ARS23 Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

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 cr ... Read more acked 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 ne ... Read more eded. 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 ... Read more 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 used a flat screwdriver and released the lock tab on the bottom of the light switch, and pried the switch out, being careful to not damage the plastic around the mounting place of the switch, unplugged wiring from old switch, plugged in the new one and pushed the new switch into place. Job finished light switch now working.

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.

Problem: My Maytag side by side door refrigerator just stopped cooling and has to discard all frozen items after I discovered being away for 3 days. First, I went to my computer and read some of the repair stories at Part Select “Need help with your repair?” and installation video guide.
1. I ordered the Refrigerator Adaptive Defrost ... Read more Board (ADP) - followed the procedures how to disconnect and installed the new part. Unfortunately, it did not correct the problem and only warm is coming out.
2. I ordered the Defrost Heater Thermostat Assembly - removed the old and replaced with new assembly. Again, warm air coming out. Meanwhile, I kept on hearing “clicking sound every few second” not knowing where this coming from. Again, at Part Select, I read the story about it and I ordered the
Run Capacitor and the Overload/Relay with Capacitor. Soon as I opened the parts and tried to match it from the part at the back of the refrigerator and to the part from the compressor, I have discovered that they are not in compatible with the original parts from my Maytag Refrigerator and cannot be installed. And so I contacted (Email) Part Select customer service (Jeanette) if I could return the unused parts and had provided me the “Return address and the Reference Number”. This time, I gave Jeanette the Maytag Model and Serial numbers and asked where I could find this on my refrigerator and make the necessary repair and came back with the diagram and located #4 to the compressor. Ordered the correct part# PS2004058.
3. Upon receipt of the part above, I was puzzled, in the plastic container are four parts, included a plastic cover. I have not given up, I removed the original part encased in white plastic container pulled straight off the compressor and examined it closely. Before detaching all the wiring, I also noted before disconnecting from wire harness and read the Diagram/Instruction Sheet provided.
4. From the four new parts provided, installed the Overload Terminal, bottom part on Compressor with one terminal to the Blue wire. Connected White Jumper to the old harness. Lastly, I plugged the PTC Start Device (two terminals) above the Overload Terminal on the Compressor with the proper wiring as I previously noted and installed the electrical cover. “Plugged in the refrigerator to the power outlet”. To test the result, I left a glass of water inside the freezer and a bottle of wine into the refrigerator. The result - I checked after 2 hours, the water was frozen and a cool wine. “Little frustration included here, as I am not an electrician.” But now, I could say, I fixed it, and very proud of this accomplishment.
Thank You, PartSelect and to a great Customer Support!
Safety Note: Always make sure to unplugged the refrigerator (power off) prior doing the necessary repairs.
Rodolfo Julao/S. San Francisco, CA

The parts discription was a bit vague and I wasn't sure exactly what I was ordering, but I received everything I needed and it works fine. The combination screw conveyor/ice crusher came in one piece. The ice cube bin is a plastic assembly that snaps apart. I used a wide blade screw driver carefully to facilitate assembly/disassembly. ... Read more Once you have it apart the old converyor slips out and the new one slides in. Do not remove the two screws that hold the new assembly together. You need a phillips scredriver to take out two of the screws from the old assembly and put in the new one. That is, there are four screws and you need to trasfer two of them. Everything now works fine.

rmv panel (5min) rmv fan/motor 3 screws (10 m) cut wire 2in from motor, re route remainder of wire to front so can strip for wire nuts. ( 10m) attach old fan to new motor, place in old opening ,3 screws, a little fussy to align, ( 15m ) route and strip wire from new motor , zip ties work well, wire nuts , plug in fridge vola, no noise, c ... Read more lose up, reverse panel. ( 20m). i also took time to clean grilles with small vac and damp rag, ( looks and sounds like new) bob Wi.

An easy job for smaller hands. Removed the two bolts holding the light cover. Removed two electrical connections from the old switch by pinching the retaining clip,removed the switch, snapped in the new one and re-attached the connectors. Your online illustrations helped me to know that the plastic housing for the light switch would only ... Read more swing down so far and was not intended to be removed. Saved me from breaking that plastic cover's tabs. This home repair saved me more than 5 times the cost of hiring a professional to do it. Very happy homeowner.

Replaced the compressor with the new one I purchased from you. Installed new parts and recharged unit. The refrigerator / freezer is working better than new. Thanks for the great deal on the compressor. It was here in 3 days. All the parts fit exactly and had no difficulty in the installation or startup. The directions for the wirin ... Read more g were a great help also. Thanks again.

nothing to tell, just replaced filter

Very pleased with the delivery time. Was able to repair the refrigerator before the beer got hot. Replacement was easy.
Removed blower housing. Replaced motor. Put blower housing back in place.

Turned off water supply and unplugged appliance. Removed lower panel on back of refrigerator with 1/4 " nutdriver. Then removed supply line, and line to icemaker. removed valve from back panel and replaced with new valve. wrapped water connections with teflon tape, turned on supply line, checked for leaks, everything o.k..Replaced back pa ... Read more nel and in 45 minutes had first drop of ice. Job requires moderate mechanical ability and minimum tools. Saved a PANT load of money by doing it myself. VERY satisfied with Partselect.com

The tiny piece of plastic that holds the wire that shuts off the icemaker, broke early on with our fridge (after just a few months.) We superglued it, but last week it bit the dust for good.

Once I got this part, I removed the freezer door and trays, and pulled the icemaker out by removing 3 flathead screws and unplugging the c ... Read more ables. Laying in the freezer on the floor was a bit unconfortable, but not too bad.

Then I inspected the icemaker. There was no obvious way to remove the part without disassembling the front of the unit (where the motor is) to release the spindle and free the part, so I did that - 3 or 4 nuts was all that held it together. Once that was out, I removed the spindle, swapped out the part, and put it all back together and back in the freezer. Plugged it in and waited.

It took a while to start making ice. Like 5 hours. Now it's going pretty slow (much slower than before.) Haven't had time to look into it, but my suspicion is the rubber hose that feeds water into the icemaker is blocked with ice or kinked. In any case, we have ice now (but not a lot), and the unit shuts itself off properly. However, we went from having too much ice (thing never shut off) to too little (thing makes ice too slow), so I need to shoot for somewhere in the middle ;)

First I did some research on the internet based upon the symptoms. Found several excellent articles that described my symptoms and their possible causes. I was able to isolate the problem to the thermostat by jumpering around the thermostat. In one scenario I was able to determine that the heater was working and in the other that the e ... Read more varporator fan was also functioning. That left only one source and it was the thermostat. Ordered the part on-line and was happy to pay the extra shipping fee to expedite delivery. Sears was going to charge me $65 to show up and diagnose the problem. Parts and labor were then extra. What convinced me to look into fixing it myself was the week wait to have a repairman actually schedule an appointment. Two things - the internet is very helpful and Parts Select prices are very reasonable in comparison. Hopefully I will not have to fix anything else soon, but if I do, I will return to Parts Select for my part.