Help · Noise
Refrigerator making noise
A refrigerator is a machine with three motors and a litre of liquid moving through it, so silence was never the specification. What matters is whether the sound is new, whether it is getting louder, and what kind of sound it is.
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Sounds that are normal
Gurgling or trickling shortly after the compressor stops is refrigerant settling, and it is a sign the system has charge in it. A low hum that rises when the compressor starts and falls when it stops is the compressor. Occasional cracking or popping is plastic and metal moving as compartments change temperature — most common in the first hour after a defrost cycle, and completely benign.
A fan you can hear when the door is open and not when it is closed is doing exactly what it should.
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Sounds that are not
Five patterns worth acting on.
- A squeal, whine or whirr that rises and falls: a fan bearing on its way out. Cheap now, a warm compartment later.
- A hard rattle that changes when you touch the cabinet: something is loose or in contact — drip tray, grille, panel, or the cabinet against its run.
- Clicking every few minutes with no cooling: a compressor attempting to start and failing on its overload.
- A buzz that has grown steadily louder over weeks: a condenser fan struggling, or a compressor working against a blocked condenser.
- Knocking or hammering when the ice maker fills: water hammer in the supply line, which is a plumbing fix rather than an appliance one.
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Three checks that are safe
Pull the base grille and look at the condenser — a mat of dust makes both fans work harder and is the commonest cause of a cabinet that has simply become louder. Make sure the drip tray is seated. Press gently on the sides and top of the cabinet while the noise is happening; if it changes, you have a contact noise rather than a bearing.
What is not safe or useful: removing an interior rear panel to find a fan. That panel has an evaporator behind it, and an evaporator is easy to damage and expensive to replace.
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When the noise is really the neighbours
In a condo or a two-family, a compressor sharing a wall with a bedroom becomes intolerable long before it becomes faulty. If the sound has not changed and the cabinet is holding temperature correctly, the problem may be acoustic rather than mechanical — isolation feet, a gap behind the cabinet or a change of position solve more of those than a repair ever will.
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If the sound changed and the temperature did too, that is one fault — worth a meter on it.
Flat $95 call-out, credited against an approved repair.