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Refrigerator is Noisy

Most of the refrigerators make sounds to some extend in normal running conditions. However, the owner of the refrigerator can identify if the noise is normal or excessive. Noise that seems to be abnormal is problematic.

Noise can originate from different areas of the appliance

  1. 1Repair your refrigerator free: Find if you have warranty for your refrigerator. If you bought your refrigerator within one year, it is most likely that you have warranty. Most appliance manufacturers provide one year free warranty. If you have warranty, call the company and get your refrigerator fixed. If you do not have warranty and do not want to spend too much money, you will have to spend some time to identify and possibly fix the problem. The steps below will guide you through the process of identifying the problem.
  2. 2Bottom of the refrigerator: Noises that seem to come from the bottom may come from the loose drain pan under the refrigerator. You can use tape to keep the pan in place. Also, if the refrigerator is placed on an uneven floor, your refrigerator may make noise due to the constant contact and loss of contact between the floor and the refrigerator support components at the bottom. In this case, place the refrigerator on a firm level floor, if required, secure it using braces.
  3. 3Outside of the refrigerator: The compressor, the condenser fan motor or the defrost timer may be the source of annoying noise.

    Carefully check if the noise is coming from the compressor. It is normally located at lower back side of the refrigerator. It looks like a ball, tubes and wires connect to it. You need to replace the compressor if the noise is coming from the compressor. We suggest that you contact a qualified appliance repair technician to replace the compressor.

    The condenser fan may be located at the bottom or on the back panel of the refrigerator. If the noise is coming from the condenser fan, it may be due to build up of dirt and other materials on the blades. Disconnect the refrigerator from the power source and clean the blades with condenser brush (any soft brush will do the job) and vacuum cleaner. If cleaning the blades does not solve the noise problem, you will have to replace the motor in the fan or replace the fan with a new one.

    The defrost timer is normally located at the bottom of the refrigerator, near the front and behind the front plastic plate. If you hear noise from the defrost timer, replace it with a new defrost timer. This should resolve the noise issue in your refrigerator.

  4. 4

    Inside of the freezer: Most of the modern refrigerators use self-defrosting mechanism to periodically defrost the evaporator. They use a fan to circulate the air through the freezer and refrigerator compartments. This fan runs when the refrigerator is in cooling mode. Depending on the location of the freezer compartment, the fan will be located in different places in the freezer. If it is a side-by-side refrigerator, the freezer will generally be on the left side, and the fan will be located halfway on the back wall or at the top. If the freezer is on top, the fan will usually be on the back wall, near the top or bottom, in the center of the freezer. If the freezer is on the bottom, the fan is usually on the back wall, near the top of the freezer.

    It is easy to check if the fan is creating the noise. Open the freezer door and push down the light switch (usually located at the front where door touches). If you hear a louder noise while the door is open, the fan motor has gone bad. You need to replace the fan motor or the entire fan to resolve the noise problem.