The short answer
The short answer for a Black+Decker refrigerator: a buzz that changes pitch is mechanical, and a buzz on a schedule is usually an ice maker trying to fill. Both of those are owner-side. A steady electrical hum that never changes and comes with normal cooling is usually correct behaviour.
What you actually see
- A rattle that comes and goes with the compressor — It starts when the compressor starts and stops when it stops, which places it at the back of the cabinet rather than inside it.
- A clicking every few minutes with no run — Click, silence, click again is the overload protector cycling and it is a fault, not a noise.
- A grinding or scraping from the freezer section — Ice touching a fan blade makes a sound that changes as the blade cuts into it.
Causes, ranked for this refrigerator
- Ice maker cycling on a unit with no water supply — Most likely — a machine that keeps trying to fill and never does will click and buzz on a schedule of its own, unrelated to the compressor. If this is the answer, the rest of the list stops mattering entirely.
- Condenser fan blade fouled or worn — Common — it runs whenever the compressor runs, which is why the noise seems to follow the compressor and gets blamed on it. Where this checks out clean, treat the next entry as the working theory rather than a possibility.
- Something touching the back of the cabinet — Regular — the drip tray, the drain tube and the cord all sit at the back where they can lie against the compressor or the coil and buzz with it. A clean result here does not just remove one part; it removes everything that depends on it.
What to check, in order
- First — the ice maker switch — Switch the ice maker off for a day. Silence confirms it.
- Second — the condenser fan — Unplug the unit and turn the blade by hand. Grit, a wobble or a dragging point tells you what you are hearing.
Checks an owner can do safely
- Step 1. Clear the space behind and beside — Unplug the unit and pull it out. Move anything touching the back panel, the coil, the tubing or the cord clear by a finger-width.
Tools: noneAbout 10 min
- Step 2. Seat the drip tray — Reach under the back with the unit unplugged and check the tray is square in its channel. Reseat it if it moves under one finger.
Tools: flashlightAbout 10 min
- Step 3. Look for ice at the evaporator fan — Empty the freezer section and inspect the inner rear panel. Ice reaching the fan opening explains a grinding sound that stops when the door opens.
Tools: flashlightAbout 15 min
Before you open anything
Safety
Before a single screw comes out, unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Work dry, keep one hand out of the cabinet, and leave any interlock or cut-out switch exactly as the factory fitted it.
When this becomes a service call
The line is not about confidence, it is about what the next step needs. The owner side of a noise complaint ends at the parts you can reach with the unit unplugged. A bearing, a winding or a sealed-system sound is a technician visit.
Sources
General guidance- The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) — OSHA 1910.147 and manufacturer service manuals, fetched
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
What follows is family-agnostic. It names the fault, ranks the causes and gives the order to check them, and it deliberately does not name a board revision, a part number or a model-specific tolerance. Those belong on the family and model pages beneath this one, which are linked under Related pages.
Related pages
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Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
