HELP-Refridgerator Temp Problem

my refidgerator is about 3 years old- the problem I'm having is that it freezes everything. The temp gauge says that 5 is normal- I have set it down to 3 and things are still freezing- mainly on the bottom 2 shelves and the crisper drawers... Any ideas on what is going on and how I can fix this????

 

Keep going. Go to #2...then to #1, if you have to. Use a good alcohol thermometer to set in the refrigerator and freezer compartment. If, by making these adjustments to a lower setting, and it works, then you have the choice of just leaving it that way or recalibrating your thermostat. Some models have an eyeglass size screw you can turn, on the thermostat, to make the calibration adjustment. You have to have some patience with this task as to insertion and also finely tuning it, as you may go too far one one and then have to return the screw the other direction again. Been there, done that. The last job I did though, that was extremely off, I ended up getting it about perfect so that when the number was at the normal setting I had the refrigerator temp about 35, and the freezer temp was about 0. (You need the freezer near 0 if you want good hard icecream)

Also make sure you refrigerator light goes off when you close the door. If it stays on, the refrigerator will run and run, and depending on the size bulb you have...either the ref. compartment can get warm while the freezer part gets colder and colder, or, if you have a low watt bulb in the ref., in theory it is conceivable that the bulb, due to it's location by the thermostat, could warm up the thermostat (causing the unit to call for cold), without warming up the ref. that much, and cause the unit to run and run and cause the bottom of the ref. to get cold (due to cold air sinks.)...maybe. It's jsut worth a quick look to make sure.

 

The t-stat may not be turning off the compressor or there might be some air control flap that has closed between the freezer and the fridge compartment. All the cold air comes fromt the freezer. If the air never gets to the food compartment it will never matter what your t-stat setting is. Sometimes a packed freezer will block the vent. Check for that.

My t-stat was stuck off. I found 2 screwdriver tweek adjustments behind my t-stat cover plate. When I wiggled them, the fridge came back to life. You may need to turn the dial back and forth to see how these tweeks affect the control. If this fails, I would say your t-stat is bad.