36531 Refrigerator - Instructions

I called the local Amana repair man, wanted $150 for a new ice maker because they could not get the part I needed. Found Partsselect.com and the part cost $17 with shipping. They saved me over $100. The repair was very easy too, just removed a couple of screws.

Thanks,
Matt

First unplugged frig. Took off cover to fan, then bottom & back panels in freezer. Unplugged the fan to the wires & marked them so we would know how they went back. Unscrewed the frame that holds the fan, laid the old one next to the new one so we could tell how it went. Only took a few minutes to do this, then put it back in the same way we took it out. Plugged frig. back in & it took off. Very happy with this. Runs like a new one.

Removed door. Removed old cam closure assembly. Noticed that there was almost nothing inside the door for screw to screw into(only styrofoam insulation), which is why original screw backed out. Bad design. Got longer screw at bigger diameter. Pushed high strength glue into hole, on screw threads, and underneath screw head. Assembled. Crossed fingers. About three weeks have passed and so far, so good.

After I bought what I thought I needed for the repair. I asked a friend to come over and look at it. He changed the
the light socket and put the same light bulb in and it works great. I am returning the light switch but decided to keep the light bulb.

Getting on the internet was so easy. This was really very simple. Thank you for making what I thought would be a big ordeal into something very simple.

Paulette Johnson

took cover off, installed bulb.
lost the owners manual,
part select's schematics were very helpful
thanks

(1) Removed the three screws which attached the ice maker to the freezing compartmnet wall in refrigerator; (2) Disconnected the power to the old ice maker; (3) Removed the old ice maker from the freezing compartment of the refrigerator; (4) Took the white front cover off of the old ice maker; (5) Disconnected the wiring harness from the old ice maker; (6) Removed the "ice making-stop arm" from the old ice maker; (7) Placed the items taken from old ice maker on to the new ice maker; (8) Reconnected the new ice maker to the power; (9) Placed the new ice maker in the proper position in freezing compartment of refrigerator and replaced the three screws. JOB DONE!

I called a repair man from a pretty large name to come out and take a look. He found out in about 10 minutes that it was a bad capacitor. The quote he gave me was $75 for the part and $175 labor. I tried my best not to laugh and tell him no thank you. He did have to charge me for him to show up, which was only $98.
So I used what he told(minus the "scrap it") and opened it back up. Although he had left wires everywhere and the broken pieces laying inside, I thought it was enough for me to order the part. PartSelect was very easy to navigate and ordering was a breeze. Took about 4 days to get the part and I ordered in the X-mas craze. Fixed it in about 15 minutes.

While investigating a water leak I discovered the condenser fan seized. I removed the fan to prevent a fire and ordered the part. The hardest part was identifying the correct fan. That took longer than the installation.
I cut the wires and spliced in the new motor. It rotated correctly and I replaced the crill.
Done
Total time of ice maker water leak repair and fan replacement about 1 hour.

First step, call the repair man. He listened, and then said to get a new refrigerator, since this one is 28 years old and the repairs could amount to a significant part of the price to buy new. Even if he fixed this, it could develop other problems, yada. So we went out to buy and discovered nothing suitable that would fit in that slot of our kitchen! We'd need new counter top and cabinets to fix this problem! So we went to the Internet and searched to find the likely source of the problem and the parts schematic at PartsSelect.com. Yah! We ordered the part, and then found we had no idea how to install it. Sooo, back to the Internet, and eventually got some good clues - it goes in the kick space under the front, and just plugs in, once you can get to it by removing the bracket that holds it. Working underneath a refrigerator is not complicated but it's awkward. The form of the new timer was not exactly the same, but it does function correctly. We have no experience whatsoever with appliance repair, so pretty amazed at our success. This old Amana looks very good inside and out and is now working perfectly again. If it lasts a few more years, we will be thrilled to have spent $15 to save $500. We can always buy new later on.

Just replaced the switch, but unfortunately that was not the problem; nor was it the bulb....so I am back to square one.
But Parts Select is a great place to order from. Thank you.

1. Removed the cardboard cover.
2. Removed the terminal block and unplugged the old motor.
3. Removed three screws that held old motor to the bracket.
4. Removed the fan blade from the old motor.
5. Installed the fan blade (after cleaning) to the new motor.
6. Crimped on new wire terminals onto the leads on the new motor.
7. Installed the new motor using the fasteners provided.
8. Plugged the new motor wires onto the proper terminals in the terminal block.
9. remounted the terminal block.
10. reinstalled the cardboard cover.

Unplug
Remove entire back panel (both chipboard and metal fan grill)
Unscrew both fan mount plate screws - fan won't be able to come out because it is still plugged in
When looking at back of fridge, locate a small plastic box to the immediate left of the condenser. It's a circuit block. Release the metal spring clip holding the plastic cover in place, and trace the fan wire connections back to the fan. Make a note of which wire is connected to which terminal (1 of the fan wires has white lettering and 1 is just black)
Unplug both fan wire connects from circuit block to release the fan power cable.
Remove the fan mounting plate
Release fan blade clip by pressing fan against motor and unscrewing and remove fan blades
Unscrew motor from brackets - note alignment of motor on brackets
Mount new motor on brackets. Leave plug wire disconnected (replacement motor has a harnessed plug wire)
Connect new plug wire to the circuit block keeping wires connected to the proper terminals
Snake new plug wire behind condenser like the old wire was and run through cable bracket to the back right of the condenser
Plug wire harness into motor and re-mount fan mount plate
Reattach fan blade and secure using blade mount kit
Replace back panels

Confirmed that the solenoid controlled water valve (Part # PS358631) between the water source and the back of ice maker was defective. I did this by removing the valve and plastic hose from the back of the refrigerator and pointed the end that went into the icemaker towards the sink. I applied 110 volts to the valve and noted that no water was getting through. Replacing the valve was a snap.

i have a friend that had a big side by side refrigerator . he had repair man after repairman come and look at it. one thought it was the overload relay in the back and another just said it was compressor problems. this went on for over a month. after all of this and no one able to fix it he went and got another refrigerator . being the tinker with stuff kind of person i am i said i will come and get the old one to keep him from having to haul it off (he agreed). well i did my home work and tried a few things messing with it. tapping on the thermistat resetting the defrost timer and it dawned on me that that the fridge would run great if i wiggle a wire on the thermistat and reset the defrost timer. so i get on the internet look around for the parts. come to find out they were realy cheap. the day they get here i break out with a screw driver and a nut driver and take the cover off. i take the old parts out and put the new ones in in about 15 minutes. i wiped the inside of the frige clean and pluged it back in. well in no time flat this thing was cooling like a northern blowing through in january. then it dawned on me that i have a 27 cubic ft frige that i didnt pay any thing for (well the 65 bucks i spent on the parts) and it runs great. what a deal.

after getting the big side by side fixed up and running like a champ i realized i have a refrigerator in the garage that my parents gave me a couple of years ago that only ran for a couple of months. well i get brave and decide to try my luck with the second one. due to it sitting up for so long and the humidity i had to do a little more work to it. i replaced a few wires, changed out a couple of connections, put a thermistat , a defrost timer and a evapmotor in it this thing also ran like a champ. i cleaned it up real good ran some steel wool over the outside and sprayed a couple of coats of enamel on it and it looks brand new.

so to end this story i spent about 140 bucks and i have two refrigerators a big side by side ice and water despensing refrigerator in the house and a 17 cubic ft refrigerator in the garage (the wife was happy simply because i had a place to put beer and bait).

if i would have went and purchased both of these refrigerators i would have spent about $1400 for the side by side and about $450 for the other one. man what a bargin, so from now on even if it seems a little dificult i dont get rid of any thing until i give it a good look over and see if i can fix it. i saved a total of $1700 (minus tax).

I was not sure what was causing the problem, I thought at first it was low water pressure causing the hollow ice cubes. After some trial and error testing I figured a likely cause could be the water valve in the ice maker itself. I replaced that part rather easily using the existing fasteners in about 15 or 20 minutes. The ice maker has been working flawlessly since the repair.