The short answer
The useful thing to know about an Upstreman/Frestec/Nooody refrigerator with this symptom is which cause to try first. Here that is You may not have the build the listing showed, and the one to try last is The start relay clicking in and out. Everything near the top of the list is an owner check that costs nothing; the bottom of it is a service call.
What you actually observe
- A hum or buzz that comes and goes with the compressor — It starts when the unit starts and stops when it stops.
- A rattle that changes if you touch the cabinet — Something is resonating rather than failing.
- A scrape or tick that follows a fan — A regular, blade-speed sound rather than a steady hum.
- NEAR MISS: repeated clicking with no cooling at all — That is a start-relay fault, not a noise complaint, and it needs a different page.
Causes, most likely first on this build
- You may not have the build the listing showed — This badge covers more than one cabinet, and they differ in whether there is a fan at all, where the compressor sits and what is mounted underneath. Ranked first on an Upstreman/Frestec/Nooody: a three-way co-listing means the badge on the door does not reliably tell you what is inside, and every later step depends on knowing which build you have.
- The cabinet is not standing level on its feet — A compressor shakes; that is its job. Second here, because whatever the badge says, all of these builds share a small manual-defrost cabinet, so the fault the cabinet type produces comes next.
- Aged rubber compressor mounts — The compressor sits on rubber feet that harden with age and heat. Third, once the two above are clean: it is the check that does not care which build arrived, so it is worth doing before anything comes apart.
- The start relay clicking in and out — The relay that starts the compressor clicks once on each start. Last, and the reason the order above matters: it is the rarest cause and the only one that needs a licensed technician, so it is what is left once the list above is clean.
Check in this order, and why
- Read the rating plate inside the cabinet rather than the badge on the door — It tells you whether there is a fan to blame in the first place.
- Push gently at each top corner of the cabinet — Any movement at all means the feet are carrying the vibration instead of absorbing it.
- Watch the compressor itself while it runs — Visible movement at the body rather than a steady hum points at the mounts.
What an owner can safely check
- Read the rating plate inside the cabinet and confirm which build you actually have — The badge on the door is a listing, not a manufacturer.
Tools: a torchAbout 10 min
- Push each top corner of the cabinet and adjust the feet until nothing rocks — Levelling is free and it removes the single most common cause of a new noise.
Tools: an adjustable spannerAbout 15 min
- STOP HERE if the noise is inside the sealed system or needs a panel off with power on — 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, because a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Leave the door switch wired exactly as it is: it cuts power to the fan for a reason, and defeating it is never part of a diagnosis.
When to call a technician
Call when the noise survives a level check, a clear fan and an empty shelf, or as soon as it changes character: a rumble that rises with the compressor, or repeated clicking with no start, is a different thing from a rattle. Call immediately for a burning smell or visible oil at the compressor, and stop using the cabinet until someone has looked at it.
Where to go next in this class
What is deliberately not on this page
This page is written for the Upstreman/Frestec/Nooody refrigerator as a class, not for one family or model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your cabinet it is linked above, and it is the more specific answer.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
