Ice Maker Noise Levels on Refrigerators

Buzz and Hiss

• If you hear a muffled buzz followed by a hiss or whooshing sound, then you can safely assume that the ice maker has called for another round of water from the supply line. The buzzing sound is the valve that lets the water in to fill the cube trays. The hiss or whooshing sound is the water rushing down the line and spraying into the cube molds. This will happen in regular intervals as cubes are made, dumped and then made again. The noise level of this operation is fairly low and doesn’t typically startle anyone even if they are nearby.

Ice Harvest

• One of the most abrupt and loud sounds the ice maker will make is when the ice is harvested from the trays and put into the storage bin. The ice bin holds the ice until it is needed for your drinks. When the cubes turn solid in the molds, the cubes are raked into the ice bin below. The level of noise can range from a mild tumbling sound when the bin is near capacity to a fairly loud crashing sound when the bin is completely empty and the cubes fall onto the plastic surface below.

Evaporator Fan

• Sometimes a chirping, squealing or groaning sound may come from the freezer compartment and be incorrectly blamed on the ice maker. While the noise may appear to be coming from the device, it is more likely coming from the evaporator fan located nearby at the cooling coil. The evaporator fan does make it possible for the ice maker to work. This fan draws air over the coil for chilling and blows the chilled air throughout the unit, lowering the overall temperature. When the fan motor gets worn out, the bearing may begin to make loud noises that can be heard a great distance from the refrigerator. It is not an ice maker problem, but you may think it is until you investigate further.

No Water Supply

• If your water is not turned on at the supply valve behind the refrigerator, your ice maker will make very noticeable noise. A loud clicking may indicate the inability of the ice maker to pull water into the device because there is none in the line as the valve opens. To stop this sound you only need to turn on the water supply to the refrigerator. If you do not have water hooked up to the refrigerator it will not make ice, but you can lift the feeler arm on the ice maker to shut it off until you do connect a water supply.