How to tell if a fridge is overheating?

Determining whether a residential refrigerator is dangerously overheating involves checking physical temperature and operational symptoms around the compressor and condenser compartment. If you pull the refrigerator out from the wall and remove the lower rear service panel, a scorching hot compressor housing that smells like hot varnish or electrical insulation, accompanied by a compressor that shuts down prematurely every few minutes, indicates severe overheating. This is almost always caused by thick dust and pet hair blocking airflow over the condenser coils. You can troubleshoot operating temperatures easily by inspecting coil cleanliness. You can verify that the overheating risk is eliminated when vacuuming all dust and debris off the condenser coils allows the compressor to run at normal operating temperatures.