The short answer
When a Black+Decker refrigerator does this, gradual noise increase is age in the mounts and the fan bearings, or a room that has become quieter around an unchanged machine. Levelling and clearing are still worth doing first; hardened mounts and a worn bearing are both service work.
What you actually see
- 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.
- Gurgling or trickling from inside the cabinet — Fluid sounds after the compressor stops are normal on almost every unit and need no repair.
- A knock when the compressor shuts off — A single knock at shutdown is the compressor rocking on its mounts and settling.
Causes, ranked for this refrigerator
- Compressor mounting grommets aged — Leads the ranking — it appears gradually rather than overnight, which is how owners tell it apart from something that just broke. Where this checks out clean, treat the next entry as the working theory rather than a possibility.
- Condenser fan blade fouled or worn — Close behind — the fan sits low and behind, where dust, a drain tube or a shed insulation pad can reach the blade and make a rhythmic tick. A clean result here does not just remove one part; it removes everything that depends on it.
- Cabinet not level or resting on three feet — A step down — weight is what damps vibration, and these cabinets do not have much of it, so a levelling error that a heavy unit would absorb becomes audible here. It is worth being sure about this one rather than half-sure, since everything after it assumes a verdict.
What to check, in order
- First — the compressor mounts — Unplug the unit and press down on the compressor body. Movement should be soft and damped, not hard and immediate.
- Second — the condenser fan — Look for a witness mark on the shroud where the blade has been striking it.
Checks an owner can do safely
- Step 1. 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
- Step 2. Press the back panel while it runs — A flat hand on the back panel that silences the noise identifies panel resonance, which is a mounting fix rather than a part.
Tools: noneAbout 5 min
- Step 3. Level the cabinet — Push each front corner down in turn. Adjust the foot under any corner that moves until all four are loaded, then run the unit and listen again.
Tools: adjustable spanner or handAbout 15 min
Before you open anything
Safety
Power comes off first, every time: pull the plug, or switch the breaker for that outlet. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Keep the cord where you can see it so nobody plugs it back in while your hands are inside, and never operate the unit with its cover removed.
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
Read this as generalized information. It is accurate across the Black+Decker refrigerator range, which is exactly why it stops short of the detail a single family or model deserves. If a family-level or model-level page exists for your unit, that page supersedes this one on wiring, part numbers and error-code meanings; the links under Related pages are where those pages live.
Related pages
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
