The short answer
When the ATMA family gets loud, the useful question is which noise it is making, not how loud it is. The table on this page covers a small group of model numbers in the same line. Some sounds on these cabinets are normal and one of them is urgent, so this page starts by separating the two.
What an owner actually sees
- A sharp crack or pop at intervals — Plastic and metal expanding and contracting as the cabinet changes temperature, most obvious during and after a defrost cycle.
- A vibration you feel through the floor — The cabinet is transmitting normal compressor vibration into the structure, usually because a foot is not carrying its share.
- A rhythmic ticking or clicking from inside the freezer section — Usually a fan blade touching ice that has built up around it. It comes and goes as the ice grows and gets shaved back.
- The noise changed after the cabinet was cleaned behind — Something was moved: the drain pan, the duct, or the machine itself now touching a wall or a pipe.
- NEAR MISS — a hiss or a smell with the noise — Stop and isolate the cabinet. Anything that sounds like escaping gas or smells burnt is not an ordinary noise complaint.
What to suspect, in order, on this family
- How the cabinet stands and what it touches — Ranked first because it is free to test and right often: lean on each corner while the unit runs, and a noise that changes as you do has just been diagnosed.
- Loose items on top of or behind the cabinet — Second, and it is worth a deliberate check rather than a glance — the item responsible is usually one nobody thinks of as being in contact with the cabinet.
- The fan and what has collected around it — Third. Confirmed with the power off and a torch, and cleared without tools most of the time.
- Evaporator fan and ice contact — Fourth. An internal noise that changes when the door is open is this, and it also tells you the defrost cycle is not keeping up.
- The compressor itself — Last, and reached only when everything cheaper has been eliminated. Noise alone is weak evidence against a compressor.
The order to work in on these models
- Decide first whether the noise is a fault at all — Gurgling, trickling and cracking are normal. Establishing that saves the rest of the diagnosis.
- Check what is touching the cabinet — Walls, units, pipes, and anything stored on top. Free, fast, and the commonest real cause on cabinets of this size.
- Check the cabinet is level and every foot carries weight — A rocking cabinet turns the compressor into a loudspeaker.
- Listen at the freezer section with the door held open — Now worth doing: if the noise survives with the internal fan stopped, it is not the internal fan.
- Inspect the condenser fan with the power off — The last owner-side step, and the one that needs the machine moved.
Before you open anything
Safety
Power off at the plug or the breaker before the back of the cabinet is touched. If a noise comes with a burning smell or a hiss, do not investigate further — switch the machine off at the breaker and get it looked at, because neither of those is a mechanical noise. If the noise came with any change in how the cabinet cools, treat it as a cooling fault first — a refrigerator holds food safely at 40 °F (4 °C) or below.
Models in the ATMA family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ATMA100AEB | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
| ATMA100AES | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
| ATMA100AEW | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
| ATMA115AEB | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
| ATMA115AES | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
| ATMA115AEW | arctic-king:refrigerator:atma |
Where owner work stops
The boundary on these models is the panel. Levelling, clearing debris, removing ice and stopping something touching the cabinet are all owner-side. A fan motor, a compressor mount or anything that needs the evaporator cover off is a service call. Call at once if the noise is accompanied by a smell, because that changes the question from noise to safety.
Nearest pages for these models
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
