The short answer
Before blaming the cabinet, look at what is feeding it: on a multi-voltage installation there is usually a transformer in the room as well. Ranked first on this platform: The converter or transformer feeding the cabinet. The checks below follow that ranking, and the first of them need no tools and no panel removed.
What you observe
- The hum rises the instant the compressor starts and is audible away from the cabinet — Two sources rising together means one of them may not be the appliance.
- The noise changes or stops if you lean on the cabinet — A noise that responds to a hand on the case is a mounting noise, not a mechanical one.
- The noise is louder standing beside the cabinet than in front of it — Sound that comes from the side is coming from the contact, not the compressor.
- NEAR MISS — the noise is a gurgle or a trickle a few minutes after the unit stops — Refrigerant settling and defrost water running are normal sounds on almost every cabinet, and no repair will remove them.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- The converter or transformer feeding the cabinet — A step-down or step-up transformer hums, and a transformer under load hums louder. It ranks first on this platform because a converter hums under load and hums louder the instant the compressor starts, and sitting on the same floor as the cabinet it sounds exactly like a noise coming out of the appliance.
- The cabinet is not standing solidly on its feet — A cabinet resting on three of its four feet turns every normal internal vibration into a rocking, buzzing or drumming that seems to come from inside the machine. It ranks second here because export cabinets are climate-class rated, and the class the unit was built for is frequently not the room it ended up in.
- Something the cabinet is touching — A cabinet that touches the wall, a worktop edge, a pipe or the next unit along transmits vibration straight into it, and the surface it touches is usually louder than the appliance. Ranked third: worth checking once the causes above have come back clean.
Check in this order, and why
- Put a hand on the transformer while the compressor is running — If it is buzzing in your hand, you have found the noise. It leads because it tests the top-ranked cause.
- Push the top corners of the cabinet diagonally and watch for a rock — It takes seconds and it identifies the most common cause on almost every platform. Tests the second-ranked cause.
- Ease the cabinet forward a couple of inches and listen again — If the noise leaves with the contact, the diagnosis is finished. Tests the third-ranked cause.
What an owner can safely check
- Move the converter off the floor or the shelf and onto something soft, away from the cabinet — Isolating it acoustically settles the question in a minute.
About 10 min
- Level the cabinet on its adjustable feet until it does not rock at all — Work diagonally, and set it with a very slight backward tilt so the door swings closed.
Tools: spirit levelAbout 20 min
- STOP before anything behind a fixed panel, and note what each check showed — Everything past this line is measured rather than looked at, and measuring it safely needs the power off and a meter.
Before you go looking for the source
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel or reaching behind a fan — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and a fan blade that has stopped because you opened a door will start again without warning.
When to call a technician
Call once the noise has been traced to something behind a sealed panel, or once it is clearly coming from the compressor itself rather than from anything touching it.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the Multistar refrigerator as a class, not for one family or one model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit, that page is the more specific answer and the one to read first. Deliberately not here: part numbers, wiring colours and disassembly order, 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.
