Why Is My Fridge Making Noise? Buzzing, Clicking and Loud Hums

If your fridge is making noise, the odds are good that it is normal: the ice maker filling, water dripping during defrost, the cabinet popping as it cools and the steady hum of the compressor. A new sound that is loud, grinding or rhythmic usually comes from a fan, and fans are among the simpler refrigerator repairs. The one sound to take seriously right away is a click followed by silence while the fridge warms, because it often means the compressor is not starting.

Unplug the refrigerator before you remove the kick plate or the rear access panel. The fans behind them can start at any time while it has power.

Normal refrigerator sounds

Whirlpool lists all of these as normal operating sounds:

• Buzzing as the compressor or fans adjust to optimize performance.
• Hissing from refrigerant flowing through the cooling system.
• Gurgling or dripping when ice melts during the defrost cycle and the water runs into the drain pan.
• Creaking or cracking as ice is ejected from the ice maker mold and falls into the bin.
• Popping as the inside walls contract and expand, especially when the refrigerator first cools down or defrosts.
• A long-running compressor. Newer high-efficiency compressors can run longer than older ones, and you will hear them more when the room is warm, a lot of food was just added, or the doors were open.

Silence can be normal too. GE notes that the compressor and fans do not run during a defrost cycle, which can last 30 to 45 minutes once or twice a day.

Checks you can do yourself

1. Find where the noise comes from: inside the freezer, the bottom back, or the ice maker. Then open the freezer door while the noise is happening; on many models the freezer fan pauses when the door opens, so a noise that stops with it points to the evaporator fan.
2. Level it. Whirlpool traces a vibrating sound to a refrigerator that is not steady. Remove the base grille and adjust the leveling screws or legs until it sits firmly on the floor.
3. Clear the top and the back. Ease the refrigerator out an inch to see whether something behind it is rattling, and check for items stored on top that vibrate.
4. Turn off the ice maker if there is no water line. Whirlpool says a humming or pulsating sound can come from an ice maker that is not connected to water while the water valve keeps opening and closing.
5. Clean the condenser coils, if your model has them. Unplug the refrigerator first and check your manual. Dirty coils make a refrigerator work harder and run longer, which you hear as more noise.
6. Look at the back wall of the freezer. Thick frost or ice there points to a defrost problem, which is also what lets a fan blade hit ice.

Refrigerator buzzing sound

A buzz every so often with no ice being made is usually the ice maker valve trying to fill without water; turn the water on or the ice maker off. A steady, loud buzz from the bottom back points to the compressor or the condenser fan motor, and Whirlpool says a buzz that has become loud is worth a technician's look. A refrigerator that is not level can pass vibration into the cabinets or the floor, where it sounds like buzzing too. A buzz or hum inside the freezer that changes when you open the door is the evaporator fan.

Why is my fridge so loud?

If the whole refrigerator has gotten louder, start with checks 2, 3 and 5. Whirlpool notes that a freezer with dirty condenser coils may run more loudly or more often as it works harder to cool. A refrigerator that runs long and hard because its coils are matted with dust, the room is hot or a door gasket leaks sounds louder simply because it rarely stops. If it still sounds wrong after that, the sounds below will narrow it down.

Refrigerator making noise: abnormal sounds and what they mean

Grinding, scraping or ticking in the freezer

This is usually the evaporator fan blade hitting ice. Ice around the fan is a symptom: a defrost problem, a door left ajar or a leaking gasket let the frost build. A manual defrost (food out, unplugged, doors open, towels down until the ice is gone) quiets it for a while, but the noise returns until the cause is fixed. USDA warns against using any electrical heating device or sharp object to remove frost, because it can damage the inner lining.

A click, buzz or hum from a failing fan

A worn evaporator fan motor bearing usually starts as a faint whine that grows over weeks. Whirlpool says a faulty evaporator fan can make the freezer loudly click, buzz or hum, and that the freezer typically also struggles to stay cold. If the fan stops completely, see refrigerator not cooling but freezer works and freezer not freezing.

Flapping or ticking from underneath

Something may be hitting the condenser fan blade at the bottom back. Unplug the refrigerator, remove the kick plate and look; a stray piece of paper or packing material is an easy fix. If the blade is hitting part of the refrigerator itself, or the motor squeals or rattles from worn bearings, the fan needs service.

A click, then silence

If you hear a click from the bottom back every few minutes and the compressor never settles into its hum, the compressor is trying to start and failing. GE's service site says that when a warm refrigerator clicks on and off at intervals of five minutes or less, the start relay and the condenser fan are the likely causes. Both are far smaller repairs than a compressor. Do not wait on this one; the refrigerator will warm up. Our guide to a fridge that is not cooling explains how to protect your food in the meantime.

A loud hum, knock or rattle from the compressor

A compressor that is louder than it used to be may simply have a loose mounting or a tube touching the cabinet, both easy to fix. A heavy knock when it starts or stops, or a loud, labored hum, can mean the compressor itself is wearing out; Whirlpool lists unusually loud compressor noise, nonstop running and a breaker that keeps tripping as red flags. We test it before recommending anything, because many noisy compressors turn out to be something smaller.

Ice maker noises

Some grinding while you dispense ice is the auger motor pushing ice forward to the chute. Grinding or clicking when nobody is using the dispenser, or an ice maker that tries to cycle over and over without making ice, points to the ice maker or its water supply; see ice maker not making ice.

A rattle from the drain pan

The drain pan sits under the refrigerator, and on many models near the compressor. If it has been bumped out of position during cleaning or a move, it can rattle against the frame whenever the compressor runs. Reseating it is usually a quick fix. A drain pan that is overflowing is a different problem, covered in why is my fridge leaking water.

What usually fails

• Evaporator fan motor. Squeal, whine, clicking or grinding inside the freezer, often with a freezer that is warming.
• Defrost parts. A fan that hits ice again soon after a manual defrost.
• Condenser fan motor. A squeal or rattle from the bottom back.
• Start relay or overload. A click, then silence.
• Water inlet valve or ice maker. Buzzing or grinding tied to ice making.
• Compressor. The least common cause, and always confirmed with tests.

Most of these are an hour's work for a technician to replace a noisy fan motor or relay once the part is on hand.

What it costs in Atlanta

The diagnostic visit is $80, and it is waived when you approve the repair. Repairs start at $180 labor plus parts, quoted in writing before any work begins. Fan motors and relays sit at the lower end; compressor work costs the most, and if it comes to that, you get the full price and an honest opinion from our repair-or-replace guide before anything is done. See the typical totals on our pricing page. Every repair carries our 60-day parts-and-labor warranty.

Schedule a visit or read about our refrigerator repair service. Prefer to talk? Call (470) 778-4087.