M2CW is that when you turn 'on' a room fan you know
the "normal" sound of a fan pushing air, and when the fan
blades are hitting the fan cage, you know something is
wrong.  IMHO no fan should be making a "grinding" (your
word) noise - just a fan/air noise.  My guess is that the
fan blades are hitting something back there - a wire, or a
fin, or a kid's toy. And Yes, the fan is on a thermostat
and can come 'on' whether or not the fridge is lit.
Malcolm

>  >My refrigerator is making a loud electric buzz, almost
>  sounds like a >grinding.  The sound comes from the upper
>  back of the unit.  The noise only >occurs when it is hot
>  outside.  So, thankfully, it is quiet at night.   It >does
>  not matter whether the fridge is running off propane,
>  battery or
> electric.
>  >
>  >Has any one else come across this problem ... and a
>  solution? > >Thanks, Michael
>
> It's actually supposed to do that --- what you're hearing is
> a cooling fan that is triggered by a thermocouple when it
> gets too hot at the back of the fridge. The first time mine
> went on it scared the ^%$& out of me. It is both loud and
> rather ineffective. Other listees have augmented this fan
> (or replaced it altogether) with quieter and more efficient
> units --- something I plan to do the *next* time I have to
> pull the fridge out. That particular fan was not VW's finest
> engineering hour.........
>
> Cheers,
>
> Doug Alcock
> '84 Westy "BlueBelle"
> Toronto, Canada
>
> Michael Sheridan,
> Sheridan Pictures
> Filmmaking and Photography
> 56 Parkton Road #2, Jamaica Plain, Boston MA 02130, USA Tel:
> 617-782-0908 Fax: 617-782-0146, Pager: 617-339-1278 e-mail:
> msheridan@igc.org