The short answer for this family
On the Alpha RDVC family, a cabinet making a noise it did not make before is usually a fan blade fouling its shroud or a worn fan bearing. This is the cooler build of a platform also sold as a freezer, so its evaporator sits close to freezing and small errors in airflow or setpoint push it over. The brand-generic article for this symptom ranks a panel, shelf or item in the cabinet resonating first; on this platform it does not.
What you observe on these models
- Which of the family's models you are standing in front of — The matrix on this page is two cabinets whose numeric part ascends, on the same platform that carries the freezer build, and that is worth reading first, because this is the cooler build of a platform also sold as a freezer, so its evaporator sits close to freezing and small errors in airflow or setpoint push it over.
- A buzz or rattle that comes and goes with the compressor — It starts when the machine starts and stops when it stops, which points at mounting rather than at the pump.
- A whine or click that stops when the door is opened — Opening the door cuts the evaporator fan, so a noise that dies with the door is that fan.
- A crack or pop a few times a day — Metal expanding and contracting through a cycle. It is loud, it is sudden and it is normal.
Causes, most likely first on the RDVC family
- A fan blade fouling its shroud or a worn fan bearing — Ranked first because this is the cooler build of a platform also sold as a freezer, so its evaporator sits close to freezing and small errors in airflow or setpoint push it over.
- Sounds that are normal for this machine — Second. The duty here is a cabinet opened many times a day with the door held open while it is loaded, so a unit that is asked to work harder simply makes its normal noises more often.
- A panel, shelf or item in the cabinet resonating — Third. It is confirmed by touch: a hand flat on the panel that changes the noise has found the cause.
- The compressor and its mounts — Fourth. Less common than the causes above, and the least pleasant to confirm without removing the rear panel.
- A sealed-system or compressor fault — Last, and that placement is the point of the ranking: it is the least common cause and the only one that is not an owner fix.
- Body: This is not the brand-generic ranking. A fan blade fouling its shroud or a worn fan bearing moves to the top of this family's ranking and a panel, shelf or item in the cabinet resonating goes down to third place, because the platform here is a reach-in style cabinet holding a cooler setpoint, so its evaporator runs near freezing rather than below it.
Check in this order on these models
- Open the door and hold the door switch in — If the noise appears with the switch held and dies when you let go, it is the evaporator fan and nothing else.
- Time the noise over a day — A noise that appears a handful of times and lasts a short while is a cycle doing its job.
- Lay a flat hand on each panel in turn while it is running — A noise that changes under your hand has just told you which panel is passing it on.
- Body: The order follows the ranking, and the access decides the rest: on these models the condensing unit is in the machine compartment; the evaporator and its fan are inside the top of the cabinet.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Never hold the door switch in with tape and then reach inside: the fan is running because the switch is defeated, and it will not stop for your hand.
Models in the RDVC family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| RDVC170WE | alpha:refrigerator:rdvc |
| RDVC210WE | alpha:refrigerator:rdvc |
Where the owner limit falls on these models
Call when the noise is inside the machine compartment, when it is accompanied by a cabinet that has stopped holding temperature, or when it is a grinding rather than a rattle. A noise on its own, with the cabinet still cold, is rarely urgent. A noise with a rising cabinet temperature is, because the two together point at the fan that moves the cold air.
Other symptoms covered for this family
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