85278 (P1109010W) Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

Pretty simple really after reading online some other owners' experiences. This is a bottom freezer unit. Remove the ice maker, the tray slides, and the back cover of the freezer box. In my case I had to thaw it out with a hair dryer as the cover was frozen in place. I checked the old 'stat and found it was bad; I temporarily wired the leads together until the new 'stat arrived. It does allow the refrigerator to warm up during a defrost cycle but it beats de-icing it twice.The defrost 'stat is clipped over the refrigerant line in the upper right corner of the box. Resistance was 65k ohms and wouldn't close on low temp (tested by clipping it to an exposed refrigerant line in another upright freezer) but there was no obvious damage. The one lead on the replacement 'stat has the wrong connector so you have to cut off the original lead from the old unit and splice it on the wrong lead on the new one. I used an epoxy sealed heat shrink type butt splice. Reassemble and let it run. One word of warning: be careful tightening any screws as they will strip easily

Happen to locate your site by Google. Was impressed and really pleased to find a schematic and directions to find and remove and specs to test the water valve and Defrost thermometer using an electric multimeter. You cannot tell by "looking" at a component if it is still OK.
So I put all the freezer contents into my beach cooler. The repair went as follows.
1. Removed the 6 screws from the back panel and pulled it out of the way.
2. Located the defrost thermostat and pulled it off of the coil.
3. Pulled the two connections off and took it to the bench to test. It showed no readings indicating it was dead.
4. Ordered a new one which came in two days.
5. Had to change the electrical connections using wire nuts.
6. Reversed the process plugged the refrigerator back into the wall. It started and later on I was getting ice cubes.
A great experience. Don't mess with repair guy as they normally are not up to speed on all devices and you are paying for them to learn how to repair your appliance in several trips. Probably using this site. If you can follow instructions, you can do this stuff.
Note. I tested the Water valve using given instructions. More time is used moving things around than the actual repairs. I avoided $150.00 for a new ice maker unit.

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

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 research 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.

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 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.

Order the part from the Internet on Sunday, it mailed out on Monday and I received it on Tuesday. I unplugged the fan then undone 3 screws that held the fan bracket to the refrigerator pulled it out unscrewed 3 more nuts and replaced the fan on the bracket and I cut the old wire plug off the old fan and with 2 wire nuts put it on my new fan. Replaced the fan and bracket back on the refrigerator plugged it in and it works like a new refrigerator.

Removed the ice brucket,
Removed the light shield by releasing one screw using a nutdriver.
Replacing the bulb and reinstalled the light shield.

Your web site is one of the best and most helpfull service sites I ever used. Just wish that in the future you will ship parts overseas.

inserted a knife between the switch and the plastic interior in order to pop the switch out.
then took off the 2 wires on the old switch put them on the new switch and reinserted the switch into the plastic interior.

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 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.

I simply removed the old switch by gently pulling down on the old switch with a screwdriver. When it was about half way out I just gently pulled down on the old switch and it popped out... I removed the two connectors attached to the old switch by pulling on the connectors with a pliers...I tried using my fingers but wasn't able to pull the connectors off so I used pliers. It worked perfectly.. When pulling off the old connectors, make sure you attach the new switch to the same tabs on the new switch... It was very easy to do and took under 5 mins.....The light switch works perfect....P.S. You should unplug the frig while making the connection just in case....Safety first....!!!

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

The light rocker switch wasnt working. I found the part on the web site. It was so easy. I used a screw driver to pop out the old one and pop the new one in. It took 5 min. Thanks!!!

Pop off six mounting screws and the ground screw. Remove the fan blade and reattach. Reinstall. Save yourself big bucks.

Very simple fix, remove 3 screws, two connectors to the old switch

I removed the switch housing (4 screws), replacing the switch in the housing was a snap. It took 5 minutes, cost $8 and light works like new!

Why didn't I order this part and do the repair earlier? Very simple.