XT Appliances · Warren
Refrigerator not cooling and clicking at the back
A click every few minutes with nothing cold is most often a failed start relay, not a dead compressor.
When the freezer and the fridge are both warm, the problem is in the part that makes cold rather than the parts that move it. The compressor sits at the bottom back of the refrigerator. When the fridge calls for cooling it should start with a low hum and run for a stretch. If you hear a click, maybe a few seconds of humming, then another click and quiet, the compressor is trying to start and getting shut off.
The click is usually the relay
That pattern sounds like a dead compressor, and most of the time it isn't. A small start relay plugged onto the side of the compressor gives it the push it needs to start. When the relay fails, the compressor can't get going and the overload switch clicks it off to protect it. A few minutes later it tries again. Relays fail far more often than compressors, which is why the relay gets tested first.
Many newer refrigerators use a variable-speed (inverter) compressor with no start relay. A control board drives the compressor instead, and when that board fails you hear a click every few seconds while nothing gets cold.
An older refrigerator with a temperature dial and no display works differently again. The thermostat behind the dial switches the compressor directly, and if its contacts stick open the compressor never starts. Turning the dial makes no difference.
Heat that can't get out
A compressor that starts, runs hot and keeps shutting itself off is usually overheating. The condenser coils carry heat out of the refrigerator, and a fan underneath blows air across them and over the compressor. Coils packed with dust or pet hair trap that heat, and so does a fan that has seized. Cooling fades while the compressor runs hot and cycles on and off. Dirty coils mimic a failing part, so unplug the fridge and vacuum them before anything else. If the coils are clean and you can't hear the fan underneath while the compressor runs, suspect the fan.
The compressor itself is the last suspect. It does fail, but blaming it only makes sense after the relay, the condenser fan and the coils check out. If the back is hot to the touch or you smell burning, unplug the fridge and call us.
Our technician tests the relay and the overload and confirms the condenser fan runs before measuring the compressor windings.
What it usually turns out to be
- PartCompressor start relay and overloadThe relay gives the compressor its push to start. When it fails, the compressor hums, the overload clicks it off, and a few minutes later it tries again while nothing gets cold.
- Cleaning or upkeepDirty condenser coilsThe coils let heat out of the refrigerator. Packed with dust or pet hair they trap it, so the fridge runs all the time and stays warm while the compressor runs hot.
- PartCondenser fan motorThis fan cools the coils and the compressor. If it seizes, the compressor overheats and keeps shutting itself off, the back feels very hot, and you can't hear the fan underneath.
- PartInverter compressor control boardMany newer models drive a variable-speed compressor from a control board instead of a start relay. When the board fails, the compressor clicks every few seconds and won't start.
- PartCompressorThe compressor makes the cold, and it does fail, but far less often than the parts above. It's the last suspect, after the relay, the condenser fan and the coils check out.
Try this first
- Check the temperature settings in case a dial or button got bumped.
- Unplug it and vacuum the condenser coils if they're dusty.
- Leave space around the refrigerator so air can reach the coils.
Stop using it and call now if
- A burning smell, or the back is hot to the touch
- Food has been above 40°F for two hours or more