Domestic Fridge Howling Noise

[whittye]

Hi all,

I have a Electrolux ERN2820. A little while ago it started making noise when it's running like wind howling through trees. It's quite loud and can be heard from upstairs.

It stops when the fridge is turned off after a few seconds and starts as soon as the fridge is powered on, again, after a few seconds.

The fridge hasn't been moved in years and I've tried defrosting it since the howling started but to no avail.

Also, the thermostat is almost at zero yet the compressor seems to run all the time and fridge compartment is about 2-3°C (the compressor itself is pretty quite).

The fridge & freezer seem to have no problem keeping cold though.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks,

Eamon.

[tbirdtbird]

Fan blade loose and/or scraping?

[whittye]

No, nothing mechanical. Sounds like the refridgerant running through.

[whittye]

Through the CAP I meant to say.

[spimps]

If it's on R600a refigerant it is possibly the noisiest refrigerant around,it also is noisier if there has been a refrigerant leak. If it's cooling OK don't worry,unless you sleep next to it

[mikeref]

Whittye, likely capillary vibration in the insulation. Haven't worked a way around it in domestics

[nike123]

Probably capillary is starting to be partially blocked with wax or other material. Looks like R134a refrigerant on "cleaning action".
I would call technician to change capillary before compressor die.

[whittye]

Thanks folks, I finally gave in and got a repair guy out to have a look.

He made the following observations:

4 shelves in the fridge, ice frosting at back of top shelf and half way down second. Fridge backing behnd other shelves was comparitively warmer.

Fridge compressor running all the time regardless of thermostat setting.

Fridge temp remains at a steady 3°C no matter what the thermostat is set to.

And...oh yeah...howling like a dog!!

Diagnosis:

He reckoned the capillary was blocked mid way down the second shelf (hence no frosting below here).

The howling sound is the gas "boiling" as it can't circulate fully.

Compressor is running all the time as the probe is located down in the "warmer" part of the fridge hence it never gets cold enough to turn off the compressor.

He said so long as it was running and cold it wasn't worth the repair cost.

He also suggested pluging out the fridge for 12-24 hours incase the blockage was due to ice formed in the capillary. That should allow it to melt if that was what was causing the issue.

I tried unplugging the fridge and leaving the door open for about 12 hours but with no success :-(

Guess I'll just have to get a new one when this one packs in!

What could be other causes of blocked capillaries?

Thanks!

[mikeref]

WHittye,one possibility is filter/drier fragmentation, the material within the copper drier breaks down. Fine particles coat the inside of the capillary. Not likely to clear and capillary has to be replaced.

[whittye]

Thanks Mikeref,

I guess it'll be a new fridge when this one packs in.

Thanks all for your input.

[MASTER RE]

in south africa i have come across this type of problem a couple of times during my career, it was especially confined to one make of fridge. they were still running on r12 gas, they were working perfectly but with this noise,nothing you could do solved this problem

[Magoo]

could be something as stupid as a leaking door seal on freezer or fridge section sucking in air.