The short answer
Noise complaints on the FF family divide into the sounds every cooling appliance makes and the two or three that mean something has moved, worn or is touching what it should not. Noise is the cheapest fault a cabinet can have and the one most often misread, because the loudest sounds a refrigerator makes are usually the most innocent ones.
What you observe on these models
- A gurgle or a bubbling sound after it stops — That is refrigerant settling, and it is normal on every cabinet of this kind. It is worth naming so nobody pays to have it investigated.
- A buzz or rattle that comes and goes with the compressor — Time it against the cycle. A sound that starts and stops exactly with the compressor is coming from something the compressor is shaking, not from the compressor itself.
- Vibration you can feel through the floor or the worktop — Vibration carried into the structure is nearly always a levelling or contact problem, and it is often worst on a floor that flexes.
- NEAR MISS - the noise arrived with water on the floor — Noise plus water usually means something has shifted or a drain has blocked, and the water leak page for this family is the better starting point.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- Hardened compressor mounts — The compressor is deliberately hung on soft mounts so that its movement never reaches the cabinet. Once those have gone hard with age, every start and stop is passed straight into the shell, and the machine sounds as though it is failing when it is not. A group this wide contains cabinets of very different ages, and age is what decides whether the compressor mounts are still absorbing anything.
- Tubing touching the cabinet — Second on this platform. A line resting on the cabinet is easy to overlook and quick to correct, and it is behind a good share of the buzzes that appear the same week a unit was moved.
- A unit that is not sitting square — Third here. Levelling and contact stay on the list to the end, because they are free to rule out and because they explain sounds that appear after a move with nothing having failed at all.
- The fan, where the model has one — Fourth. Where a model has a fan, ice or a stray wire against the blade is worth checking, though it needs a panel off and so it sits below the free checks.
- A compressor struggling to start — Last. Last, and the only entry here that is urgent: repeated clicking with no cooling means the compressor is not starting, and continuing to let it try is not free.
Check in this order, and why
- Time the sound against the cycle — Note whether it starts with the compressor, runs continuously, or comes in short bursts followed by silence. Those three patterns point at three different causes. With 54 entries on 17 bases in the table below, this check is one of the few that means the same thing across all of them.
- Pull it out and look at what is touching — Check the back panel against the wall, the sides against the cabinetry and the pipework against the shell. Half of these complaints end here, with nothing broken.
- Press a hand flat on the top and the side — If the sound drops while you press, you are listening to a panel resonating rather than a part failing, and the fix is damping or clearance rather than parts.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, and remember that a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Never reach into a fan opening to stop a blade or to feel for an obstruction while the unit is live, and never wedge the door switch to keep a fan running so you can listen to it.
Models in the FF family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| FF1010D0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF1011D1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF1013D3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF104H0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF104H3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF10B*** | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF10B0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF10B1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF10B3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF116B0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF116D0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF120WH | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF138G0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF138G0W-1 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF138G1B-1 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF138G3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF138G3S-1 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF145H0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF145H3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF14D0W-4 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF14D3S-4 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF14V0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF14V1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF14V3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF15X0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF15X1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF15X3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18B0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18B1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18B3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D0W-2 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D0W-4 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D1B-4 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D3S-2 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18D3S-4 | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18F0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18F1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18F3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18H** | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18H0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18H1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF18H3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF45006W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF45016PS | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF4D15H3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF7B** | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF7B0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF7B3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF99D0W | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF99D1B | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
| FF99D3S | avanti:refrigerator:ff |
When to call a technician
If the noise is steady, tracks the compressor and survives every free check, it is worth a visit rather than a parts order. Call immediately instead of testing further where there is a hiss and a smell, a tripping breaker, or clicking with no cold, and leave the cabinet isolated until someone has looked at it.
Other faults covered for these models
SC
Sarah Chen
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
EPA 608 UniversalNASTeC Certified
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
