What you are actually seeing
- A hum or buzz that rises and falls with the cooling cycle
- A rattle or vibration that changes when you press on the cabinet
- A whirring or chirping from inside the fresh-food compartment
- Not this fault: A buzz that continues with the machine unplugged
Ranked causes on a Comptree Inc refrigerator
- Evaporator fan blade catching frost or ice — Ranked here because: the interior fan is the whole cooling path on a thermoelectric unit and a critical one on the compressor units
- Condenser fan blade fouled or motor bearing worn — Ranked here because: the heat-sink fan is what makes a thermoelectric module work at all, and it is the part that seizes with dust
- Cabinet not level or not sitting on all four feet — Ranked here because: importer cabinets carry the tightest clearance requirements in the compact class and are the most likely to be built in without any
- Loose drain pan or a loose rear panel — Ranked here because: this is a wear part with a service life rather than a component that fails at random
What to check, and in what order
- Stand at the cabinet and place the sound: inside the compartment, at the back, or at the base
- Open the fresh-food door with the cabinet running and listen for the sound to stop
- Press each of the four corners of the cabinet in turn and note any rocking or any change in the sound
- Pull the cabinet clear of the wall and cabinetry and listen again
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Press each of the four corners of the cabinet in turn and note any rocking or any change in the sound — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- Pull the cabinet clear of the wall and cabinetry and listen again — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- With the cabinet still running, rest a hand flat on the rear access panel and on the drain pan — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- Unplug the cabinet and clear dust from the condenser coil and the condenser fan blade — Tools: vacuum with a crevice tool, coil brush — Estimated time: about twenty minutes
- Stand at the cabinet and place the sound: inside the compartment, at the back, or at the base — Tools: none — Estimated time: a couple of minutes
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service
When to call a technician
the noise comes from the sealed system or the compressor itself, which is not an owner repair the evaporator fan is icing repeatedly, because that is a defrost fault and not a fan fault the compressor is clicking without starting, because the cabinet is losing temperature while you decide
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages that separate the compressor cabinets from the thermoelectric ones Not this fault: model-specific pages once a model number is known
Links: - [Common Comptree Inc Refrigerator Problems](/blog/comptree-inc-refrigerator-problems) - [GE Refrigerator: Ice Maker Fault](/blog/ge-refrigerator-ice-production) - [GE Refrigerator: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/ge-refrigerator-control-fault) - [Comptree Inc Refrigerator: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/comptree-inc-refrigerator-control-fault)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
