Frigidaire Side by Side Refrigerator making a humming noise

In this post, I will explain and resolve a Frigidaire Side by Side Refrigerator (freezer on left and fresh food on right) that is making a loud humming noise that is coming from the freezer section.  This noise is constant and can last for several minutes to several hours at a time.  The sound of the noise can only be describes as EERRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr.  This is one of the most common issues that can happen with this style (side by side) Frigidaire and can cover many different models and years of production.  Depending on your model type, this issue can also present an Error code on the display of SY EF which means there is an interruption of the Evaporator fan motor, the fan motor that is located inside the freezer or refrigerator section (in our case its inside the freezer section). 

Before performing these steps, always unplug unit or if applicable, turn unit Off on the Display.

First Step

The first step in identifying and resolving our issue is to remove any food or items from our top 2 shelves underneath the ice maker bin as well as removing the metal shelving underneath the ice bin.  From there we are able to see the back metal panel in which 4 screws will be visible (the top 2 screws are at a diagonal and the bottom 2 screws are level).  You can remove these 4 screws with a 1/4  nut driver or a 1/4 drill bit.

Second Step

After removing the 4 screws, separate and lift the top half of the metal panel up and that will reveal the Evaporator fan motor and if there are Ice blocks around, we have located our issue and can remove the ice.  At this point, it is always good to manually turn the blades on the motor to see if still spins properly.  If it turns but has a wobble to the spin, then fan motor may have to be changed out but not common with this symptom.  Once the ice is removed, you can reassemble the panels with the 4 screws and reassemble the shelves and replace all food or items inside freezer section

Third Step

Once everything has been placed back inside the freezer, pull the refrigerator away from the wall to access the back of unit to view the fill tube.  When pulling the unit away from the wall, remember to lift up the front legs to allow the front wheels to be on the ground if they were lifted up previously.  Once the fill tube is visible, unscrew the clear plastic that holds the water line to the actual fill tube until separated.  The fill tube pictured has a screw that holds the tube in place but not all models have this screw.  If no screw is visible, disconnect green water line and twist the fill tube counter-clockwise and pull the tube out.  If the screw is present, remove the screw and pull fill tube directly out.

Final Step

Once the fill tube is removed from the back of the fridge, run warm water to clean out any clogs of ice or hard water particles that can cause the spraying of water.  Once cleaned and dried, I use electrical tape to start tapping the U shaped fill tube up completely.  I start at the opening of the U that is closest to my thumb (in picture) and start spiraling towards the end in a circular motion.  Once completely tapped up, replace tube back into back port of the fridge and reconnect the green water line and secure tube with screw or twisting in if screw is not present. 

Once all steps are completed, push refrigerator back into place and plug unit in or turn unit to the On setting on the Display.  If your display had the error code of SY EF and you DIDN'T unplug your unit while performing this repair, it is very important to unplug for as little as 1 minute to reset the code to the control board.  If this unplugging of the unit is not performed, the control board will still present error code and will not send voltage to fan even if all steps have been completed.  Once plugged in, fan should come back on within a few seconds to minutes and should hear the usual faint humming that the fan typically makes. 

If this has helped you resolve your issue, please help by leaving a review on my Google Business Profile!