8516 Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

First I removed the ice catcher bucket to give myself a little room and lifed the ice maker lever to make sure it wouldn't try to produce ice while I was replacing it.

I removed the bottom screw and loosened the top two with a nut driver. The ice maker lifted right out and allowed me to disconnect the electrical plug; just sque ... Read more eze the little plastic levers on both sides of the plug and pull.

I plugged in the electrical connection from the new ice maker. Making sure the water spout was in place, I dropped the new unit over the two loosened top screws. I then replaced the bottom screw and tightened all three. I replaced the ice catcher bucket and made myself a martini as a reward for not spending the $75.00 to $100.00 for a service call.

Within a couple of hours it was again making batches of ice for more martinis; it was a day or so before there was enough for frozen Margueritas.

I never even unplugged the refrigerator or shut off the water supply, although I suppose it would be prudent but not necessary. Some people like me just like to tempt fate.

The repair was so quick I didn't even worry about emptying the freezer. It was so easy even a girl could do it ... no offense intended. At the equivalent of $300.00 to $400.00 per hour I wish I could do it all day. Maybe I should be a "refrigerator repairman".

Seriously, the only thing that could hamper you is a lack of confidence which will quickly be overcome in 10 to 15 minutes by a huge ego. That time frame includes locating the tools and taking a few deep breaths. Don't hesitate to give it a shot. If you can't do it you really don't deserve to have ice. It really is that simple and easy.

Removed pin holding the wheel along with leveling screw. Put new wheel in place, replace pin and screw. Done...very easy.

Pulled the old grill out of its two pressure clamps and inserted the new grill in the emptied retainers

Repair went well,took about five to ten minutes to disconnect the power from the fridge removed the defective switch installed the new one ,reconnected the power,,,and Let there be light and there was light!

Very easy to order from parts select. Took seconds to replace.

Remove 1 screw under ice maker. Gently pull downwards to unhook ice maker. Disconnected 4 pin wire connector. Remove and set aside the cover and wire loop you will need on new ice maker. Reverse the steps to install new maker. Once new ice maker is installed you will have to wait 2-4 hours for ice. There is a thermostat that will need to ... Read more reach 10 degrees F to operate.

The parts were very easy to replace, however I am still without ice and cannot figure out why. I have ohm tested the contol unit and everything works fine, I am able to jump it and turn on the motor and water fill valve. Any suggestions?...

Referencing the info/schematics you have on your website, I unscrewed/unattached top-front panel (carefully), from behind the panel you have to detach the wires (2) from the switch, pushed "in" the switch to remove, put in new switch and attach wires to test BEFORE remounting panel. Tada!! Thank you PartSelect! You saved me at least $80.. ... Read more .would have been at least $100 to have a repair person come to the house!

first thing i thought was the condenser was plugged so pulled out and cleaned with shop vacum backwards so it became a blower not a vacum cleaned it good and put together. wife noticed cracking noise inside freezer. took all freezer food and shelfs out. took 1/4 inch hex nut screws out and found complete condenser solid ice. did some rese ... Read more arch on internet and found parts select stories. i buy passed thermostate and hooked heating coils direct which then thawed condenser. checked timer by turning of and it worked fine until i got part and installed.

Part received was what I needed. There was one issue--the 'feed' opening to receive water and direct it into the ice tray was a side feed and what I needed was a back feed. That means I had to do some exchanging of parts to make it work. That exercise took more time that the actual installation.

The refrig seemed warm so I checked the temp of some liquid with a thermometer. Readings were above 60 degrees and I knew food would spoil soon. I vacuumed the dog fur off the cooling coils underneath the machine to see if that would help. Nope. I realized cold air from the freezer was not reaching the refrig. The fan was working but ... Read more no cold air was coming out. I figured a blockage either in the air duct from the refrig or in the return duct to the freezer. I didn’t see any blockage in the refrig section. I took everything out of the freezer and removed the back wall. The cooling coils were completely frozen solid with frost. Being a frost free machine, I knew there were heaters that were controlled by a timer that melted this frost away periodically and that this cycle was no longer working. I found a schematic on the web, maybe your site, and educated myself on the heater circuit. The circuit consisted of a timer, thermostat near the coils, and a cal rod heater all wired in series. The timer was easy to get to and being a mechanical device I figured it must be the culprit. I ordered one online. I checked its operation and it worked fine. Realizing time was short, I hot wired the cal rod around the thermostat and rotated the timer to its heat position. The frost melted quickly and I put the freezer back together and ordered a thermostat. I canceled the timer order. When it arrived, I installed the new thermostat and it has worked fine for the past month. A little colder than usual as I don’t yet have the settings back to where they were. I have checked the operation of the old thermostat. It’s supposed to close at 30 degrees and open at 45. I have done a continuity check on it by putting it in the freezer, letting it cool down, take it out, let it warm up and it seems to work fine. So I have doubts if I really solved the problem. Wire connections were tight and not corroded. Maybe the timer was hung up on debris that I freed by cycling it. I don’t think this is the end of the story.

After unplugging the appliance I needed to thaw a large ice buildup off the evaporator cover panel before I could even remove the panel. The freezer being on the lower part of the appliance has the evaporator mounted vertically and it was 100% encapsulated in rock hard ice. It took over an hour to thaw the ice and collect all the water ... Read more with a shop vacuum, since the condensate pan began to overflow.
One thawed, I checked all wiring for good connection, checked heater, defrost thermostat, timer unit with multimeter. The defrost thermostat checked out fine after putting it into another freezer for a 15 minute cooldown, but I noticed a crack in the seal and suspected internal moisture and decided to replace that part. A simple plug in of two leads to the new part after clipping it to the evaporator, replacement of the panel, and the appliance was up and running problem free.
A workbench disection of the old part confirmed my assessment, it had internal rust and water and had failed causing the defrost cycle failure.

replaced the entire ice make - 3 screws and a squeeze -off connector and it's out. Reverse to re-install... except that the fill tube had iced up. To thaw the fill tube: unload freezer section (leave food in fridge, but keep door closed), remove ice maker. Boil water, dip drill bit (dull end) into hot water, swirl around, insert (dull en ... Read more d) into to fill tube. Depending on how hot you got it, maybe a tablespoon of ice will melt. Repeat many times - fill tube is about 14" long! Do not use anything sharp - you will nick the tube and ice will form causing you to repeat this procedure. Do not try to break the ice - let the heat work. It took me about 30 minutes to thaw the whole thing - it made a nive gasping noise when the final plug opened up. Re-install ice maker.

First turned off the water and unplugged the refrigerator and then removed the old ice maker by first removing the side cover plate and then next removed the ice level detector. Remove the screws that hold the ice maker in place and rotating it somewhat soas to gain access to the wires and then unplugged them. Next I had to modify the way ... Read more the water comes into the new icemaker by adapting a CPVC street ell to fit into the hole on the side and then hook up the water supply. Installation is just the reverse of removal.

removed back cover, removed fan motor and replaced with new one. connected new power wires. worked right away