refrigerator: the refrigerator runs constantly and never gets cold
One symptom, two prices, and nothing in the symptoms that tells them apart: a start relay at a $372 median or a compressor at $956, which is why the relay gets tested before any compressor is condemned. The free fix on this list is the slow one: about 30 minutes of work on dirty condenser coils, no part needed [S1], and 2 of the 5 causes here sit in that same column. On a refrigerator the complaint is the refrigerator runs constantly and never gets cold, and it arrives in these words: it runs all the time and never gets cold, the back of the fridge is hot to the touch, it clicks on and off every few minutes, it is completely silent, no vibration at all or the freezer is still cold but the fridge is warm. Money enters the page only after those: the completed repairs behind this symptom run $372–$956 [S1], against a replacement from $700.
What each fix costs
Cause
Cost
Time
DIY?
dirty condenser coils
no part needed
30 min
easy
poor ventilation or an electrical spike
no part needed
20 min
easy
a failed start relay or overload clipped to the compressor
$295–$450 installed
60 min
advanced
a sealed-system leak or blockage
$670–$1,330 installed
180 min
pro
a compressor worn out by age
$670–$1,330 installed
240 min
pro
A technician visit starts with a diagnostic fee of $99 [S1]. Completed repairs run $372–$956 [S1].
What a technician actually does
a failed start relay or overload clipped to the compressor [S1]
high likelihoodadvanced$295–$450 installedabout 60 min
it clicks on and off every few minutesit runs all the time and never gets coldthe back of the fridge is hot to the touch
The reason this page exists rather than a page about compressors: the source's own warning is that a large share of 'bad compressor' calls are a failed start relay or overload - a small part clipped to the side of the compressor - and the two are indistinguishable from the symptoms alone. Clicking on and off every few minutes is the classic relay tell, because the relay keeps trying to start the compressor and gives up. A technician swaps in a known-good relay to see whether the compressor starts, which takes minutes and decides the entire cost of the visit: a $372 median repair against a $956 one.
S1 publishes no part-only price; it prices the completed relay or overload replacement at a $372 median, typical range $295-450, which is the figure to compare with a quote
medium likelihoodpro$670–$1,330 installedabout 180 min
it runs all the time and never gets coldthe freezer is still cold but the fridge is warm
The cause that turns a diagnosis into a legal boundary: a leak or a blockage makes the compressor run without cooling, and the sealed refrigerant circuit is restricted to EPA-certified handling, so this is never a homeowner job and the source says so directly. It is also the cause that shares its symptom with the cheap ones, which is the whole argument for testing the relay and the windings before any part is ordered.
no separate leak-repair figure is published; what it leads to is the compressor job S1 prices at a $956 median with the typical range at $670-1,330
medium likelihoodpro$670–$1,330 installedabout 240 min
it runs all the time and never gets coldit is completely silent, no vibration at all
The end of the road, and the one case where the age of the machine is the decision rather than the fault: the source puts compressor life at 10-15 years, roughly the life of the refrigerator itself, so a genuine compressor failure on a machine past that line is the appliance telling you it is finished. A motor that has seized or burned out goes completely silent with no vibration, which is the physical difference between this cause and a relay that is still trying.
S1 prices the completed compressor replacement at a $956 median, typical range $670-1,330, and $1,300-1,700 on a premium or built-in unit; no part-only price is published
Repair or replace?
Test before condemning, and let the age of the machine decide the rest. If a technician confirms the relay or the overload, repair it on any refrigerator - $372 is not a decision. If the compressor itself is gone on a machine under 8-10 years old, repairing usually wins, especially where the sealed-system warranty still covers the part, which many manufacturers carry for 5-10 years. Past 12-15 years, or on a budget model that cost around $700 new, a $956 job is approaching the price of the machine and replacement is the answer. Premium and built-in refrigerators are the exception in the other direction: a $1,300-1,700 compressor repair against a replacement costing several thousand still wins comfortably. [S1]
Plus install and haul-away: $150–$250 — about $850–2750 installed all in [S1]
Planning life used for the decision: 13 years
The break-even is not a formula here, it is a fork: the same symptom is a $372 relay or a $956 compressor, and the source's own data shows what households do at the top of that range - of the customers it quoted for a compressor replacement, about 22% chose to replace the refrigerator instead. That is the repair-or-replace arithmetic working correctly rather than a failed repair, and it is the reason the relay gets tested first. What makes the arithmetic close is the value of the machine, not the age alone: a $700 budget unit and a $4,000 built-in face the same $956 invoice and reach opposite answers.
S1 puts compressor life, and refrigerator life with it, at 10-15 years; 13 is the midpoint of that published band and is the figure the repair-or-replace arithmetic below runs on. The haul-away and installation allowance is the site-wide $150-250 convention for a large appliance, not a figure from S1
it runs all the time and never gets coldthe back of the fridge is hot to the touch
The cheapest cause and the one the source names as the leading reason a compressor genuinely dies early: dust on the coils makes the compressor run hot and work harder for years, and a fridge that is merely overworked often recovers once the coils are cleared. Free, no parts, and the source's safe-checks list puts it first - clean the coils, give the machine a few inches of airflow, confirm the temperature setting against a standalone thermometer and check that no vent is blocked before anyone is called.
the back of the fridge is hot to the touchit runs all the time and never gets cold
Two background conditions the source lists as causes of premature failure rather than as faults you can repair: a fridge crammed against a wall or sitting in a hot space overheats the compressor, and voltage spikes or brownouts damage the motor or its start components. The ventilation half is free to fix - clearance and airflow - while the electrical half is a reason the failure happened, not something to chase on the machine itself.
Sources
[S1]Bozmanfix (medians from completed refrigerator work orders; published July 2026, updated August 2026) (2026-08). the $372 median with a $295-450 typical range for a start relay or overload replacement and the $956 median with a $670-1,330 range for a compressor replacement ($1,300-1,700 on premium or built-in units), the $99 diagnostic applied to the repair ($99-150 on stacked or built-in units), the warning that a large share of bad-compressor calls are a failed start relay or overload and that the two cannot be told apart from symptoms, the sign list (runs constantly without cooling, hot compressor, clicking every few minutes, buzzing or humming, silent with no vibration, warm fridge with a cold freezer, rising energy bills), the technician test sequence (relay and overload first with a known-good swap, then windings for open/short/grounded, then voltage, and only then the compressor), the causes of true failure (relay or overload, dirty condenser coils as the leading cause of premature failure, age, sealed-system leak or blockage, electrical spikes, poor ventilation), the safe homeowner checks (coils, clearance, temperature setting against a standalone thermometer, blocked vents, the outlet), the EPA restriction on the sealed refrigerant circuit, compressor life of 10-15 years, the repair-or-replace line at 8-10 years against 12-15 years, the sealed-system part warranty of 5-10 years, and the finding that about 22% of households quoted for a compressor replacement chose to replace the refrigerator instead
Last verified: 2026-09-18. Prices are US market figures from the sources above; your quote may differ.
Built from a fact record, not from a template: every number above is tied to one of the sources and the record is re-checked against them. Editorial choices (which symptom leads, which cause is the single tell) are kept in a separate block so the facts stay auditable.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to fix a refrigerator with this problem?
Completed repairs run $372–$956 according to the sources cited on this page, after a diagnostic fee of $99.
How long does a refrigerator last?
The decision rule used on this page works from a planning life of 13 years.
Repair or replace?
Test before condemning, and let the age of the machine decide the rest. If a technician confirms the relay or the overload, repair it on any refrigerator - $372 is not a decision. If the compressor itself is gone on a machine under 8-10 years old, repairing usually wins, especially where the sealed-system warranty still covers the part, which many manufacturers carry for 5-10 years. Past 12-15 years, or on a budget model that cost around $700 new, a $956 job is approaching the price of the machine and replacement is the answer. Premium and built-in refrigerators are the exception in the other direction: a $1,300-1,700 compressor repair against a replacement costing several thousand still wins comfortably.