How to Troubleshoot Refrigerator Noises

There are good noises and bad noises in a refrigerator, which one is yours?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Good freezer noises are; Hissing, pounding, knocking, gurgling, crackling, and running water
   
   These noises are usually caused from the defrost heater melting frost, or liquid refrigerant spraying through the cap tube.
   
   Troublesome freezer noises are; Scraping, squealing and high pitch
   
   Scraping noise in the freezer can indicate a defrost problem, or frost water drain problem. If the defrost or drainage system aren't working, there will be frost or ice build up, causing the evaporator fan blade to make a scraping or high pitch sound. If you hear a squealing noise, the evaporator fan motor probably needs replacement.

2. Troublesome noises in the refrigerator; dripping or running water
   
   Dripping or running water noise may indicate that the defrost water drain is clogged.

3. Troublesome noises in the lower rear portion of the refrigerator; clicking, scraping, squealing, thumping
   
   Thumping noise is usually caused by the compressor, from over heating and shutting down, broken internal parts and overheating.
   
   The clicking noise usually indicates a compressor shutting down on over-load, due to; overheating, shorting out, or the relay start up system.
   
   
   The scraping noise is usually the condenser fan rubbing in the card-board shroud.
   
   The squealing usually, is a defective condenser fan motor.
   
   If interested in a fantastic career, I have included a link in the resource section here, for your convenience. This is a book I highly recommend, many Refrigeration Schools use these type of books.
   
   Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (Hardcover)
   by Bill Whitman (Author), Bill Johnson (Author), John Tomczyk (Author), Eugene Silberstein (Author

Tips & Warnings

• Always take caution with electricity and components.
• If you need a better understanding of the components, read my other articles
• Before troubleshooting, unplug the unit. Never touch any moving parts!
• Be careful! always unplug unit, before servicing.

Resources

• Refrigeration

[jenkinr]

on 4/17/2009 Great tips on ferreting out the noise problem on a refrigerator. I've got a freezer door that hangs so low it scrapes the top of the door to the refrigeration compartment. Any tips on how to adjust it? 5*

[sonni57]

on 4/17/2009 Thanks for the good tips on how to troubleshoot refrigerators.

[LogiesPage]

on 4/17/2009 Great article, it helped me out with my fridge.

[leaper]

on 4/17/2009 How to Troubleshoot Refrigerator Noises is a very helpful article. 5*

[lucindaroth]

on 4/17/2009 Very good information to troubleshoot the fridge