The short answer
When a CCUN cabinet makes a new noise, work out whether it is continuous, intermittent or only at start-up before doing anything else. Those three patterns split the causes cleanly on this family and they cost nothing to tell apart.
What you observe
- A steady buzz or hum that was not there before — Continuous and tied to the compressor running. It points at mounting, level or contact with something rather than at a component that is about to fail.
- Gurgling or trickling from inside — Refrigerant moving and condensate running. Both are normal sounds and neither is a fault on their own.
- A loud moment at start-up that settles after a few seconds — Start components and the compressor taking load. Loud and brief is different from loud and continuous.
- A click or clunk every so often, then silence — Start and stop events. On this platform they are normal in moderation and worth investigating when they repeat quickly.
Causes, most likely first
- The cabinet standing out of level or on a flexing floor — First on this family. A light cabinet does not damp its own vibration the way a heavy one does, so a foot that is not carrying weight lets the whole shell move with the compressor.
- The cabinet touching a wall, a unit or a stored item — Second. On a compact unit sited in a tight space, the sides and back are close to something almost by definition, and any contact turns the shell into a sounding board.
- A fan blade fouling, or its bearing worn — On the models in this family that use a fan, a blade catching on frost or a worn bearing gives a whirr or a scrape that stops when the fan stops. It is the first cause on this list that needs a panel off.
- A refrigerant line touching the shell or another line — A line that has been bent slightly when the cabinet was moved will buzz against whatever it now touches. It is intermittent, it changes with temperature, and it is not a failure - it is contact.
Check in this order
- Note whether the noise is continuous, intermittent or only at start-up — This splits the list in three before you touch anything, and it is the single most useful thing you can establish.
- Open the door and listen for the noise changing — On models with a fan that stops with the door, this identifies the fan without opening anything.
- Pull the cabinet clear of the wall and anything beside it, and listen again — It rules contact in or out in one move, without any tool.
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. Empty the cabinet before moving it to test for contact - a compact unit is light enough to walk on its corners and heavy enough to tip if it is loaded high.
Models in the CCUN family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. The models here differ only in a trailing code, which means none of them ranks this cause differently.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| CCUN28B | black-decker:refrigerator:ccun |
| CCUN28BV | black-decker:refrigerator:ccun |
| CCUN28W | black-decker:refrigerator:ccun |
| CCUN28WV | black-decker:refrigerator:ccun |
When to call
Call if the noise is getting louder week by week, or if it is accompanied by a compressor that starts and stops again within seconds. Both point past the free checks.
Other faults on this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
