Refrigerator stops cooling properly after being moved on its side
Transporting a cooling appliance on its side often causes compressor oil to shift into the refrigerant lines, which disrupts normal cooling cycles. This prevents the unit from maintaining a stable temperature, leading to erratic temperature spikes throughout the day.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Unplugging the appliance and leaving it upright for 24 hours after a move
- 2Testing electrical components like starters and thermostats with a meter
- 3performing manual defrosts periodically
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“About 5 days ago, we started to notice that the temperature display is changing pretty significantly during the day and then going back down to normal temps during the overnight.”source ↗
“As an example, right now the fridge temp is showing 52 and the freezer is showing 11.”source ↗
“The compressor has run before and became warm/hot. When it was running, one copper line became hot and the other was initially cold.”source ↗
“Later, when I set the temperature to 5°C, the temperature rose to 18°C, and the compressor became completely cold.”source ↗
“Yes, it was moved on its side. The compressor being hot and becoming cold was in the same situation today, after moving.”source ↗
“It gradually stopped getting cold enough in both compartments.”source ↗
“I completely defrosted the refrigerator for 48 hours, it worked for a little over two weeks.”source ↗
“Now the refrigerator section is becoming slightly too warm again, although the freezer section seems alright for now.”source ↗
Where this came up
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