Your refrigerator cycles on the fresh food temp. If you have an ambient temp. below normal fresh food temp., the control is satisfied and the compressor will not run enough to maintain proper freezer temp. Your temp. outside the refrigerator should be somewhere close to room temp.
D Howell
March 2009
Wikipedia says this...
"Some refrigerators require a certain external temperature (60 °F (16 °C) to run properly. This can be an issue when placing a refrigerator in an unfinished area such as a garage."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator
Peccavi
March 2009
I can answer this question...
Fridge freezer in garage not freezing in cold weather?