The short answer
An overflow fridge in a hard-floored room sounds far worse than the same cabinet in a kitchen. Before suspecting a part, level it, get it off the bare concrete and pull it clear of the wall - those three steps settle most complaints of this kind.
What you actually see and hear
- A drone you can feel through the floor — Vibration coupling into concrete or a timber deck. Not a fault.
- A fan rattle from underneath or behind — The condenser fan, usually loaded with dust in a garage.
- Rattling that stops when you touch the cabinet side — Panels or tubing resonating, common on an older shell.
- Clicking every few minutes with no sustained run — The start circuit failing, and the one genuine fault here.
- NEAR MISS - louder in summer than in winter — A cabinet working harder in a hot room. Expected rather than faulty.
Causes, most likely first on this machine
- Floor and wall coupling — First, because a garage has nothing to absorb sound. The same compressor that is inaudible on a kitchen tile floor drones through a concrete slab and bounces off bare walls.
- A dusty condenser and a loaded condenser fan — Second, and almost universal in a garage: dust, cobwebs and sawdust choke the coil, so the fan runs longer and louder and the cabinet runs warmer.
- Loose panels, tubing or a drip pan on an older cabinet — Third. Years of vibration work fixings loose, and the rattle arrives so gradually that nobody notices when it started.
- Compressor mounts hardened with age — Fourth. On an older second fridge the rubber has usually gone hard, so vibration goes straight into the shell.
- Start relay or compressor — Last, and it is the cause that matters: clicking without running means the cabinet is not cooling.
Check in this order, and why
- Press on the cabinet while it runs — If the noise changes under your hand, you are dealing with vibration.
- Look underneath and behind for dust on the coil and fan — In a garage this is nearly always worth doing and it helps cooling too.
- Check the cabinet is level and not rocking on the slab — A rocking cabinet is a loud cabinet.
- Listen for the click-pause-click pattern — It separates a nuisance from a failure in one minute.
What an owner can safely check
- Level the cabinet on all four feet — Concrete is rarely flat and a rocking fridge is the commonest garage complaint.
Tools: spirit levelAbout 15 min
- Put a dense mat under the cabinet — It decouples the shell from the slab and often removes the drone entirely.
Tools: rubber matAbout 10 min
- Vacuum the condenser coil and the fan — Garages are dusty and the coil is usually far worse than the owner expects.
Tools: vacuum, soft brushAbout 30 min
- Pull the cabinet clear of the wall and anything stored against it — Second fridges get boxed in, which causes noise and poor cooling together.
About 15 min
- STOP HERE if the compressor clicks and will not run — That is a start circuit or compressor fault, not a noise problem.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel - a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A second fridge is often on an extension lead in a garage: switch off at the breaker rather than trusting a socket switch, and keep water away from the lead. Never chip frost off a cooling plate with anything metal - the tubing behind it is thin and a puncture ends the appliance.
When to call a technician
Call when you hear clicking with no sustained run, because the cabinet will not be holding temperature while that repeats. Before that, think about the appliance's age and value: on an older second fridge a call-out plus a compressor repair can approach the price of a replacement that will also use far less electricity. Levelling, a mat and a clean coil are free, they often fix the noise outright, and they are worth doing whatever you decide about the repair.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the overflow or second refrigerator class, not for one family or model line. Where a brand- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the more specific answer and it is linked above, so go there first if your machine is named. What is deliberately not here: compressor and relay part numbers, thermostat calibration figures, refrigerant charge and shelf dimensions, all of which differ by family and belong on the page for that family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
