BQ20RB-P1161505W Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

Research on the internet showed the problem was either the defrost thermostat or the defrost timer. I decided to replace both.

1. Emptied the freezer into an ice chest

2. Removed shelves, some of which were held in with screws.

3. Removed freezer back panel.

4. Replaced freezer thermostat, very simple, one clip and two wires.

5 Replaced all removed parts. Put food back in freezer

6. Removed and replaced defrost timer from underneath front of fridge, screws were awkward to reach.

7 No more heat around outside of freezer

I wasn't sure what the problem was, but the ice maker seemed simple and on-line resources suggested the control and motor assemblty was at fault. I searched the internet and Partsource had great diagrams which I could match to the part in hand. The price was right (way less than the local stores) so I ordered it.
I unplugged the unit from the power in the freezer, but unplugging the entire refrigerator works too. I pried off the white cover on the front of the ice maker, which snaps in place top and bottom. There are three screws holding the contoller (the entire front piece), remove them, pull off the controller and push the new one in place. You may have to turn the blade shaft to line up the notch on the shaft to the motor. Then reinstall the three screws, The screws go into plastic so it is easy to cross thread them, so be careful, I actually think I did with no ill effects. Snap on the cover and repower the unit. Done. Simple and quick.

I removed the panel in the back of the freezer and found the evaporator to be a complete block of ice. I defrosted it with a hairdryer. Following advice from the Partselect web site, I measured the resistance through the defrost heater. It was about 30 ohms, so I decided that it was OK. Next, I advanced the defrost timer manually with the compressor on until it turned off. The defrost heater did not operate. I concluded that the problem was the defrost thermostat. After installing it, the freezer worked properly.

simply removed old motor and replaced new. I'm over 82 and it was hard to get down and up to floor level!! One thing was a little puzeling -that was to insert the right screws which had a nitch in the end of the threds to keep it from loosening- I thought I was spoiling the threds cause I had to use a little pressure to start the screws and thought I had the wrong screws--they had sent several sets of them for different name brands- but II got it and everything seems to be allright - Could you tell me if I could purchase a replacement compressor and some refrigerent -the new kind. thank you, George Erlandson Only if my comp. goes out!!!

Went online with Google, and located PartSelect. The locating of the part was simple, in that the instructions to find the part were very explicit.

After ordering the part, it arrived within two days. We were delighted!

Opening the box and seeing how well it was packed was gratifying. With a screwdriver the new handle had the name plate on, and screwed onto the door within 10 minutes.

It was a perfect fit, and a pleasure to have things in good shape again.

R & R Icemaker Assembly. Took out 3 screws and unpluged Icemaker & replaced with new part. very easy and the service from PartSelect was fantastic.
Very Satisfied,
Ron Martin

Overall, replacing the ice maker wasn't too bad but it wasn't nearly as easy for me as it seems to have been for some. In my case, the fridge was an Amana and the ice maker was mounted in such a way that disconnecting the power connector was difficult. The ice maker had to be completely dismounted before any access to the power connector was even possible. The short power cables made it very difficult to get the ice maker into a position where I had a good view of the power connector enabling me to see how to release it. The only other challenge was the cup that the water line goes into. The replacement ice maker did not come with the right cup - the instructions said to replace the provided one with the old one. No instructions for this procedure were provided and it looked to me like it might involve significant disassembly, something I wanted to avoid for fear of breaking a plastic part on the new ice maker (something I had already done when disassembling the old ice maker). So instead of replacing the cup, I modified the new one to match the old one. This involved removing a cutout on one side and covering a hole on the other. Installation of the new ice maker went fine and the water leak problem was fixed.

I removes all food and drink items from the refrigerator and freezer doors. I then removed all of the screws holding the inner panel of the refrigerator door to the door itself. The old gasket could then be removed. I placed the new door gasket in place around the inner panel and reinstalled the inner panel with new gasket onto the refrigerator door. I then removed the inner panel from the freezer door and then removed the old gasket. I placed the new door gasket in place around the inner panel and reinstalled the inner panel with new gasket onto the freezer door. I used a portable drill with a 1/4 inch nut driver to remove and reinstall the many screws that held the inner panel and gasket on the doors.

Icecubes came out half-way, and refrooze. I figured out, that the melter does not work (HEATER in the icemaker) Voltage measured 105V no load. Studied the Internet, and folloved an advice: shorted the back wire and the blackwire with white stripes.these go to relay contacts. It seems, that the relay contacts are no good on Infrared receiver boaed. I turn off manually the icemaker, when needed

Because the refrigerator worked (38-40 degrees) and the freezer only got down to 29 degrees, I thought that the freezer thermostat had gone bad. Changed it out but results are the same.

i had used your web site before and i read several problems that your readers had. i went to the back of the unit, removed the bottom cover and right there the i found the run capacitor and i chaged it. since i had only ordered this part to save money i went back and ordered the Start Device which when i took it off it was completely burned. the replacement part came labeled with 2 different compressor #, so i picked the one that i had and unpluged each wire. the part may differ from the one that it's in the unit but it worked when i pluged everything back on. it also helps to take a picture of everything before removing the wires in case you have to leave it and come back later. i hope to use this refrigerator another 10 years. thank you all for your help.

Soaked the gaskets in bathtub to make them more pliable. They laid flatter and were easier towork with,

It turned out the water valve was not the problem but I think it works a bit better with the new one. I had replaced the main part of the icemaker inside the freezer which had lost the smooth finish in the ice tray. It worked for awhile but quit.
What had happened was the large approx. 1/2 inch tube going from the back of the refrigerator to the icemaker tray became plugged with ice. It was difficult to get it out due to the ice but once I did it was easy to melt it and put it back together. All's well that ends well and avoid the cost of a repair call. Working great now.

It was so easy!

Thanks for the rush to my home on the part.

I just unscrewed the plate that locks in the light switch (screwdriver) and unplugged the old faulty part and plugged in the new switch, screwed the cover back on and I was done!

Easy!

And I am not Mr. Fix-it!

The good news is that the part (the wheel was available.) I bought two in the event that the other wheel may break in the future. The bad news is that the housing that holds the wheel was riveted together by the wheel axle. It would have been nice to know that before I bought the part and if the housing with the wheel installed was available. The refrigerator was at my summer house a hundred miles away. Anyway, we had to grind the end of the riveted axle to dislodge it from the wheel housing. With the axle dislodged from the housing we were able to install the wheel and then hammer the end of the axle flat to keep in place, like the original rivet installation. It is not perfect but it held and should be fine. I am glad I was able to get the part and will be back in the future, if in need of other parts.