What this usually is
This fault reads the same on every make, but it does not rank the same. On the ATF models it is usually a fan blade catching on frost. This line runs to enough models that the units in service span a wide range of ages, so the parts that wear sit ahead of the parts that fail from a design weakness.
What the owner actually sees
- A buzz or hum that is louder than the unit used to be — Often the first thing noticed at night, when the room is quiet.
- A scraping or warbling noise from inside the freezer — It rises and falls, and it stops when the cooling cycle stops.
- A clunk followed a minute later by running water — A regular event a few times a day rather than a continuous noise.
- The whole cabinet vibrates against the floor or the cupboard beside it — You can feel it through the worktop as much as hear it.
- NEAR MISS — a hiss or gurgle after the compressor stops — That is refrigerant settling and it is normal on every cabinet ever built.
What it usually turns out to be, in order on the ATF line
- A fan blade catching on frost — Ranked first here — it is the noise owners describe most often and it comes and goes with the cooling cycle, which is the tell.
- Compressor mounts that have gone hard — Second here — it builds slowly over years and it is a hum rather than an event.
- A cabinet that is not standing level — Third here — it costs nothing to rule out and because it makes every other noise on the list louder.
- An inlet valve buzzing as it fills — Fourth here — easy to place: it happens only while water is running, which none of the other causes depend on.
- Body: A line this wide puts both old and recent units in front of you, and the ranking below favours the causes that come with age over the ones that come with a build. Concretely, compressor mounts outranks a cabinet here, and that is the difference worth reading for.
What to look at first, second, third
- Open the freezer and hold the door switch in — A scrape or warble that appears with the switch held in, and stops when you let go, places the noise inside the freezer.
- Put a hand on the compressor shell while it runs — A heavy, low buzz felt through the cabinet frame rather than through the air points here.
- Push the top corners of the cabinet gently front to back and side to side — Any rock at all means the feet are carrying it unevenly, and that is where the buzz is being amplified.
- Shut the water supply to the cabinet for a day — A buzz that disappears with the water off is the valve, and nothing else needs opening.
- Body: Across a line this wide the access varies with the generation, so the order starts with checks that need no panel off at all, and only then moves to the ones that do. Work them in order: each one clears the cause it sits beside, and the next is only worth doing once the one before it is clean.
Switch it off first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Keep fingers clear of any fan you have exposed, and do not hold a fan blade still to test it.
Models in the ATF family — Every model this page covers, exactly as the model line is recorded. Nothing outside this table is a model number, and nothing on this page claims to cover a model that is not in it.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ATF1836ARB | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1836ARQ | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1836ARS | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1836ARW | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1838AEB | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1838AEQ | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1838AES | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF1838AEW | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2136ARB | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2136ARQ | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2136ARS | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2136ARW | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2138AEB | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2138AEQ | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2138AES | amana:refrigerator:atf |
| ATF2138AEW | amana:refrigerator:atf |
Where owner work stops
Call when the noise sits behind the freezer rear panel, when it comes with a loss of cooling, or when it has changed from a hum into a knock — a knock is a moving part striking something, and it does not improve. Stop and call at once for a burning smell or a scorch mark at the back of the cabinet.
Related pages at this level
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