85281 (P1109011W) Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

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.

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.

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.

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

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....!!!

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!!!

installed replacement ice maker kit. 1st removed power. next loosened 2 upper phillips screws. then removed lower phillips screw and lifted and removed old ice maker. released wiring connector and pulled entire unit out of freezer. then i reversed the procedure to install the old unit. check youtube for instructional videos.

Turn off the water source and unplug freezer. Remove copper tube and then remove valve from back of refrigerator. Disconnect plastic tube and power connection. Mark power connection plug top with a "T", this reminder helps with the new valve. Plug power and plastic tube into new valve and screw assembly back into refrigerator. Using a wrench, connect copper tube into valve. Restore water source and plug back in in freezer. Within a couple hours, ice production was back.
Like the other repair stories (that helped me), this job was very easy.

Unplug wire harness back of fridge. Unscrewed 4 screws on guide for ice bin. then unscrewed two screws holding ice maker to wall of fridge. removed ice maker. then had to take front cover off (pull hard, it comes off) and remove wire harness plug from the ice maker. save this, front cover, and all hardware to re-use. reverse steps to reinstall, including wire guide that goes up and down to stop and start ice maker when bin fills. Have to put this into front part of ice maker correctly for it to work. make sure it is down so that it will produce ice. ice tray took a few hours to fill with water initially, must be on a timer or something.

Ice maker assembly required disconnection of the wire harness at the back of the freezer and the removal of 3 hex nuts. The assembly did not come with a new wire harness nor the rigid wire attached to the hinge that can be raised to stop production of ice. The wire harness was easy to disconnect from the old assembly by pressing in on a tab. The rigid wire attached to the hinge simply required pulling straight out of the hinge-hole (no need to twist, slide, or perform other contortions...it does require significant force to remove, but it does pull straight out). It was simple to attach it to the new ice assembly. Reinstalled the 3 hex nuts and wire harness plug and was good to go....after waiting several hours! I was worried at first because the unit did not immediately fill with water after I plugged the fridge back into the wall socket. However, after the freezer was cold enough, the water did run and I had my first ice dump within about 3 hours of finishing the installation. We have good ice again, and Partselect has excellent pricing and awesome delivery! I received the unit the day after ordering, and I had only paid the basic shipping! Thanks Partselect! Jeff

to easy to describe, remove 3 screws and a wire plug then install new unite.
Works great
Thanks

remove 3 screws,rotate assembly,depress lock on wire harnass connector,un plug harnass.remove old assembly,remove and transfer side cover and steel wire at front of assembly,connect harnass to new assembly,rotate into place,aling screw holes and install 3 screws.flip front steel wire down and wait for about 1 hour,first tray of ice will fall..all done.

I read the previous repair story and agree with the author that the screw behind the front piece was difficult to remove and re-install. If I had a magnetized nut driver I think it would have been easier. There were no installation instructions so I relied upon the repair experiences. The other two screws came out easily and I found the harness release easily and the harness was easy to reinstall.
I am not a good handyman but was able to install the new ice maker

There are basically three screws that hold the unit in place on the inside of the freezer. Removing them is relatively easy, and the unit is replaced with the same three screws. You do have to use the formed metal wire from your old unit, so don't throw it out! You also have to use the wiring harness from your old unit.

I made use of instructions for other users, see 'My ice maker has been shedding.....' and they were very helpful. The one problem not covered - the instructions that came with the new icemaker said to 'remove the bearing and inlet from the old icemaker and install in the new icemaker', but gave no instructions for how to accomplish this.

The old inlet has a square opening in the back and a u-shaped knockout in the side. The new one has a round opening in the side and square knockout in the back)

After several attempts to remove them, I gave up and used the new inlet with the knockout removed. I did not attempt to cover the side opening and it worked fine that way - no leaks.