My Maytag refrigerator is not getting cold enough. The bottom (freezer) section is working great, but the top (refrigerator) section is fairly warm....still cool but not cold. It was noticeably colder a few days ago, and even though we turned the setting lower, it refuses to go any cooler. I have already cleaned the coils under the refrigerator and nothing improved. The coils were pretty dirty, but cleaning them seems to have done nothing to improve the cooling power of the refrigerator section. The freezer section does not have any ice build-up that we can see.

I had the same problem and had to change the control board, the technician showed me how to defrost manually to keep the fridge cold until he could get the new control board and change it.

Open the refrigerator door push in the light button to turn off the light inside the fridge at the top (keep it pushed in) then push the left button of the refrigerator temperature setting 3 times and let go of the light button the letter "d" will be displayed. Push the left button one more time number "5" will be displayed, push the left button a third time and you will hear noises this should start the defrost process. Wait a while then open the freezer and check the coils on the back wall of the freezer, the ice should have melted. Wait a couple of hours and your fridge should start getting cold again.

HI,

Sounds like you have a defrost problem since the freezer side is working okay . It probably is not blowing cold air into the refrigerator side , so to check the defrost circuit , unplug the refrigerator and inside the refrigerator section at the top about 2" in from each side in the back , there are "D" slots to put a finger in , and pull downward and forward , to remove the control panel cover . Once removed , there is a 1/4" screw on each side holding the adjustment indicator panel on , 1 phillips screw behind both light bulbs , and 1 screw holding the complete panel to the rear wall . After removing these 5 screws , at the top right corner , with about 6-8 wires going to it , is the adaptive defrost board . Sometimes you can see the electronic board and on newer refrigerator 's , a white box will be seen. Inside this box , is the adaptive defrost control . Disconnect the plug going to the board and on the right side of the PLUG , the far right wire is yellow , then another color , then white . Using a small insulated wire with both ends stripped , insert one end into the yellow wire hole and the other into the white wire hole . This will bypass the adaptive board and send power directly through the defrost bimetal ( thermostat ) AND heater to check if they are good .Plug the refrigerator back in . Now , wait about 3-5 min and look for a red glow at the bottom of the inside freezer panel , which will be the defrost heater or listen for sizzling which will be the frost melting and dripping onto the heater .If NO red glow , watch for a spark while removing the jumper wire you installed , from the plug . If a spark IS seen , then the heater was on and the heater AND bimetal are good . If you see the red glow , hear the sizzling , or see the spark , then the adaptive defrost board should be replaced . If no glow , sizzling or spark , then unplug the refrigerator and reinstall the refrigerator control section .
Remove the food in the freezer section enough so that the 2 screws holding the lower freezer panel on and the freezer panel , can be removed . Remove the panel . If the heater (black element at the bottom of the coils ) wires are visible , trace then to the top of the coils and disconnect . Use an ohm meter to determine if the element is good . If the element IS good , at the top of the coils , is a 1" cylinder with 2 wires , clipped onto the coils . This is the defrost thermostat ( bimetal ) . Replace this part if the element shows good . If the element shows bad , replace the element . NOTE 1 : sometimes the element and the bimetal come wired together and the replacement part comes with a new heater and bimetal already wired together . This would be the adviseable replacement part . However , each part can still be replaced individually . NOTE 2 : If looking at the bimetal and the top plastic " cap " looks cockeyed , replace the bimetal as moisture has gotten inside and disturbed its designed function .