LG is an industry leader in making high-quality refrigerators that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
This has made them popular choices in the modern era for those who need a robust and modern fridge for their kitchen.
However, despite all of LG’s technological advancements and innovations, many users have reported running into the problem of their refrigerator not cooling.
Of course, cooling is the primary purpose of a refrigerator, so when this function doesn’t work, it essentially makes the appliance useless until this problem is fixed.
So in this article, we’re going to walk through all the main reasons why your LG refrigerator will stop cooling, as well as the best methods to get it back up and running again.
Why is your LG refrigerator not cooling?
The core method of refrigeration is not that complicated. Evaporation and heat dispersion is used to cool the air inside of the fridge down so your food stays nice and fresh.
However, despite the overall simplicity of the process, modern refrigerators have become quite complicated machines packed with quality-of-life technologies and computer-based software to provide all those new features we love on LG fridges.
The downside to these newer feature-rich refrigerators is that there are now significantly more points of failure, which can make pinning down the exact cause of the problem a little more challenging.
With that in mind, let’s go through all the primary reasons why your LG fridge will stop cooling.
1.ย The condenser fan motor is faulty
The condenser fan’s job is to draw cold air in from the outside, usually from the front or rear of the fridge, which then cools the condenser coil cools, and the compressor, which is then re-circulated back out via the bottom exhaust grill.
This is a fundamental process in how the fridge can cool. So when this fan experiences a fault, the refrigerator will not be able to function well.
A few issues can prevent the condenser coil fan from performing correctly. Most of the time, it’s just that it’s failed and needs to be replaced.ย
But sometimes, it can be that the fan blades have become dirty or clogged up with hair, making them challenging to spin. This is much easier to address.
2. The evaporator fan motor is faulty
The evaporator fan is another part of the circulation system within the fridge. It supports the condenser fan by pulling cold air through the evaporator coils, which allows the accumulated heat to be extracted from the air.
So when this component either breaks or experiences a fault, theย cool air can’t be circulated back into the fridge.
While the condenser fan can still pull a little bit of weight here, what usually happens is the freezer section may remain quite cold (as it’s close to where the coils sit), but the lower portion of the fridge, such as the fresh food compartment, will be warm.
For optimal functioning, we need the entire fridge to be cool, so this problem should be addressed quickly, or anything stored in the lower portion of the refrigerator will go bad.
3. The Inverter Linear Compressor has failed
The Inverter Linear Compressor is one of LG’s newer technological advancements.
The idea behind it is that the small temperature fluctuations that occur under normal refrigeration can negatively affect the taste and freshness of food as it hasn’t been refrigerated at a stable temperature.
So the Inverter Linear Compressor was designed to maintain the absolute optimal freshness of products by eliminating these small temperature fluctuations and keeping the fridge’s internal temperature as consistent as possible.
LG electronics fridges also boast that this specially designed LG refrigerator compressor produces less noise and saves more energy than traditional compressors.
Sounds ideal, right?
While the fridge will still be able to cool without this technology, it will negatively affect the freshness of the food inside and leave your fridge susceptible to temperature fluctuations.
Fortunately, these compressors come with a generous 10-year warranty, so it is relatively easy to get serviced by LG.
4. Broken compressor start relay
The start relay is responsible for turning the compressor on and off at certain temperature thresholds to maintain as consistent a temperature as possible inside the refrigerator.
It doesn’t cool the machine itself. You can think of it as the on/off switch for the compressor,ย which does the cooling.
This means that when the relay breaks or becomes faulty, the compressor will not perform well, and your fridge will not be able to cool.
You can check if your relay is going bad by checking if the fridge is warm or by listening for an audible clicking noise.
Each time the relay starts, there is usually just a single click. However, if the relay cannot start the compressor, it will try again. So if you can hear a repeated clicking sound, it’s a good indication the relay is going bad.
Another way to diagnose a faulty relay is to remove it from the fridge and see if there is an audible rattling sound inside the relay. This also indicates the relay is bad and needs to be replaced.
5. The condenser coils are dirty
The condenser coils are where the compressor pushes the hot air through the coils, and the vent fins work to dissipate the heat.
As the condenser coils generally sit along the back of the fridge and are exposed, they tend to gather things like dust, debris, and pet hair over time.
The condenser coils rely on the small gaps between them for the heat to dissipate, so when they get clogged up, it tends to trap the heat and severely limit the cooling process.
This makes the fridge need to work much harder to keep things cool and could end up breaking something.
6. Faulty thermostat
The thermostat monitors the fridge’s internal temperature and tells the evaporator fan, condenser fan, and compressor when it’s too hot, and they need to turn on and cool things down.
You can think of it as the main brain of the fridge telling everything else what to do.
If the temperature control thermostat goes bad, the other elements will not work correctly, and the fridge will stop cooling.
Often the thermostat will need to be replaced.
7. The control board is broken
Modern refrigerators are leaning much heavier into computer software-based control than ever.
And as such, the control board of the fridge can sometimes experience faults or glitches which prevent it from cooling.
Sometimes all you need to do is restart the fridge, but if it’s broken, you may need to replace the control board completely.
How to fix an LG refrigerator not cooling
Multiple important components play a role in allowing the fridge to cool and maintain its temperature.
If any of these parts fail, then the whole cooling ecosystem will not be able to function.
So now let’s go through how to fix these problems so your LG electronics fridge can function normally again.
1. Repair the faulty condenser fan motor
The condenser fan is a vital part of the cooling process, so if it breaks or becomes faulty, the easiest option is to clean it out, which can sometimes restore functionality. Otherwise,ย you can replace it.
Start by ensuring the fridge is powered off, as you don’t want to remove components while electricity is still being sent to the refrigerator.
- Remove the rear access cover from the motor compartment
- Clean out the fan blades using a brush and turn the blades by hand to see if it binds
- If it appears to move freely, you can try to turn the fridge on and see if it operates now
- If it’s still not able to cool, remove the old motor by disconnecting the old one and installing a new one
- Plug it back into the power source
- Check the temperature and ensure it’s cooling properly
2. Replace the evaporator fan motor
Similarly to the condenser fan motor, if the evaporator fan has become faulty, it may need to be replaced.
- Unplug the fridge from the power
- Remove the contents of the fridge and the internal shelving
- Release the back wall from the freezer by removing the screws
- Remove the wire connectors from the evaporator fan motor and pull off the fan and shroud covering it
- Pull the evaporator fan out from the shroud and replace it with the new one
- Put it back in place and reattach the connectors
After the installation, you can reinstall the back panel and power the freezer up. Be sure to check the temperature and that it’s now cooling correctly.
3. Replace the faulty Inverter Linear Compressor
While this can technically be replaced yourself, LG takes great pride in this technology and its reliability. So all LG Refrigerators that use a linear compressor come with a whopping 10-year warranty.
To ensure you don’t void the warranty by working on the LG freezer yourself, we recommend contacting LG support and having them fix or replace the compressor.
4. Replace the bad start relay
If you hear a continuous clicking, it usually indicates the relay is struggling to start the compressor, and we recommend replacing it with a new one.
You can always have LG do this for you, but if you wish to replace it yourself, you should start by removing the fridge’s access panel, which is located at the back and bottom of the refrigerator.
Remove the start relay cap and disconnect the relay from the LG freezer.
Insert the new relay and connect it to the fridge, then reinstall the cap and access panel.
Plug the fridge back in, listenย for the click, and see if the compressor is starting to follow it up.
5. Clean out the condensing coils
By cleaning out the dirty condenser coil and removing all that built-up dirt and hair that likes to collect between them, we can dramatically increase how effectively the fridge can cool itself.
This is quite an easy process. You must get a relatively stiff brush and clean out anything collected between the coils.
If it’s stuck on there, you can use hot soapy water to help out. Makeย sure it’s had time to dry before starting the fridge back up.
6. Replace the faulty thermostat
The thermostat is one of the essential parts of the fridge and needs to be in operation for it to cool.
These relatively cheap components are easy to replace, so we recommend just replacing them with a new one. You can contact LG support, who will help provide you with a replacement temperature control thermostat.
7. Replace the main control board
While this isn’t a particularly common cause of the fridge not cooling, softwareย bugs and issues can play a big part in the poor performance of more modern fridges that rely heavily on computer software.
The first thing to try is a ‘hard reset,’ which involves turning the machine off and completely unplugging it from the power. Leave it off for a good 5 minutes, then replug it back in.
This allows the computer system and RAM to flush and start up fresh.
If this doesn’t work, the control board may haveย gone bad. In this scenario, we don’t recommend replacing it yourself, and you should contact LG support to help you sort out a replacement.
8. Replace the Start Capacitor
In addition to the start relay, the start capacitor works by sending a power boost to the compressor to help it start up. So if this component often breaks, the start relay alone is not enough to power the compressor.
You can test the start capacitor with a multimeter to ascertain whether it’s functional.
If it doesn’t have continuity, the start capacitor has failed and needs to be replaced with a new one.
Adrian is an ISCET licensed professional that has completed the National Appliance Service Technician Certification Exam and has the expertise to diagnose and repair any appliance. He is well-versed in the latest technologies and techniques and is always up-to-date on the latest industry standards.
