Start here
A WH unit that has become noisy is, more often than not, telling you about the room it is in. A cabinet this light is moved by its own compressor, so how it stands decides what you hear, so the ranking here puts position and load above machinery. Start with the cabinet not standing squarely and leave compressor mounts that have perished until everything cheaper has been excluded.
The observables
- Runs longer than it used to and is louder for it — The sound may be unchanged and simply present for more of the day.
- A hard knock at the start of each run — One thump as the compressor picks up, then a steady hum; often another at the stop.
- A rattle that comes and goes within a run — It appears for a few seconds at a particular point and then clears on its own.
- A continuous whine while air is moving — It tracks the fan rather than the compressor and stops when the fan does.
- NEAR MISS - a hum with a burning smell — Isolate it and stop. A hot electrical smell is not something to diagnose by ear.
Causes, most likely first on this line
- The cabinet not standing squarely — The leading cause on these models: stance is first because it is free to test and it explains the loudest complaints: the noise changes the moment the unit is shifted a hand-width.
- Resonance through the surface it stands on — Second: the tell is that the noise is much louder in one room, or one position, than it was in another, with nothing about the unit changed.
- Contents and baskets vibrating — Third, and worth excluding before going further: bottles touching each other, a wire basket resting on a rail and packaging against the liner all buzz at the compressor frequency. On a small cabinet the panels act as a soundboard, so a trivial contact is loud.
- Compressor mounts that have perished — It ranks last but one because everything above it makes the same noise for less money, and because a hardened mount is rare on a unit that has not been dropped.
The order to work in
- Press each corner in turn — Press down on each corner of the top. Any corner that moves is the one making the noise, and packing it out is the whole repair.
- Change what it stands on — Compare the noise with the unit on the floor against the noise on its usual stand.
- Run the unit empty for a minute — Take everything out, close the door and listen. If the noise has gone, it was load, not machinery, and the fix is how the cabinet is packed.
Before any panel comes off
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and the machinery bay contains both the electrics and sealed pipework that should not be levered or bent.
Models in the WH family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| WH38 | alpicool:refrigerator:wh |
| WH48 | alpicool:refrigerator:wh |
| WH58 | alpicool:refrigerator:wh |
When this stops being owner work
Anything you can change from outside the cabinet is owner work. A continuous whine from the fan housing, a knock that can be felt through the case, or a noise accompanied by longer run times is a call.
Same line, other symptoms
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
