Fridge not cooling in Gatineau?

Keep the doors closed. A full freezer holds for about 48 hours shut, a half-full one about 24. Move anything valuable to a cooler with ice if the freezer is already soft. Then note two things for us: is the freezer cold and only the fridge warm, or are both warm? And can you hear the compressor humming at the back, or is it silent, or clicking every few minutes? Those two answers narrow the fault before the technician arrives.

Freezer cold, fridge warm. The most common pattern by far, and usually the least expensive to fix. Cold air is made in the freezer and blown into the fridge by the evaporator fan through a damper. If the evaporator coil has iced into a solid block (a defrost heater, defrost thermostat or control failure), the airflow stops and the fridge side warms while the freezer stays frozen. A failed evaporator fan motor or a stuck damper produces the same symptom. Tell-tale signs: frost on the back wall of the freezer, and a fridge that improves for a day after being unplugged.

Both compartments warm, compressor running. The compressor runs but isn’t moving heat. Dirty condenser coils and a failed condenser fan are first to check; both make the compressor run hot and lose capacity. If the coils are clean and the fan turns, a low refrigerant charge or a restriction in the sealed system is likely. That is a bigger repair with its own diagnostic ($159 + tax), and the labour is quoted by phone.

Both warm, compressor silent or clicking. The compressor isn’t starting. Usually the start relay or overload on the side of the compressor (a small, inexpensive part), sometimes the control board that commands it. A compressor that hums and clicks off every few minutes is the classic relay symptom. Only if the relay tests good and the windings are open is the compressor itself the problem.

Warm only at the top, or only in a heat wave. A worn door gasket or a door that doesn’t close square lets warm air in; the fridge can’t keep up on a hot July afternoon in Gatineau and recovers overnight.

Temperature swings, food freezing in the fridge. A thermostat or thermistor reporting the wrong temperature, or a damper stuck open. See fridge freezing food.

Warm after a power outage. If the display is lit but the compressor still won’t start once the fridge is out of demo mode, the cause is usually a relay or the control board.

The technician measures both compartment temperatures, checks the compressor’s starting and running current, tests the start relay and overload, inspects and if needed cleans the condenser coils, and checks the condenser and evaporator fans. The freezer back panel comes off so the evaporator can be inspected for ice and the defrost heater, defrost thermostat and control tested, followed by the damper, the thermistors and the door gaskets. On models with an ice maker or water dispenser, the water valve and lines are checked at the same visit.

That sequence separates an inexpensive relay from a sealed-system job. You get the finding in plain language, in French or English, with a written quote before anything is replaced and a written diagnostic report afterwards.

Diagnosis costs $89 + tax for a home ($129 + tax for a business), and that fee is credited to the repair if you approve it. Typical not-cooling repairs, parts and labour included:

• Start relay or capacitor: typically $150–$280
• Thermostat or temperature control: typically $150–$300
• Evaporator or condenser fan motor: typically $200–$350
• Defrost heater, defrost thermostat or control board: typically $200–$400
• Door gasket: typically $200–$350

These are typical ranges, not quotes: the technician puts the actual price in writing before any work, and the full guide is on fridge repair cost in Gatineau. On a home fridge, compressor and refrigerant work is diagnosed separately at $159 + tax, and that labour is quoted by phone.

An after-hours visit (9 PM to 7 AM) adds a flat $100. There is no cross-river surcharge: Hull, Aylmer and central Gatineau are well inside our standard service area. Parts and labour carry a 3-month warranty.

Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, Frigidaire, KitchenAid, Bosch, Electrolux, Kenmore, Amana, Inglis, Fisher & Paykel, Blomberg, Sub-Zero and Viking. Top-freezer, bottom-freezer, side-by-side, French-door, counter-depth and built-in refrigerators, plus stand-alone freezers. Brand pages for Gatineau: Samsung fridge repair in Gatineau, LG fridge repair in Gatineau and Whirlpool fridge repair in Gatineau. For a French-door unit, see French-door fridge repair; for an LG, see LG fridge not cooling. B&M Canada Appliances has been in business since 1995.

A relay, fan, defrost part, thermostat or gasket on a fridge under twelve years old is a clear repair: a few hundred dollars against $1,500 to $3,000 for a replacement. A sealed-system leak or a failed compressor on a fridge more than ten years old is where a new fridge is often the better buy; the technician will tell you plainly which you have. The repair or replace a fridge guide sets out the decision by age and by fault. If you replace, appliance installation in Gatineau handles placement, levelling and the water line.

We cover all sectors of the City of Gatineau: Hull, Aylmer, the Plateau, Vieux-Hull, Pointe-Gatineau, Limbour, Touraine, Buckingham and Masson-Angers. Sector pages: appliance repair in Hull and appliance repair in Aylmer. The Gatineau fridge hub is fridge repair in Gatineau; the Ottawa equivalent of this page is fridge not cooling in Ottawa.

En français : réfrigérateur qui ne refroidit pas à Gatineau · réparation de réfrigérateur à Gatineau · prix de réparation de réfrigérateur.

Related problems: fridge making noise · fridge leaking water · ice maker not working · freezer not freezing · congélateur qui ne congèle pas.