If you turn down the refrigerator to a cooler temperature, but you don’t hear the refrigerator click on, you may need to replace your refrigerator thermostat. A refrigerator thermostat may be difficult to locate and expose, but once you’ve found it, a thermostat is easily replaced. While most refrigerator thermostats are around a hundred dollars, this fix can save you a lot of money when compared to the replacement cost of many refrigerators.
Step 2: Find your refrigerator’s thermostat. On a standard refrigerator, it will be located in the back of the freezer. If you cannot locate your thermostat, consult your refrigerator’s owners manual for more information.
Step 3: Remove any obstructions to the thermostat, including wire racks, food, and the ice maker as applicable.
Step 4: Remove the back panel of your freezer to gain access to the thermostat. The back panel may pull out, or you may need to remove some screws.
Step 5: Locate the thermostat and remove the wires from the terminals, using needle nose pliers to grip the wire near the terminal in order to remove it. Avoid gripping in the center of the wire and pulling: you may accidentally break or damage the wire.
Step 6: Remove the screws holding the old thermostat to the back of the freezer. Some refrigerator thermostats may not be screwed to the back of the freezer, but may be placed inside a bracket. In this case, carefully remove the old thermostat from the bracket.
Step 7: Place the new thermostat in the bracket or screw it into the back of the freezer using the screws you removed in the previous step.
Step 8: Reattach the wires to ends of the terminals of the thermostat, making sure to replace the wires in the appropriate location.
Step 9: Replace any panels you had to remove to gain access to the refrigerator thermostat. Also replace any racks, ice makers, or food you had to remove in order to replace the refrigerator thermostat.
Step 10: Turn back on the electricity to the refrigerator. If you have installed the thermostat correctly, the condenser should turn on and start cooling the refrigerator.
Step 2Locate the thermostat on your fridge. For most refrigerators with the freezer on top, the thermostat is either at the rear of the freezer compartment or on the underside of the refrigerator’s floor panel. In a side-by-side fridge, the thermostat will be located in the back, on the freezer side.
Step 3Remove the icemaker and any food or shelves located in front of the thermostat. Depending on the construction of your refrigerator, you may have to loosen a few screws or remove some retaining clips to take out the inside panel of the freezer.
Step 4Use needle-nose pliers to remove the wires from the ends of the thermostat’s terminals. Grip the wires close to the end and gently tug until the slip-on connectors pull away from the terminal. Do not pull from the middle of the wires because they are thin and can break easily.
Step 5Remove any screws or clamps holding the thermostat in place. Some refrigerator models have the thermostat clamped around the evaporator tube, so be careful not to damage this tube while loosening the thermostat. Others may have a clip that can be released before pulling the thermostat up and out of the assembly.
Step 6Set the new thermostat in place and reconnect any clips, clamps or screws. If you had to unclamp the thermostat from the fridge’s evaporator tube in the previous step, be sure to clamp the new thermostat in the same location. Slip the ends of the wires onto the terminals of the new thermostat. Replace any inside panels, screws or clips that you removed. Plug the refrigerator’s cord back into the electrical outlet or flip the breaker back on, and wait for the unit to cool down.
