The short answer
On the HE series of Auseo refrigerators, a new noise or vibration leads first to a cabinet that is not standing level or square. The brand page puts the condenser fan at the back, dusty or obstructed first; here it moves down, because what sits behind which panel on these models changes what is worth checking first. 3 of the 5 causes below can be checked without a tool; the rest need a technician.
What the machine is doing
- A gurgle or a trickle a few minutes after it stops — Normal on nearly every cabinet. It is refrigerant and meltwater moving, and it needs nothing done about it.
- A clicking every few minutes, with no cooling to show for it — That is a starting circuit trying and failing, and it is the one noise on this list that is urgent.
- A new whine that is there whenever the compressor runs — Continuous and tied to the cycle, which places it at the back of the cabinet rather than inside it.
- NEAR MISS — a noise that is there whether or not the machine is running — Then it is not the machine. Check what is standing on it and what is touching it before going further.
Causes, most likely first on the HE series
- A cabinet that is not standing level or square — Feet that have worked loose, or a floor that flexes, let ordinary compressor vibration become a drumming. It is the cause most often mistaken for a failing compressor.
- Tubing or a panel touching where it should stand free — Refrigerant lines are routed with clearance for a reason. One that has been nudged into contact with the cabinet turns the whole back panel into a sounding board.
- The evaporator fan inside, fouled by ice or worn — It is behind the rear panel of the freezer compartment, and it is the part that speaks loudest through the open door. A blade catching frost gives a tick that changes when you open the door and the fan stops.
- Compressor mounts that have hardened with age — The compressor sits on rubber pucks that go hard over years. When they do, the same motor that was always there is suddenly audible everywhere in the room.
- The defrost cycle: sizzling, popping and dripping — A heater melting frost off the coil hisses, and water hitting a warm tray pops. It runs a few times a day and only ever for a short while.
What to check first, second, third
- Time the noise against the cooling cycle with a clock — Twenty minutes of listening replaces a great deal of guessing, because most of this list is identified by when the noise happens rather than by what it sounds like.
- Switch the ice maker off for a day if there is one — It costs you nothing but ice and it eliminates a whole class of scheduled noises.
- Record it on a phone from two places — One recording at the open door and one at the back panel will usually settle which side of the cabinet you are dealing with.
- Note whether the noise survives the machine being switched off — If it does, it is not the machine, and everything below is the wrong list.
Before you open anything
Safety
Nothing below happens on a live machine. Unplug it or switch off its breaker before any panel comes off, and remember a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Keep the door switch and every other interlock wired as you find them: each one stops something moving while a hand is inside. If a step needs a meter on live terminals, that is the end of owner work and the start of a service call.
Models in the HE family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| HE-200 | auseo:refrigerator:he |
When to call a technician
Where to stop: what you can see, reach and clear with the machine isolated is owner work; refrigerant work of any kind, and any test that puts a meter on a live terminal is not. On this page that puts compressor mounts that have hardened with age on the far side of the line.
Other problems covered for the HE series
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