Quick answer
Light cracking as parts expand and contract, bubbling or gurgling refrigerant, a faint sizzle during defrost, and ice dropping are all normal. Scraping or rattling inside, a loud continuous roar, or repeated clicking with no cooling need checking.
Overview
An inverter compressor changes speed as needed, so it gets a little louder after the door is opened or warm food goes in, then settles. Fans start and stop, and the defrost cycle causes cracking and faint sizzling.
Worrying sounds are usually mechanical: a fan blade hitting ice or a foreign object, a poorly mounted compressor, or a fridge that isn’t level and vibrates.
Likely causes
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1
Normal sounds
Refrigerant flow, plastic cracking with temperature change, defrost sizzle and the ice maker dropping ice.
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2
Fan scraping on ice
Rattling or rapid clicking from the freezer — usually ice from a defrost fault; 21E may appear.
Related parts: Evaporator fanEvaporator
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3
Condenser fan
Noise from the lower back due to dust, a trapped object or a worn bearing.
Related parts: Condenser fan
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4
Compressor
An unusually loud roar, or repeated clicking without starting.
Related parts: Compressor
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5
Fridge not level or touching
Vibration transfers to the wall or cabinets and amplifies the sound.
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6
Ice maker with no water
Motor noise or repeated clicking when it’s switched on without a water connection.
Related parts: Ice maker
Safe checks before calling a technician
Unplug the fridge before cleaning the rear grille or moving it, and close the water supply tap if there’s a leak. Don’t remove inner panels or the compressor cover, and never chip ice with sharp tools — you could puncture the refrigerant tubing.
- Locate the noise: inside the freezer, inside the fridge, or at the lower back.
- Make sure the fridge is level with steady feet and not touching the wall or cabinets.
- Remove anything on top of or behind the fridge that could rattle.
- If the ice maker is on without a water connection, switch it off in settings.
- Notice whether the sound stops when you open the door (usually the evaporator fan).
- With the fridge unplugged, vacuum dust around the lower rear grille without removing covers.
Parts involved
Evaporator fan
Distributes cold air across the shelves; if it stops, the freezer may stay cold while the fridge warms.
Condenser fan
Cools the condenser and compressor in the rear machine compartment.
Compressor
The heart of the cooling cycle, compressing and circulating refrigerant. Modern models usually use a variable-speed inverter compressor.
Ice maker
Fills, freezes and ejects ice cubes, with its own sensor and motor.
Evaporator
The cold coil behind the freezer or fridge panel that absorbs heat from the air inside.
When should you call a technician?
- Continuous scraping or rattling inside the freezer.
- A loud roar that wasn’t there before.
- Repeated clicking every few minutes with weak cooling.
- The noise comes with 21E or 22E.
Need a Samsung repair technician?
Send us the model, the error code and a description of the fault — or book a technician visit in Amman, Zarqa, Salt, Madaba or Sahab.
Related error codes
Frequently asked questions
Is gurgling in the fridge normal?
Yes — it’s refrigerant flowing through the tubes, most noticeable when the compressor starts or stops.
Why does my fridge crack at night?
Plastic and metal expand and contract with temperature, especially during defrost — more noticeable in the quiet of the night.
Is it normal for the compressor to get louder after opening the door?
Yes with inverter compressors — they speed up to recover temperature, then slow down again.