Is your Frigidaire freezer freezing but the fridge is warm? Discover how to fix common issues like a frozen damper or failed evaporator fan with our DIY guide.
When your Frigidaire refrigerator has a cold freezer but a warm refrigerator compartment, it’s because the movement of cold air is restricted. The cold air from the freezer isn’t flowing to the other compartment as it should. That happens because of a failed evaporator fan, a frozen evaporator coil, a frozen damper door, or a failed damper motor.
Quick Fix Snippet: Fridge Warm, Freezer Cold
When one compartment is cold and the other is warm, it usually points to an airflow problem rather than a total cooling failure. Try these four steps to restore cooling to your refrigerator:
- Test the Evaporator Fan: Listen for the fan running behind the back wall of the freezer. If the freezer is silent or making a loud chirping noise, the fan motor has likely failed and isn’t blowing cold air into the fridge section.
- Inspect the Air Damper: The damper is the small door that allows cold air to flow from the freezer to the fridge. If it’s frozen shut or the damper motor has burned out, the fridge will stay warm. You can often clear this by performing a manual defrost.
- Perform a 24-Hour Manual Defrost: If your evaporator coils (located behind the freezer panel) have iced over, air cannot pass through them. Unplug the unit and leave the doors open for 24 hours to melt all hidden ice.
- Check the Return Air Vents: Look for any frozen food or containers blocking the vents at the bottom or sides of the fridge and freezer. Blocking these vents prevents the “loop” of air needed to keep the refrigerator compartment at 37 deg F.
Why Is My Frigidaire Refrigerator Warm But The Freezer Is Cold?
Failed Evaporator Fan
About this: The cooling system on your Frigidaire refrigerator has two halves: the condenser and the evaporator sides. The evaporator side is the one that runs inside the fridge, circulating refrigerant to remove heat and lower temperatures.
Part of that system is an evaporator fan. It distributes the cold air by blowing it through both compartments. The cold air begins in the freezer compartment, where the evaporator fan then blows some of it to the refrigeration side.
What’s gone wrong: The first and most likely reason you have a cold freezer, but warm refrigerator compartment is that the evaporator fan has failed.
When that happens, all the cold air stays in the freezer, and none of it gets sent to the other compartment. That’s why only one side is cold while the other isn’t.
More specifically, the failure could be due to the following:
- A failed fan motor: In this case, the fan isn’t turning because it isn’t working. It could be faulty, worn out, or damaged by an electrical fault like a short circuit.
- A damaged or jammed fan blade: On the other hand, the motor could be fine, but the fan blade is the problem. It could be broken, frozen over, or jammed with a foreign object.
How to fix it: This problem is solved by getting the evaporator fan running again. That could mean replacing the damaged fan blade, removing anything restricting its movements, or changing the fan motor.
The fan is concealed behind the rear wall of the compartment. So, you’ll have to unthread its screws and take the panel off to access the fan.
Read: Frigidaire Refrigerator – Ice Maker Not Making Enough Ice. How To Fix It?
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Frozen Evaporator Coil
About this: Earlier, you read how one side of the fridge’s cooling system is the evaporator. That part consists of coils hidden behind the compartment’s rear wall.
When refrigerant passes through the evaporator coil, it absorbs and removes any heat inside the compartment.
That makes the coil very cold and helps to cool down the compartment further.
What’s gone wrong: Unfortunately, the cold temperatures around the evaporator coil can cause frost and ice buildup. When that buildup becomes too severe, the whole evaporator coil will freeze over.
Here, what’s happening is that a section of the evaporator coils in the freezer have frozen, preventing any cold air from being supplied to the refrigerator compartment.
The evaporator coil has an automatic defroster that’s meant to prevent this problem from happening. But unfortunately, there are times when it’s not enough to prevent the evaporator coils from freezing completely.
How to fix it: You’ll have to defrost the ice built up around the evaporator coil. You can do that by shutting the Frigidaire refrigerator and leaving the freezer door open for at least a day.
Once you do that, the unit’s defrosting components can take over and prevent frost and ice from accumulating.
Never use a heat gun or hairdryer to defrost the ice buildup. Those tools shoot a concentrated blast of heat that can warp the fridge’s plastic panels.
Read: Frigidaire Refrigerator – Ice Maker Not Working. How To Troubleshoot It?
Damper Is Frozen
About this: The damper door is one of the most critical components for keeping the refrigerator compartment cold. That small door allows cold air to flow from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment.
The damper is controlled by a motor that opens and closes as needed to ensure that the fridge is as cold as you set it.
What’s gone wrong: In the previous section, you read about how ice can freeze the evaporator coils over. Unfortunately, the same can also happen at the damper door.
When that happens, the ice could prevent the damper door from opening. As a result, the cold air from the freezer can’t flow into the refrigerator compartment.
How to fix it: A frozen damper must be defrosted so it can open and close normally again. Again, you can defrost it by turning the fridge off and leaving the doors open overnight.
If that’s not a practical solution for you, you can remove the panel that hides the damper and take the damper out completely.
Then, you can defrost it outside your fridge while keeping its doors closed to maintain some coldness for your food items inside.
Read: Frigidaire Refrigerator Beeping 5 Times – Troubleshooting Guide
Faulty Damper Motor
About this: The damper door described above is opened and closed by a damper motor. The motor will open the door wider to let more cold air flow into the refrigerator compartment when it’s too warm.
What’s gone wrong: Unfortunately, the damper door motor could fail and prevent the door from moving.
The reason is that the motor has likely worn out after being used so many times. That’s especially true if you’ve had your Frigidaire refrigerator for years.
However, the motor can also wear out if it often struggles to open and close the frozen damper door.
Suppose the damper door is closed when the motor fails. In that case, it’ll be stuck in that position, blocking any cold air from flowing to the refrigerator compartment.
How to fix it: A failed damper motor will continue to prevent your refrigerator compartment from cooling down. Unfortunately, it’s not practical to try and repair the motor itself.
Instead, a more practical and straightforward solution is to purchase a new motor and replace it in your refrigerator. That way, you’ll minimize your fridge’s downtime and quickly get it working again.
Read: Frigidaire Refrigerator – SY EF Error Code – How To Troubleshoot It?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I Defrost My Fridge Without Turning It Off?
Yes, you can defrost your fridge by placing a pot of hot water inside the compartment and closing the door. The pot’s steam will help melt away ice build-ups inside the compartment.
Read: 6 Reasons Why Frigidaire Refrigerator Is Not Cooling
Where Are The Evaporator Coils On A Frigidaire Refrigerator?
The evaporator coils are concealed behind the rear wall of your freezer compartment. You’ll need to remove several screws to access the coils before removing the panel itself.
Is Frost In A Fridge Bad?
No, a little bit of frost in your Frigidaire refrigerator is normal and safe. It only becomes a problem when too much frost builds up and becomes solid ice. Ice build-ups can prevent cold air from the freezer moving to the refrigerator compartment.
How Can You Tell The Difference Between An Evaporator And A Condenser?
The evaporator coils in your Frigidaire unit are cold, but the condenser coils are hot. That’s because of the refrigerant temperature as they flow through those parts.
Recommended Maintenance & Repair Parts
To fix the underlying cause of your cooling imbalance, you may need to replace one of these specific components.
- Evaporator Fan Motor: If your freezer is cold but you don’t hear a fan running, this motor is the most likely culprit.
- Air Damper Control Assembly: This part manages the physical door that opens and closes to regulate fridge temperature.
- Refrigerator
Thermometer : Essential for verifying that your manual defrost or repair has successfully returned the fridge to a safe temperature.
