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Maytag fridges come with built-in lights that turn on every time you open the compartment door. The light isn’t the most popular feature, though it is crucial. It allows you to clearly see all the contents of your fridge to grab what you need quickly.
The fridge light in your Maytag unit will stop working if you leave the door open too long, the door switch becomes faulty, its wire harness comes unplugged, or the light bulb has blown out. Besides that, a loose light bulb or activated door switch will also cause the fridge to keep the interior light off.
As you read through this guide, you’ll learn the most common reasons your fridge light isn’t turning on as it should. You’ll also learn how to fix the root cause and get that light back on quickly.
Why Is My Maytag Fridge Light Not Working?
The interior light inside your Maytag refrigerator should turn on anytime you open the door. Here are the most likely reasons that might not happen and what you can do to get the light working again:
Door Left Open Too Long
Affected part: The first parts you’ll want to troubleshoot are the doors on your Maytag refrigerator. Each door works with door switches (which you’ll learn more about later).
Whenever the door switch senses that you’ve opened the door, it’ll trigger the fridge light to turn on. The opposite is also true, as the switch will cause the light to go off when the door is closed.
What’s likely happening: Your Maytag fridge light is not working because you’ve had the door open for too long. The light should turn on whenever you open the fridge or freezer compartment door, as you saw above.
However, if the door remains open for more than 10 minutes, the fridge will automatically turn the fridge light off. Not only does this preserve power, but it also helps to prevent overusing the light bulb.
How to fix it: Generally, it’s not good to leave your fridge door open for too long. Though, that might be necessary if you’re moving a lot of items in or out of the compartment or if you’re performing inspections and repairs.
However, if the light goes out during that time, you can reset it by closing the fridge door for a few seconds before opening it again.
The interior fridge light will work normally again.
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Read: Why Maytag Fridge Too Cold?
Door Switch Faulty Or Being Activated
Affected part: After troubleshooting the door, you should then focus on the door switch. As mentioned above, the door switch is there to sense whether or not the fridge door is open.
When the switch senses that the door is open, it’ll turn on the fridge light and then shut it off when the door is closed.
Depending on your Maytag fridge model, you’ll find the door switch at the bottom or top of the fridge’s opening.
What’s likely happening: If the fridge’s interior light doesn’t turn on when you open the fridge door, the next likely reason is that the door switch is being activated somehow.
In other words, the door switch is signaling to the fridge that the door is still closed, even though it’s not. As a result, the fridge keeps its interior light turned off.
That problem will happen if the door switch is faulty or somehow being activated. For example, the door switch might be stuck, or there might be a magnetic foreign object stuck to it.
How to fix it: You can fix this issue by checking each of your fridge’s door switches. It’s best to refer to the user manual to locate and identify the door switches on your particular Maytag fridge model.
Firstly, clear the door switch of any foreign metallic or magnetic objects that might be stuck on it. If that doesn’t help, you’ll have to remove and test the door switch for any problems.
It’s critical to replace any faulty door switch immediately. Not only does the door switch affect the interior light, but it also controls the fridge’s cooling system.
Read: How To Put Maytag Fridge In Defrost Mode?
Unplugged Wire Harness
Affected part: All components inside your Maytag refrigerator receive electrical power and signals through wire harnesses. The same is also true for the interior light that also has a wire harness connecting it to the rest of the appliance.
In this case, you’re looking for the wire harness and plug that’s under the top hinge cover of the refrigerator. That’s the one responsible for powering the interior light.
Remember! Before you check the wire harness, be sure to disconnect the refrigerator from its power source. That will reduce your risk of injury and prevent electrocution.
What’s likely happening: There is a strong possibility that your Maytag fridge light isn’t working because it’s not receiving any power. That will happen if its wire harness is disconnected for any reason.
The wire harness can be disconnected by accident, such as during transportation or repair. For example, someone might have disconnected it as they removed the fridge door to perform a fix. Then, when reinstalling the door, they might have forgotten to reconnect the wire harness.
How to fix it: Fixing this will take seconds once you locate the wire harness. If it’s disconnected, push it back fully into the plug.
Remember: always start by disconnecting the fridge from its power source for safety reasons.
Read: Why Maytag Fridge Is Freezing Food? Troubleshooting Guide
Loose Or Blown Light Bulb
Affected part: Lastly, you should also consider the possibility that the lightbulb isn’t working because it’s loose or has blown out.
The same is also true for Maytag fridge models that use LED light bulbs or an LED light assembly.
What’s likely happening: The lightbulb in your Maytag fridge typically lasts throughout the fridge’s useful lifespan. One reason they last so long is that these lights are only used for brief periods whenever you open the fridge door.
Despite that, electrical faults like a power surge could cause the light bulb to blow out, regardless of whether or not it’s an LED bulb.
Alternatively, a recent repair or replacement could have left the light bulb too loose to work correctly.
As for LED light assemblies, the same electrical fault could also cause its components to burn out, stopping it from working.
How to fix it: You only need to tighten a loose lightbulb to get it working again. However, you must replace a blown light bulb, whether that’s a standalone bulb or an LED light assembly.
You must disconnect the fridge from its power source before you remove or install a lightbulb inside your Maytag refrigerator. That’s to protect you from injury and remove any danger of electrocution.
Read: 5 Common Maytag Fridge Problems
Bonus Tips
Here are a few more questions and answers to keep in mind as you troubleshoot your Maytag fridge light:
What Kind Of Lightbulb Do You Use In A Refrigerator?
Refrigerators generally use small, low-power lightbulbs with a screw-in base that’s specially made for home appliances. However, these days LED lightbulbs and assemblies are becoming increasingly common in home appliances, including Maytag refrigerators.
Can I Put LED Lights In My Refrigerator?
Yes, you can replace your refrigerator’s incandescent lightbulb with an LED one. However, make sure that the new lightbulb has a compatible base, and that the wattage is equivalent. The wattage on LED bulbs is lower than that of older incandescent bulbs.
Are Fridge Bulbs Universal?
Fridge light bulbs are universal because they use standardized light bulb bases. Therefore, you can use the same lightbulb in any brand or model refrigerator as long as the base type matches.
Read: Why Maytag Fridge Is Leaking Water? Troubleshooting Guide
Why Has My Fridge Light Gone Off?
Your fridge light typically goes off when the door is closed or when the door switch is activated. Besides that, the light will also turn off if you leave the fridge door open for too long. Assuming none of that is the case, it’s likely the bulb has gone out, and you’ll need to replace it.
Will Food Go Bad If Fridge Light Goes Out?
No, the interior fridge light has no effect on the food items that you store inside the compartment. The only outcome is that the compartment will be too dark for you to see all parts clearly. As long as the fridge is cooling as it should, your food items will be fine.
