The short answer
On Fire Magic the noise you are describing is most often compressor hum carried into the cabinet. Ranked that way because the enclosure it is built into traps its own condenser heat, so anything that touches heat rejection outranks everything else.
What you observe
- A trickle or a sizzle from underneath, shortly after a cycle ends — Defrost water reaching the drain pan. Normal in itself.
- A sharp click when the unit starts or stops — A relay or a damper doing its job, not a fault on its own.
- NEAR MISS: the noise is there but the cabinet is also warm — Then the noise is a symptom and the cooling failure is the fault. Read the not-cooling page for this brand instead.
Causes, most likely first on Fire Magic
- Compressor hum carried into the cabinet or the floor — First on an outdoor unit, where ambient heat decides what the machine can do. A low hum that you feel as much as hear. The compressor sits on rubber mounts, and when one has hardened or the unit has been shuffled off its feet, the vibration transmits into the cabinet shell and the floor instead of being absorbed.
- Sounds that are normal for this platform — Second, and the cause that changes most between a shaded island and full sun. Expansion ticking as the liner changes temperature, a gurgle as refrigerant settles, water trickling to the drain pan after a defrost, and a compressor that changes pitch rather than switching off. None of these are faults, and chasing them wastes a service call.
- A fan blade striking ice or debris — Third. A buzz, a rattle or a rhythmic ticking that rises and falls with the fan.
- Bearing or compressor wear that is a service call — Last, and it is the reason the order above matters. A metallic scrape that gets worse week by week, or a compressor that has become noticeably louder than it was.
Check in this order, and why
- Put a hand flat on the side panel while the unit is running — A panel buzzing under your hand is transmitting, not failing.
- Note whether the sound arrives on a cycle or runs constantly — Cyclic sounds are usually normal; a constant new noise usually is not.
- Open the door and hold the door switch in, then listen for the noise to change — A noise that stops with the door open is on the compartment fan, and that is most of the answer.
What an owner can safely check
- Feel the side and rear panels while it runs, then press gently on each — A noise that changes under light hand pressure is a resonance, not a failing part.
About 5 min
- Log when the noise happens over a day: after a door opening, on a cycle or constantly — A pattern is worth more to a technician than any description of the sound itself.
About 10 min
- Hold the door switch in and listen at each compartment in turn — Locate the sound before opening anything.
About 5 min
- STOP HERE if the next step needs a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel or reaching behind the cabinet. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and a fan blade you cannot see will start the moment power returns. Never hold a door switch in with tape and then walk away, and never reach into a running fan to locate a sound.
When to call a technician
Call when the sound is metallic and getting worse, when it comes from the compressor itself, or when the checks above have all come back clean and the noise is still there. A scrape that deepens week by week is wear, and wear does not reverse. Call sooner if the noise arrived together with a cabinet that is no longer holding temperature, because then you have two symptoms of one fault and the cooling one matters more.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page covers the brand and the refrigerator class, not one family or model line. Where a family-specific or model-specific page exists for your unit, that page is the more specific answer and it takes precedence over this one. Not here: part numbers, wiring colours and component locations, which differ by family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
