I can't afford a new fridge right now, and I probably won't be able to for a while. But the fact that the freezer is still working gives me some hope that whatever went wrong is simple enough to fix on my own. Are there any repositories on the internet where I might find a guide or a checklist on diagnosing the problem?
EDIT: Thanks so much for all of the help. Unplugging the it and letting it defrost for a couple of hours actually did the trick. It's now getting cool again.
Some refrigerators function by having the chilled air tumble down from the freezer compartment into the main compartment, so simply leaving it unplugged for a night to let it thaw will open up that passageway (and dump a lot if water if there is a lot of ice build up, so put it outside or put down a lot of towels.)
If it’s not just frost blocking cold air from moving around, it’s likely worth it to clean the radiator on the back of the fridge with a stiff brush.
Frankly, if it does have any frost built up in the freezer, it’s absolutely worth letting it thaw for at least one night. And since most fridge only have one compressor (in my experience with exclusively very cheap units), chances are your fridge still works fine.
My freezer is below the fridge, does that advice still apply?
And yeah, next I'm going to check if any of the internals are covered in dust and or ice. Hopefully that's what's wrong with it.
it still applies yes. it sounds like you need to thaw out the freezer
Alright, thanks. I'll give that a try.
For what it’s worth I was going through the same thing as you and unplugging for around 30 hours did the trick. If your freezer feeds the cold air into the fridge then try to make sure there’s not stuff right up against the venting area in the freezer
Thanks very much for the advice. After letting it defrost for just a few hours the fridge is now getting cool again.