My refrigerator is not as cold as it should be. The digital read out says it's 36 degrees but when I put a thermometer inside and leave it there it only reads 47 degrees.

FREEZER /FRIDGE NOT COOLING: Optimum refrigerator temperature at or below40° F(4° C). The freezer temperature should be0° F(-18° C). Check temperatures periodically. Appliance thermometers are the best way of knowing these

Put a freezer thermometer in the freezer and see if it reads +34 degrees, then put it in the refrigerator. If the freezer reading is above 0 degrees, say +34, then the freezer is too warm. If the refrigerator is reading 34 and the freezer is way cold, then the refrigerator is getting too cold. This could be either a thermostat setting too cold or the sensing isn't reading properly or a much more serious issue. Generally a refrigerator should be no warmer than +40 but not freezing either +32 degrees and a freezer should be about 0 degrees. Make sure nothing is blocking the air flow duct work or where the sensors are located.

Hi Susan,
I had the same problem with food freezing on the bottom of the compartment, especially the veggies. I had set the thermostat to 34 for cold beer but I guess the thermostat is off a bit. I put a thermometer on the bottom shelf to make sure that I had control of the temp and set my thermostat until it was 36 inside. The thermostat on the front reads 40. I guess that 38 might be the magic number for you.

probably fan gone get man out or bin it dont suppose they bothered fixing it as selling

1. The first thing you must know is that your refrigerator should be set at 37-38 degrees. Anything at 40 or higher and you are risking food born illness (food poisoning) or spoiling your food. Place your magnetic thermometer in the refrigerator.

2. Set your dial on your refrigerator to the second lowest setting. (If your refrigerator is already equipped with a digital thermostat, simply set it for 37 or 38 degrees and do not move on to the next step)

3. After 2 hours, check your thermometer reading. If your reading is 38 degrees, there is no need to go higher and you are ready to put your groceries in. Be sure not to open and close your refrigerator during these two hours or your temperature reading will be incorrect.

4. If your reading is higher than 38 degrees, move your dial up to the next coldest setting and repeat the steps every two hours until you reach the correct temperature for your refrigerator.

5. Once you have reached the correct refrigeration temperature for your refrigerator, place the magnetic thermometer in the refrigerator permanently and watch for changes.

Typically, your refrigerator temperature will need to be adjusted with the seasons, a higher setting in the summer and a lower setting in the winter.

Hello,

By keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold, it unnecessarily wastes electricity. The recommended temperature is 37 to 40 degrees for the fresh food compartment of the refrigerator. The recommended temperature for the freezer compartment is 5 degrees. If you have a separate freezer for long-term food storage, it should kept at 0 to -5 degrees.

The following steps below is how to set the temperature of your refrigerator.

The first thing you must know is that your refrigerator should be set at 37-38 degrees. Anything at 40 or higher and you are risking food born illness (food poisoning) or spoiling your food.

Step 2
Place your magnetic thermometer in the refrigerator.

Step 3
Set your dial on your refrigerator to the second lowest setting. (If your refrigerator is already equipped with a digital thermostat, simply set it for 37 or 38 degrees and do not move on to the next step)

Step 4
After 2 hours, check your thermometer reading. If your reading is 38 degrees, there is no need to go higher and you are ready to put your groceries in. Be sure not to open and close your refrigerator during these two hours or your temperature reading will be incorrect.

If your reading is higher than 38 degrees, move your dial up to the next coldest setting and repeat the steps every two hours until you reach the correct temperature for your refrigerator.

Step 5
Once you have reached the correct refrigeration temperature for your refrigerator, place the magnetic thermometer in the refrigerator permanently and watch for changes.

Typically, your refrigerator temperature will need to be adjusted with the seasons, a higher setting in the summer and a lower setting in the winter.

Hope this helpout and take care.

If your reading the display temp , your reading what the thermistors are telling the control board . NOT the actual temp inside . After closing the door , from the food that was already cold in the fridge , the coldness will keep the inside temp , the same temp as when you opened the door . The thermistors themselves will detect the warmness and send it to the board . A good way to try to put this acrsoo , is to put a thermometer between , say , 2 packages of salads . Wait a little while and open the door . Watch the display temp , then read the thermometer between the packages . The thermometer will stay the same , due to the coldness of the packages not changing . When you put food in the ref , the surrounding food will give off some of the coldness to the freshly installed food , thereby makeing it cold faster . After a while , this coldness will return to the thermistors and the display will start to drop in temp . Hard for me to put into words , except for , the temp reading will actaully be the same as the actual temp display , only when you FIRST open the door .

Check with a thermometer to see if it's cold enough. Should be 10 degrees or colder.

Your thermostat is faulty and needs replacing

put you own thermometer inside and see if the temperature is the same as the digital thermometer. the light switch shouldn't have anything to do with the temp. another thing to check is see if the condenser fan (condenser is the metal coil on the outside) is running, and that the coil is clean. if the coil is dirty or the fan is not running then either clean the coil or check for voltage at the fan. if you have voltage to the fan and it doesn't run then you need to replace the fan. if you don't have voltage to the fan then you may have a deeper problem. hope this helps