How can I repair a refrigerator that is making odd noises (video)?
by
VJ
+5
Hi,I have recently started noticing flickering noise from my refrigerator. It's a 2 door refrigerator , GE 24.9 Cu. Ft. Capacity Side-By-Side Refrigerator with Dispenser.Now the cooling in the refrigerator and regular compartment seems to be fine. I tried restarting the fridge from MCB and it is still making noise.Opened the back panel and realized it is coming from the circuit area. Wearing rubber gloves I touched a point or two and could feel the vibration and was able to narrow down the source of sound in that area. But am clueless from there.Here is a pic of back panel along with noise. Video where you can hear the sound
Just be really careful with refrigerators and freezers because if you don't know what you are doing you can get really hurt. If you feel you really need to work on it, unplug it and let it sit for a few days so the capacitor is discharged so anything you do doesn't inadvertently discharge the capacitors and destroy an electronic component. My husband was an electrical engineer and he does a lot of electricity in our house. Well when our freezer went up, he tried to look into it and fix a switch to a pump(thinking that was the problem) before we had to get a technician. When he got so far he realized that he needed another part and needed a technician to come in.... they wouldn't even look at it because the homeowner was messing with it. They told me that because it has been touched by the homeowner who may or may not know what he or she is doing, it could be really dangerous for the technician. We ended up having to dump it and buy a whole new freezer even though it was under warranty. GRR. If it is old enough and not under warranty anymore maybe it is worth it to you to try to fix it but just wanted to let you know about our situation.
Hi,
First of all ,how old is the frig ? If it is 10 + years old, it is more than likely
the compressor. It time to say good by to an old friend.
A new frig,,,, go for it ,,,,
Howi
I agree with th K Rupp, stay out of the back of it. Get the make and model numbers and call the company that can do a customer level of trouble shooting.
If you can't resolve the problem at the level, you'll need service.
Also How makes a good point, it may by an age of the appliance situation.
Best to you.
Sometimes it is a simple fix without touching the inside parts. Some newer models will make noise when the freezer and fridge are over loaded. The fridge unit gets over whelmed and even frosted up. If the freezer and fridge are stuffed to capacity, try removing 1/4 or more of the food and see if this helps. You can also unplug it to let the "frost" on the back side melt and then reset it. We did this and used an inexpensive 2nd chest freezer and mini fridge to restart our fridge. It is working fine again. We no longer let ourselves over stuff it, we put the over flow food into the spare small chest freezer and mini fridge like when we buy for the holiday meals etc.
go on you tube and put in fridge name and year .That is how I repaired my GE fridge ice make and did the check on it .I even found out how to clean the pump on my front load whirlpool washer .YouTube is a wealth of info .I even found out how to change the belts and remove the decks on my ride on mowers .Even changed out to bad pulleys on my cub cadet 1
It sounds like a short which could cause a house fire. If you can remove the part and take it to a repairman he may be able to get a new part for you.
See the photo but no video or sound. Your description may be a relay (one of the black squares) may be vibrating or cycling. They don't appear to be removable. First unplug the fridge and make sure the circuit board is secure and not loose. It's snapped on to white lugs in the corners. A little play is fine. Then one at a time carefully unplug each connector and plug them back in securely. They can loosen over time or little corrosion. Plug the fridge back in and see if the sound is gone. If not then you need a new circuit board. Your choice to replace the board or a new fridge. This is my go to for appliance repairs and parts. https://www.repairclinic.com/ Punch in your make/model number. They have repair guides, schematics, and sell parts. My 20+ stove oven would not turn on. The igniter would glow but the oven did not turn on. Thought I would need a new stove. Checked repair clinic and the repair guide determined a weak igniter even though it glowed bright. Cost for the igniter was $25. Cheaper than a new stove. Ordered the igniter, was easy to install, turned the oven on and and it fired up. Saved the cost of a new stove. Good luck. By the way, I have never heard of a situation K. Rupp described. I think the service tech didn't want to touch the freezer so they could make a sale.
If you know the make and model numbers, you can enter them on You Tube. They will give a tutorial in a manner that you would understand. They have tutorials for everything under the sun. Wishing you the best.