My Freezer Thermostat Is Broken

Symptoms

• If your freezer thermostat is broken, your refrigerator won't be cool enough and food in your freezer may begin to thaw out. Alternatively, the refrigerator and freezer may be too cold. For example, if food in your refrigerator freezes over, your freezer thermostat may be set too high or may not be working correctly. Try changing your thermostat settings before concluding the thermostat is broken.

Troubleshooting

• Test the thermostat to see if it's the cause of the cooling problems in your refrigerator. First, check the dial to make sure it's set to the proper temperature. Someone may have bumped it and made the refrigerator too cool or too hot. If the thermostat is set on the correct temperature, put a cup of water in the refrigerator and a cup of cooking oil in the freezer. Put a cooking thermometer into each cup and check the temperature after 12 hours. If the temperature is changing in accordance with your thermostat settings, the problem isn't the thermostat.

Testing the Thermostat

• You can test the thermostat using a multimeter.Unplug your refrigerator and remove the thermostat control panel cover. This panel may be located on either the inside or outside of the freezer; remove any food items that are blocking it. Examine the thermostat and note where the two wires on the thermostat plug into. Remove these wires with a pair of needle-nose pliers and connect your multimeter to the thermostat. You should get a reading of zero. If you get any other reading, the thermostat is faulty. You have to replace the thermostat; there's no way to fix it.

Other Causes

• Your refrigerator's temperature problem may also be caused by frost buildup on the evaporator coils. If the evaporator coils frost over, air can't circulate through the refrigerator properly. This type of problem is often caused by problems with the defrost timer, defrost heater, evaporator fan or condenser fan. Check for frost on the evaporator coils on the back of the freezer and call your service technician if you find this problem.