SR17W-L (P6035051W L) Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

Talked to a bud who does this kind of work and he walked me thru the simple job. Also watched a you tube segment. Very easy job. Took off the front kick vent panel. Unscrewed the metal holder and unplugged old part, plugged new part in and put panel back on. Turned on unit and it is working like a charm. Got my fingers crossed just in case.

The instruction sheet supplied with the new motor described the steps to take very good. Replaced the rubber grommets for the three motor mounts also. A flashlight or light source was needed or was very helpful.

figured out the condenser fan was kaput. Tried WD, worked for several days then gave out completely. Took off back of fridge and trained small fan on compressor while I ordered new condenser fan. The swap was easy, undid the housing bolts, stripped off the connector, reconnected and voila! works perfect.

Partition between Freezer and Fridge was running very hot. (Warm is normal). Oiling fan did not work. The only problems encountered in the replacement were getting fan out and in through coolant lines, cut plug off to accomodate generic fan wiring, getting the screws back in without cooking your hand on a hot compressor. Unit works great!

removed lower back cover. diconnected fan ass'y electrical connection, removed fan housing (3 screws). removed fan motor from housing. cut old connector from fan and installed on new fan with wire nuts included. re-installed new fan to housing and re-installed housing to frame.

I removed the nuts that held the motor mount, then removed fan blade, cut the wires, and slid the motor pass the mounts and the coil shroud, Installed motor in reverse order. worked out ok.

My fridge / freezer started getting very warm. But, the compressor and condenser fan were operating. I chose the defrost timer from the parts select suggested list. I took it apart and noticed the contacts were in bad shape. I validated this with my dvm meter. By checking continuity across the contacts while turning the timer knob. I also used my meter to check for 115 vac across the 2, 1 connections. . As you turn the timer knob, you'll hear a click. This should close the contacts and connections 4,3 should power up the evap fan. I also pulled the evap fan and powered it up on my test bench. I did this just to validate the timer was the problem. So, if you have a running compressor and condenser fan. Check the contacts on the defrost timer located under the front grill of your unit with a dvm. There is a small gear motor that runs the timer. Don't be fooled by the fact it's running. If the contacts are toast, replace the timer unit. Total time to fix the problem should be 15 mins. Tops.

Ordered new fan motor on line took out old motor and replaced with new one

With guidance from this web site, I was able to repair this myself very easily

Very easy repair. Remove 2 nuts that keep timer cover on regrigerater. Remove 2 screws that hold timer to cover, unplug wires from timer. Install new timer.

Removed rear cover to see non-operating fan - removed three mounting screws on the motor that were a challenge to access. Swapped fan from old motor onto new motor - one threaded nut on the motor shaft. Spliced new fan wires into fan wires of the wiring harness and mounted with three self-tapping screws supplied with new fan motor. Replaced rear cover and plugged it in! Now the refrigerator cools like new (1981 model side-by-side Admiral)

Based on internet research, determined that the problem was likely the defrost timer or the thermostat that's clipped to the cooling coil behind the freezer. Once before, a repairman had replaced the thermostat only, so that was my first repair. Still not working right, so I replaced the timer as well, and everything's working. I opened up the old timer switch and found the contacts were burned, partially arced.

If you have a similar problem, replace both parts. Only about $15 apiece

I used the process of elimination. The freezer was cold but the fridge side was warm. The motor was runing but the fan was not working. I unplugged the power cord and pulled everything out of the freezer. Then I took the coil cover out. The unit was frozen solid. I used my wifes hair dryer to melt the ice on the coil and spray water with a bottle to speed up the process. It took about 15 minutes to melt the ice and plug the power cord again. The motor kicked on and the fan started blowing right away so I know it's not the fan. The following morning it was frozen again. I repeated the process of taking everything out and tested the heater element with a multimeter. It wasn't working allowing the ice to build over the coil so I replaced it. It took about 30 minutes to replace but two days later it froze again. I read a little to learn about the timer and the thermostat function in a refrigerator. The timer rotates to turn off the motor and turn on the heater element to melt the ice on the coil. I tried to rotate it but it felt too hard to turn and it smelled burnt out so I replaced it at once. It took me less than 10 minutes to replace. I also learn that the thermostat reaches certain temperature and activates the fan which blows the cold air out of the coil and throughout the fridge compartments. Because the coil and the thermostat were getting covered in ice, it was not activating the fan to blow the air out keeping the freezer side cold and the fridge side warm. By replacing them both, the thermostat and the timer I solved the problem. It took about 30 minutes to replace the thermostat but now it's working like a brand new one again.

Removed and Replaced

The repair was relatively simple.
The hard part was diagnosing the problem. Two of the sheet metal screws were hard to get at.
The online support helped in isolating and fixing the problem. The frig works fine again.