Refrigerator being louder than normal?

[BaymaxFan78]

I have a Samsung refrigerator / freezer, it's about 10 years old. I turned the TV off getting ready to go to bed and I heard a humming noise. I figured out it's the refrigerator. It's not extremely loud but it is humming louder than normal. Usually you don't hear it at all but now I can across the room. I think it's coming from the lower back right side (compressor?). What should I do for now? I'm kinda freaked out because I don't want it to overheat or something but I can't just unplug it because all the food will go bad. Any ideas??

 

[DLgal]

It's probably the compressor FAN. If you open the door, does the noise stop? If so, it's the fan. It's an easy and cheap fix. Our Samsung side by side fan went out around year 6. It was repaired and has been fine since. That was 2 years ago. Total repair cost me $85 (parts and labor).

 

[BaymaxFan78]

It's probably the compressor FAN. If you open the door, does the noise stop? If so, it's the fan. It's an easy and cheap fix. Our Samsung side by side fan went out around year 6. It was repaired and has been fine since. That was 2 years ago. Total repair cost me $85 (parts and labor).

I opened both doors and the freezer and it doesn't stop.

 

[tvguy]

It's probably the compressor FAN. If you open the door, does the noise stop? If so, it's the fan. It's an easy and cheap fix. Our Samsung side by side fan went out around year 6. It was repaired and has been fine since. That was 2 years ago. Total repair cost me $85 (parts and labor).

Great price. Most of the appliance places here charge $125 just to come out, and $125 an hour for repairs plus parts.

 

[BaymaxFan78]

Also want to add that occasionally the fridge will make a hum similar to this but it stops if you bump the fridge. Maybe it is the fan in that case. But no matter what I do it won't stop now.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Simple fix...may not work, but have you tried vacuuming underneath and the coils. Full disclosure, I've never pulled a fridge out and done this but it may help to give you some time if you are having trouble.

 

[tvguy]

Simple fix...may not work, but have you tried vacuuming underneath and the coils. Full disclosure, I've never pulled a fridge out and done this but it may help to give you some time if you are having trouble.

I do not know this for a fact, but I have been told the coils are no longer accessible on modern refrigerators.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I do not know this for a fact, but I have been told the coils are no longer accessible on modern refrigerators.

On most modern refrigerators they easily accessed at the bottom of the unit and are either right behind the toe panel or can be accessed by removing a plate at the back. All you need to clean them is a vacuum with a crevice tool and a coil brush ($5 at any good hardware store)

 

[cvjw]

Look into joining the FB group for Samsung refrigerators with bad ice makers. When I was a member, they had 40K members. The group mainly talks about how to get your money back from Samsung over the faulty ice makers, but they also talk in-depth about other things that routinely go wrong with Samsung refrigerators. I joined the group, followed their steps and got most of my money back for my defective Samsung refrigerator. It was a pretty painless process!

 

[DLgal]

Great price. Most of the appliance places here charge $125 just to come out, and $125 an hour for repairs plus parts.

The place I used charged $85 to diagnose the problem but then that fee goes towards the repair. The fan was like $35 and the guy installed it in about half an hour altogether.

Every repair service locally applies the initial diagnosis fee towards the final repair: plumber, water heater technician, appliance repair, HVAC repair, etc. Anyone charging you "just to come out" and pocketing that fee on top of charging for parts and labor is fleecing you.

 

[JaxDad]

Last week I spent a day taking apart my 16-year old Kenmore refrigerator-freezer and putting it back together. You probably have at least two fans. The condenser fan is underneath and should be accessible from the rear. The evaporator fan is probably behind a panel in the freezer compartment.

As others mentioned you might want to clean out the area underneath the unit. Dust accumulation could be choking the condenser fan. I used a vacuum with attachment to get most of it, then a leaf blower to get what I couldn’t reach. I put damp towels across where I removed the front panel and blew it out from the back. There could also be something obstructing the fan blades or the motor could be going bad.

The evaporator fan could be choked from ice build up. It could be a defroster element issue or a clogged drain tube or a bad thermostat. With any of these, you would likely have temperature problems in the refrigerator and maybe in the freezer too.

 

[tvguy]

The place I used charged $85 to diagnose the problem but then that fee goes towards the repair. The fan was like $35 and the guy installed it in about half an hour altogether.

Every repair service locally applies the initial diagnosis fee towards the final repair: plumber, water heater technician, appliance repair, HVAC repair, etc. Anyone charging you "just to come out" and pocketing that fee on top of charging for parts and labor is fleecing you.

Pretty standard anymore here for a "just to come out" fee. I get it. I know several small service company owners and just paying the tech, insuring and running the van, and keeping it stocked with parts costs them $100 an hour.

 

[tvguy]

On most modern refrigerators they easily accessed at the bottom of the unit and are either right behind the toe panel or can be accessed by removing a plate at the back. All you need to clean them is a vacuum with a crevice tool and a coil brush ($5 at any good hardware store)

I have a Kenmore, made by LG and there is no toe plate in the front, and no access to the coils in the back.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I was going to say turn off the icemaker too and see what happens.