36508L Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

Interior surface of ice tray felt rough & flaky (coating deteriorated) so cubes would not release.
Unplug appliance.
Remove timer cover by hand pressure @ edge.
Remove single attachment screw & bracket at lower front of icemaker.
Disconnect wiring harness from socket @ rear of compartment.
Tricky part was determining what type of connection held the other two attachment points along the long edge of the icemaker. I did not have repair manual or useful drawing but looked @ PartsDirect pic of side brackets & used a small mirror to confirm that mine were also some sort of "snap in" attachment.
Remove icemaker unit by pushing upward and outward on the unit. I takes a good bit of pressure and will pop loose, but be careful not to break attachment bracket from freezer wall.
Scavenge shut off bar and wiring harness from old icemaker once you have it out & attach to new one before installing it back in freezer.
Again, you might find a mirror useful to align those pesky snap-in brackets with the new unit.
Since you probably kept your freezer running while waiting for the part, the plastic snap-ins will be cold and brittle. I warmed them up first by applying a dampened cloth heated in the microwave to make them a little more pliable.
A good push of the new unit towards the snap-ins along with some upward force will get it stable.
Reattach the metal screw in bracket & connect the wiring harness to rear plug... and don't forget to plug the whole thing back in.
It will take awhile for the first batch of cubes dump as the timer may need to cycle completely around to get to the fill cycle... be patient.
Dump the first couple of batches of cubes just to make sure you're free of any residue.

I knew the chances of all the freon leaking out was unlikely so I looked at the wiring to the compressor and there was a capacitor and a starter/overload so i figured I would start there. I went on line and found the parts at this site and they were less than the minimum service call charge for a service tech so I figured what the heck let's give her a shot so I did give it a shot. I ordered the parts and they were there in less time than a service tech could come out and i installed the parts and guess what for 90.00 in parts and 15 minutes in time I repaired my refrigerator. Thanks guys, It took less time to order the parts than it did to make the repair so thanks, your website rocks and is very well designed so my hat is off to you guys!

I removed the screws in the lower back panel where the compressor is located. Then I unplugged the capacitor and plugged the new one in. I then checked to see if the compressor would start. It wouldn't so I replaced the overload relay with capacitor and that fixed the problem. The capacitor just plugs into the relay then plugs into the compressor. There are several screws but all in all it is easy.

My ice maker has been shedding its non-stick coating for over a year. Within the last month of so, it started pouring water into the ice bucket below, turning it into a solid mass of ice. So I purchased a new ice maker assembly. I encountered two problems not mentioned in the 21 or so do-it-yourselfer repair stories that precede this one. First problem: one of the three screws that hold the ice maker to the refrigerator wall is hidden behind the large (black) end of the ice maker and is difficult to access. Before trying to replace the ice maker, make sure you have the physical dexterity to remove that screw. Second problem: it is not apparent how to remove the wire harness that plugs into the ice maker assembly. BEFORE you can remove the wire harness, you MUST remove the large white cap that covers the black end of the ice maker assembly and then push in a retaining tab to release the wire harness. If you don't do this, the wire harness will not release. Other than those two problems, it was relatively easy to remove three screws, unplug the wire harness, transfer three small, metal parts from the old ice maker to the new, plug in the new wire harness, mount the ice maker assembly so that the water tube is in the proper position, and then re-install the three screws. The ice maker works fine now. (P.S. I was told by an expert that the real problem might be a malfunctioning fill valve. I would have replaced the fill valve if replacing the ice maker assembly had not fixed the problem.)

Unplug the appliance.
Removed the screws holding the back panel.
Removed the fan blade.
removed 3 screws holding the condenser fan.
Remove the 3 metal brackets attached to the fan.
(First note which studs the brackets are attached to. Attach the 3 metal brackets to the new fan. (New screws were supplied)
Cut and strip the wire about two inches from the fan.
Cut and strip the new wire. I cut the new wire in half (about 6 inches.) Connect the two wires, twist and used 2 wire nuts. Tie wrap the wire to the wire harness. Mount the new fan (three screws)
Screw the back panel back on.
Mount the new

I diagnosed the problem via the internet. Diagrams helped a lot. Coils were frozen over. Thawed them out overnight. Manually advanced timer and the defrost heater was operable. The defrost timer wasn't "turning" on it's own. I turned the fridge back on while I awaited the part. It worked fine for the time I had to wait. (over two weeks since I had delayed ordering the part) New timer arrived as promised. Undid 4 hex head (1/4") screws. Unplugged 4 prong connection. Plugged in new timer and replaced the 4 screws. Frigde works great.

I used a flat-head screwdriver to pop out the old light rocker switch. Then, I unplugged the wires, plugged them into the new light rocker switch, and then popped the new switch into the hole. That's it! Lights began working again.

After emptying the refrig. door, I unscrewed the plate on the top of the refrigerator that covered the door bolts. Then off with the three bolts. I removed the door by lifting it up a few inches. The two parts of the door cam were easily removed and replaced with the new part. BEFORE REPLACING the door spread vasoline on both cam parts.
(Not after as I did. The second time you do any of these repairs go SO much better :o)
After putting the door back on, adjust the tension of the screws holding the door in place if needed to align the door on the cams so that it shuts completely. Failure to do this will require taking the top off the door again. (see comment above on "... second time...")
If all is properly aligned, the door should swing completely shut.
Even with the mistakes that required removing the door to lubricate the cams, and removing it AGAIN to readjust the screws on the top to properly align the door on the cams, this was a twenty minute job. My wife and I were still speaking to one another at the end of it- a sure sign of an easy repair.

Installed new ice maker. It was easy - loosen two screws and unplug old wire harness. Put new unit in place. Did not realize new unit would not come with wire harness, but transferred old one to new ice maker (easy) and, "voila" some ice in 24 hours -- much ice since then. I am a 68 year old woman and it was "sort of fun" doing this job.

I originally ordered the part because of globs of ice being around the icemaker. The icemaker then quit making ice altogether after a few weeks of removing the ice globs (so the spindle of the icemaker would rotate again). It came to me that there was now no water being supplied to the icemaker hence, "no ice". Decided to replace the water valve as the most likely culprit.

Removed the bottom back panel behind the refrigerator. Turned off water supply. Unplugged refrigerator power plug. Unscrewed the hose connection to the valve and two small plastic feeder tubes going to icemaker and ice water dispenser in the front door. Removed spring clip securing the valve to its mounting flange. Pryed up the valve out of its mounting flange as it is mechanically held there by a pressure fit. Maneuvered the valve out and into my hand. Removed the two electrical connectors and draped them to the side. Reversed the entire procedure with the new exact replacment valve.

Unfortunately, stlll no water was being supplied to the ice maker. Water to the dispenser in the door was still fine. I reasoned that the icemaker, not receiving any water from the fill valve, must be because the signal from the sensor (where ever that was located), must not be getting to the fill valve to tell it to open up and send water. Then a light bulb went off in my head. Where would that sensor be? Epiphany......How about the icemaker itself? Ordered the icemaker, replaced it and I now have ice again. Replacing the icemaker was a tougher job but that's another show. I'll report on that process under a separate repair story under the icemaker category.

The replacement of the valve took only about two hours, mostly because I had to round up my drill, attach a nut driver accessory, move the refrigerator and vacuum out all the gunk and fuzzy stuff from behind the refrigerator (yuck). Actual valve replacement only took about 1/2 an hour what with having to remove a put back a dozen or so machine screws on the back panel.

Well the frist thing I did was get out the all the paper work and look under trouble shooting.This frig has a list of codes to try to help narrow down what parts might be bad.Well at frist it seemed it was a Defrost Thermastat?Well thanks to PartSelect it showed me right where it was and step by step how to remove and replace it.It took me over 2Hr's,after that I let the frig run all night and the next morning(yep warm frig)not the part I needed,well now Im mad,the local part store said you need a 3in1 jump starter easy to in stall at $50.Can'nt bring parts back no way weather thier opened or not.So get home and can'nt see how this jumper is going to wire up to my compresser?So on to the Web site to get some info,find out that this part gets a thumb's down,it puts out more volt's then needed and kills your compresser the reviews where very help full.So back to PartSelect to see more info,then I spoted the Overload/Relay and went to the back of my Frig and this part just plugs right into the compresser,I pulled it of with pliers and Bingo a burn spot melted right through the Overload/Relay.Ordered the right part the same as the old one.Put the part in and Bam,compresser fired right up.If I only did alittle more home work I could off saved alot of head ach and money.Thanks PartSelect I'll alway's click on to your web site for future parts and advise.

I didn't know what the plastic was - just that it was unappetizing. Reading other posts, it must have been the teflon coating. The refrigerator is 13 years old and reading other posts, I guess I'm lucky it lasted that long.

My boyfriend did the repair and here is his story:

The first ice maker we received was cracked on one corner. Not knowing how it got that way, I was concerned that there might be additional internal damage and that the unit wouldn’t work properly. Part Select was contacted and a replacement unit was sent with no difficulty.
As other reviewers have said, the replacement was quite easy, taking less than half an hour. The only tools I needed were a screwdriver and a nut driver. To begin, unplug the refrigerator and turn off the water supply to the ice maker. Loosen, but do not remove, the two top attachment screws. Then remove the bottom screw. Lift the unit up off the top screws and remove the water inlet hose at the top right. It’s probably a good idea to have a container handy to catch the small amount of water that comes out, but you’ll need a third hand for this.
The electrical wiring harness is very short and may be tricky to disconnect. On my refrigerator there is a round vinyl connector that plugs into a receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment directly behind the ice maker. This was removed with no difficulty (accidently, actually). Once the unit is out of the refrigerator you can remove the connector from the ice maker by using a screwdriver to depress the latch tab that is visible in a window in the unit housing. When installing the connector in the new unit make sure it is fully seated. Next, reconnect the round vinyl connector to the receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment. This was the worst part of the whole procedure. You have to support the unit close to the back of the freezer (due to the short harness) with one hand while inserting the connector with the other. This requires both arms in a confined space. The first time I did it I apparently didn’t get a good electrical connection on one end of the harness, and it didn’t work. Because the connectors are directly behind the ice maker I had to remove the unit and re-install it, but it was much quicker the second time, less than 10 minutes.
Once the connectors are in place put the water inlet hose into the opening at the top right. You may need to re-use the retaining clip from the old unit for this. Slide the two top mounting ears down between the screw heads and the back wall of the freezer compartment and tighten the screws. Then install the bottom screw. Plug in the refrigerator, turn on the water and make yourself a frosty beverage.
All in all, a relatively quick and painless procedure.

Another note - we kept saying "is there ice yet"? I think the metal bar that controls the ice maker needed to be raised and lowered a few times before it would work properly as it seemed to raise 1/2 way but the ice would not drop so I put it down and it worked its way up. Had to do it a couple of times over a 4 hour span but once going, it is working like a champ.

Everything was easy. I read one of your other reviews and it gave me the confidence to try it myself. First i toke off the cap at the top of the door then the three screws. I lifted the door off so i could be sure the cam was my only problem then put the door back on. That took 5 mins. Then I got on the computer and ordered the parts i needed. Two days later the parts arrived and and i took the door off again. Then put the new cam on, applied a litle vasiline, put the door back on and forgot that i ever had a problem. Thanks for the help. Doug Arau

First I removed the 14.3 tons of freezer contents, closed the water valve, shut off the juice, and removed the freezer bins, the freezer door and the three screws that held the element in place. After bringing in 397 hand tools from my garage inventory, I loosened the unit and, after extensive evaluation, I finally disconnected the wiring connector from its freezer rear wall connector counterpart. You ain't gonna believe the rest of my story--of total ineptitude by an experienced fix-it-yourself dummy.

I searched the internet for a replacement ice maker and found it at partselect.com. I called Sears to ask if I could add my refrigerator to my existing appliance repair account. Sears said sure--it would cost me only one arm, three toes and one grandchild. I abruptly declined their magnanimous offer—I don’t give up my arms and toes so easily.

I visited the local Maytag repair parts and service retailer, who advised they didn't do parts anymore. Expecting their repair price would be greater than Sears, I resorted to partselect.com. I called them to be assured what I was buying was not mistakenly a 747 Landing Gear. On the afternoon (West Coast) of 4/28/10, I ordered (via internet) one PS21215123 Ice Maker Assy. Much to my pleasant surprise, it arrived via FedEX on 4/30/10 (no freight charges to me).

My repair/replacement efforts were hampered by the effects of my right rotator cuff surgery a few months before and major left wrist surgery two months ago to remove fractured bones and torn ligaments.

Undaunted by my physical handicaps, I forged forward. After re-installing the unit, I turned the water supply and electricity back on. It was graveyard dead. I wisely then bought two bags of ice as an interim solution to the severe needs of my wife and me for our daily chilled evening cocktails. I removed the unit, checked it out and re-installed it. I bought two more bags of ice. All the while, I turned the water and electricity off and on as required by reasonable safety standards. High tediousness!

Several more home maintenance tasks then arose for Sergeant Super Fixer, but I returned to the ice maker problem on 4/8/10. Last chance--remove the device and insure there was no frozen ice in the inlet tube--or call the local partsless repairman. No ice found, but I did learn the wiring connector to the unit was awry--no contact! While explaining that to my wife, I realized the two upper mounting screws were intended to be partially installed into the freezer wall to accommodate the unit's slotted mounting holes! Then, tighten the screws. Oh my God! During my 143 installations and removals, I had installed those screws blindly--using the (handicapped) skills of my right and left hands without any benefit of direct eyesight.

I returned to my challenging project this morning (4/9/10), fully utilizing all the expertise I had gained yesterday. Fifteen minutes of amusing effort! Turn on the juice! Turn on the water!Two hours later, ice cubes were dropping into the bin like rhinoceros bisquits in the jungle.

Hallelujah! I now am free for the next challenge!

HINT: Put a bed pillow (an old one, or your wife's) in the freezer compartment to soften the harshness of its cold metal on your back, if you use the "crawl in on your back" approach.

I just opened up the fridge back panel accessed the old relay/capacitor, pulled it out, replaced with the new one, snapped it back into place, tested it (compressor came on), replaced the back panel and went on my way. Really, really easy repair.