Normally, the refrigerator runs silently without making other noises. But, over the usage, your refrigerator may make sounds. If your fridge is making abnormal noises, you need to focus on it’s causes and fixes. Today, we are here to take you on a guide of possible causes for refrigerator noise and how you can solve them. Find out where that noise is coming from and get ideas for how to fix noisy refrigerator.
How to Fix Noisy Refrigerator - Simple Guide
To know the causes and fixes for refrigerator loud noises, first, you have to know the source from where the sound is coming. This will give a lot of information about the malfunction causing the noise. Check around your fridge by moving, opening & closing the doors, top, bottom and back. Find where the sound is loudest. According to that location, you need to follow the noisy refrigerator troubleshooting steps.
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Noise from Freezer Compartment
While checking, you may find the noise inside or near the freezer compartment. You could get this sound either continuously or only when the door is open. One of the following might be caused to this sound. Either evaporator fan motor or the compressor stopping with each cooling cycle.
Evaporator Fan Motor
Generally, this evaporator fan is located at the back and bottom of the freezer compartment. Some fridge models will switch off the fan when the door is opened. Hence, you need to test it by pressing the door switch. Now, confirm if the sound/ noise is continuous or starts back up.
Remove evaporator fan cover - Once you have confirmed the noise coming from the freezer compartment, you need to remove the evaporator cover. See if the evaporator fan likely caused the noise.
Clear formed ice - Inspect the housing of the fan and the plastic ring around the fan blades. If you notice the ice formation on the housing, it could impact the fan blades and cause a continuous clatter. So, clean the ice which is formed on the fan and check if the noise has reduced.
Replace evaporator fan - If the evaporator fan is still noisy even after the ice cleaning, you need to replace it. Check the part number of the old fan and buy a new one accordingly that is compatible with your refrigerator. For replacing, just remove the screws and re-attach the same screws with the new item. After completion of the new fan installation, verify if the noisy sound is stopped.
Return cover - Once the new fan is installed fully, you should re-install the removed evaporator cover. Make sure, fix it with every screw exactly.
Compressor Groaning
Sometimes, your freezer is particularly noisy with a groaning sound. However, this groaning sound is a normal sound of your compressor cutting off. So, you no need to get worried about occasional freezer groan noise.
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Loud Noise from the Refrigerator Compartment
Sometimes, the sound will come from the refrigerator, particularly from the fresh food compartment. Mostly, the problem is with the defrost timer. When defrost timer is failed to reset itself and clicks continuously, you can hear an incessant clicking sound.
Find the defrost timer - Based on your fridge model, the defrost timer place is changed. However, most often, you can see this defrost timer near the bottom and front of the unit. Also, find behind the kick grate at the bottom and inside the refrigerator near the temperature controls.
Remove the casing - Defrost timers are hidden inside a plain plastic casing. You have to remove this casing.
Turn test - Turn the defrost timer clockwise with the advance screw until you hear a click sound. Turn back on the fridge and leave it for 30 minutes. If the sound still coming, consider that the defrost timer is broken. Moreover, you can't hear the compressor start-up or stop when this timer is broken. If the defrost timer is broken, it needs to be replaced.
Replace the timer - Unscrew the defrost timer and remove wires. Make sure to remember the connection of each wire as you need to install the new one in the same way your old item was attached.
Return the cover - Once the replacement has been done, re-arrange the defrost timer covering. Turn on the fridge, then you should soon hear normal sounds of compressor cycling.
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Noise from Behind the Refrigerator
If the loud voice is coming from your fridge, it is likely because of the compressor or the condenser fan. So check and fix the issue with either of these two.
Condenser fan
Remove the fridge plug and then remove the back panel of condenser fan.
When the condenser fan is locked up with lint or scraping against debris that has fallen over time, you can hear the noise. So, you must clear dust, insect husks and anything else that you find there. After clearing the fan, you need to check the noise.
Still, noise exists, try unplugging the fridge and condenser fan. Then, plug the refrigerator back on. Now, your unit is running temporarily without condenser fan use. If you didn't get any noise, then this condenser fan is the culprit and you will need to replace the fan.
Compressor fan
If the noise is not gone, the compressor fan might be the source. However, a new fridge would be a better choice than a compressor replacement for an old refrigerator, As, compressors are very expensive, you can go with the new refrigerator.
Final Words
We hope this guide on how to fix a noisy refrigerator helped you to find a quick fix and save money. If you are unable to fix your refrigerator noise, you can contact a local technician. Sometimes, your fridge model manual also help you to get the right solutions so check it once before calling a technician.
About the Author
Haritha
Haritha is Content Writer at PartsIPS. She has a great understanding of today's marketing strategies that yield strong results and always happy to create valuable content & share her thoughts. She was best in writing content for E-Commerce websites related to Appliance Parts, Food Service Parts, HVAC Parts, Electrical Parts, etc.
You can go through some of her best contributions on PartsFPS.com, PartsAPS.com and PartsXP.com
