Can a clicking compressor be saved?

Often the compressor is not the part that failed. Start relays and overloads wear out too, cost far less, and are tested first with a meter, before anyone mentions the compressor. If the compressor itself is at fault, you get the sealed-system price and time to decide before any work starts.

It clicks but the display is dark. What now?

Check the breaker and the unit’s own power switch first. If power is reaching it but the display stays dark while something clicks, the control or its power supply is a likelier suspect than the compressor. Leave it plugged in, keep the doors shut, and give us a call.

Answers · clicks

Clicking: one click or a chatter

By SubZero Repair Broomfield · October 10, 2026

A click is not a fault by itself. What matters is how many there are, how often they come, and what you hear straight after.

Open compressor bay below a stainless refrigerator, the technician's test leads running to a yellow multimeter on a grey towel with hand tools. — Test leads running into the open compressor bay, the meter on a towel. A failed start relay and a failed compressor can sound alike; a meter tells them apart.

One click, then a long hum: normal

A relay on the control board, or the compressor's start device, closes with a click when cooling begins and opens with another when it ends. One click, a hum that carries on for many minutes, one click at the end: that is a Sub-Zero doing its job.

Click, short hum, click, every few minutes: not normal

When the hum after a click lasts only seconds and another click follows a few minutes later, the compressor is trying to start and failing. The overload protector shields it from overheating by cutting the power, then resets once it cools, and the cycle repeats. The causes, cheapest first: the start relay or start device, the overload itself, low voltage at the outlet, and last the compressor. Each failed start heats the compressor, so call about this one now rather than next week.

Other clicks you may hear

A click and a short buzz near the ice makerNormal
The water valve opening to fill the ice tray.
A click a few times a day, then sizzlingNormal
The control switching the defrost heater on.
Clicking from the control, with lights flickeringCall us
A control board or a loose connection.

What to do

Time the gap between clicks with your phone.
Check whether the food is still cold in both sections.
Do not keep unplugging it to try again; a compressor struggling to start needs a rest.
Call with what you timed. It narrows the parts we bring.

When the click is a fault: part and labor on a Sub-Zero
Repair	Usual range
Control board	$410–$940
Compressor or sealed system	$1,290–$3,100

A guide, not a quote. A relay or an overload is priced after testing and costs far less.

Questions about clicking

Can a clicking compressor be saved?: Often the compressor is not the part that failed. Start relays and overloads wear out too, cost far less, and are tested first with a meter, before anyone mentions the compressor. If the compressor itself is at fault, you get the sealed-system price and time to decide before any work starts.
It clicks but the display is dark. What now?: Check the breaker and the unit’s own power switch first. If power is reaching it but the display stays dark while something clicks, the control or its power supply is a likelier suspect than the compressor. Leave it plugged in, keep the doors shut, and give us a call.