The short answer
On Fisher & Paykel the noise you are describing is most often a fan blade striking ice or debris. Ranked that way because a column boxed into joinery can only reject heat through the gaps the installer left it.
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 Fisher & Paykel
- A fan blade striking ice or debris — First on a cabinet boxed into joinery, which can only work with the gap the installer left it. A buzz, a rattle or a rhythmic ticking that rises and falls with the fan. Ice forming near the blade, or a stray bag pulled against the guard, produces a noise that comes and goes with the cooling cycle rather than running constantly.
- The drain pan is loose, or water is dripping onto it — Second, and on a fitted column it is the one the owner can still reach. A sizzle, a trickle or an intermittent clang from underneath, usually starting shortly after the cooling cycle ends. Defrost water reaching a hot pan is normal; a pan that has been knocked out of its clips is not.
- The cabinet is out of level or touching something — Third. A rattle or a drumming that appears only at certain times.
- 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
- 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.
- Look underneath at the pan and check it is seated in its clips — It explains an intermittent noise that arrives on a cycle rather than continuously.
- Rock the cabinet gently at each front corner and check the clearance on both sides — It is the cheapest check on the list and it fixes a surprising share of complaints.
What an owner can safely check
- Hold the door switch in and listen at each compartment in turn — Locate the sound before opening anything.
About 5 min
- Pull the lower grille and check the drain pan sits square in its clips — Reseat it if it has been knocked loose.
Tools: torchAbout 10 min
- Level the cabinet on its front feet and open a finger-width gap on each side — Adjust the feet until it sits solid with no rock, then confirm nothing touches it.
Tools: adjustable spanner, spirit levelAbout 20 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.
