Not cooling · It runs, clicks, or never stops
It Clicks Every Few Minutes and Won't Start. Why?
- Signed
- Dean Halvorsen
- Role
- Refrigeration technician — sealed systems and airflow
- Certification
- EPA Section 608 certified
- Published
Short answer
The compressor is trying to start and failing, and a safety switch cuts it off each time before the motor cooks. The cause sits in its start parts, the power feeding it, or the compressor itself. Sub-Zero Repair Edmonds tests them in that order for the $89 service call: (206) 210-3547.
What that click actually is
To get the compressor (the motor-driven pump that moves the refrigerant) turning, a start relay gives the motor a brief extra push, then drops out a moment later. If the motor cannot turn, it pulls a heavy current and heats fast, so the overload protector (a heat-sensitive switch in the compressor’s power feed) opens to save it. That is the click. Once the protector cools it closes, the compressor tries again, and the loop repeats: a few seconds of hum, a click, then quiet.
A few seconds of vibration as the compressor starts and stops is normal, one of Sub-Zero’s owner’s guides says. A click returning every few minutes while the cabinet warms is not.
Why it cannot get going
- The start relay. When it fails, the motor never gets its push, and the overload trips on every try.
- Low voltage. A compressor fed too little voltage takes longer to start and can trip its overload before it gets there. Sub-Zero’s design guide asks for a separate circuit serving only the refrigerator, plugged straight into a grounded wall outlet.
- Heat. A condenser clogged with dust, or a condenser fan that has stopped, leaves the compressor hot, and heat is exactly what the protector reacts to.
- The compressor itself. A seized motor or a broken winding clicks the same way.
How it is proved before anything is condemned
The technician reads the voltage at the compressor while it tries to start, tests the relay and the overload, and measures the motor windings with a meter. Sub-Zero’s service manual also names a hard-start kit (a temporary starting aid) as a way to check a compressor that will not run. Only when the supply and the start parts are good and the motor still will not turn does the answer become a compressor, which is sealed-system work.
What it may cost
$89 to find out — the visit and the diagnosis, taken off the repair if you go ahead.
- Compressor or sealed-system repair Shows as a compressor that clicks and will not start, or refrigerant slowly lost $1,300–$3,270
A start relay or overload protector is an electrical part outside the sealed system, so replacing one on its own is quoted after the diagnosis.
Ranges, not starting prices. The technician names one figure inside the band before any panel comes off, and Sub-Zero Repair Edmonds holds to it.
Wait or call today?
Can wait until morning
- One section still holds its temperature: move the perishables into it, keep both doors shut and book a visit.
- Everything that spoils is already in coolers with ice, and the clicking is the only sign: no smell, no smoke.
Call today if
- Both sections are warming and the fridge has passed 40°F. After four hours above that line the FDA says perishables should go.
- Each click comes with a burning or hot-plastic smell, or the breaker has tripped.
- The kitchen lights dip every time it tries to start.
Anything in the second card is a reason to phone Sub-Zero Repair Edmonds on (206) 210-3547 today rather than tomorrow.
Questions people ask next
Should I switch it off and on to help it start?
No. Every restart is one more failed attempt that heats the motor, and repeated starting is hard on a compressor and on the parts that start it. Clear anything piled against the grille and note how often the click comes. If you know it runs off an extension lead or a shared circuit, tell Sub-Zero Repair Edmonds when you call (206) 210-3547.
Does a clicking compressor always need replacing?
No. The same click comes from a failed start relay, a sagging supply or a machine compartment choked with heat, and each of those is put right without opening the sealed system. A compressor is condemned only after its supply and start parts test good and the meter, or its refusal to turn, proves the motor has failed.