check the power cord for any damage. If the power cord is damaged you will need to have it replaced. Most box stores will have power cord in stocks. It’s fairly simple and most come with very good directions

The refrigerator is running but it does not cool and the compressor is hot.

1. Double check to make sure that the coils are not blocked with lint, etc. You should never let dust or lint build up on the coils as this reduces the life of your refrigerator.
2. Check to make sure all the fans are working. Most refrigerators have several fans 2 -3 fans outside the box and 1-2 fans inside the box. If you find one that has failed you can easily replace it. Most of them are as easy as unplugging the old one and snapping in the new.
3. If everything appears to be working, check the compressor located under the box in the back for heat. If you can not hold you hand on it for more than a few seconds (warning they can get very hot and burn you, so be very careful). This just happens to be what happened to my refrigerator. This problem lies within three components.

• The Compressor – big job call in the pros
• The Start Device – simple you can do it.
• Overload Relay – simple you can do it.

Start off with the easy things and hope that fixes it. DO NOT FORGET TO UNPLUG the refrigerator.  This is very important since there are many places you can get electrocuted.

The start device and overload relay.

Attached to the compressor  is the start device and the relay. They plug into the side of the compressor by three pins. Many times the start device and relay are plugged in as one unit. Then can be taken apart after you unplug them. They should pull straight out from the compressor. Once you get them off, give them a little shake. If you hear a rattle then there is a chance this will be an easy fix. Take the parts and the serial number from your fridge to a local appliance shop and they can find the part for you. If you happen to notice that you have  an Embraco EGY 100 or EGY 70 today is your lucky day. Embraco has sent out a free upgrade kit, since they were having a problems with the factory installed parts. If you have an Embraco compressor make sure to ask them if they have the upgrade kit. Unfortunately, I did not have one so I was out $40. Once I had the part in hand it was simple as plugging it in and powering it up. One thing to remember it may take a few hours before the fridge is cool. If this part was the problem you will notice a temperature change in about 10 mins. But wait 3-4 hours before you start to fill it up.

If you do not see a temperature change within an hour, unplug it and call a tech or start shopping for a Refrigerator. Also don’t forget to check the warranty, I know this is an easy thing to overlook especially when the fridge is several years old.

Hopes this helps