AFF2534FEW Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

first I looked into the refrigerator for blockage of air flow.
none found, I looked into the freezer area to see if fan was working ,it was, noticed ice built up on the outside of the metal cover letting me know it was not defrosting ,It was easier for myself to pull freezer door off , then the ice-maker,only three 1/4" hex head bolts,two 1/4" hex bolts only holding the metal cover . The quickest way to defrost was using a blow hair drier .once it was all defrosted I disconnected the defrost heater and using a volt/ohm meter,I ohm out the element,finding out I had no reading .The one thing I forgot to mention, unplug the frigertor first !!!

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 cracked 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.

first I removed the pantry drawer and the 2 crisper drawers. Then I removed the glass shelf and it's supports. Using a nut driver I removed the 2 screws holding the end cap to the side of the refrigerator. Carfully snaped the end cap loose of the clip in front and pulled it straight forward, being carful not to break the rear tabs holding the climate adjuster. I then removed the old climate adjuster from my broken part (it's held on by clips) and installed it on the new end cap. I put the new end cap in snapping it onto the existing clip and added the 2 screws. Put the shelf supports and glass back on top of the drawer, slid back in the crisper drawers, installed the divider into the drawer (it just slides in) then put the drawer back in and I was done. It was an easy job and I'm sure I saved at least one hundred dollors for 20 minutes work.

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.

Not a bad job at all. Took out the vegetable bins above, the glass cover and the sliding drawer. Then took out the screws holding the end caps on to the refrigerator wall. You can remove the metal slide at this time or after you take the old piece out. Then you re-install the metal slide on the new piece and screw it back in. THe right hand side is trickier because you also have to remove the mechanism in the back that controls the humidity inside the bin as well as the control lever in the front, so that you can install them on the new end cap. All the parts either snap on or you have to twist them slightly. We repaced both end caps as well as cleaned things really well in about 45 minutes, with 2 adults and a 10 yr old working together.

1. I had to remove the cold cut drawer.
2. Remove the two screws for the sliding track and then the sliding track.
4. Remove the two crisper drawers as well as the glass and the two supports for the glass.
3. Remove the two screws for the end cap. This is accomplished by gently lifting up at the front of the part. You will find another three parts that are attached to the end cap. One is the slider that controls the tempetature, it is attached to a long plastic rod that is connected to the back side of the end cap by pressure clip points. The other end of the plastic rod is connected to a piece that is mounted to the back wall of the refridgerator. this is removed by gently pulling the entire unit forward until it comes loose from the back wall. Once the entire assembly is removed, The plastic rod must be released from teh back of the end cap. This will allow both ends to be disconnected from the slider at the front and the piece that was attached to the back wall by rotating each end to allow the removal of the components fronm the end cap. Once everything is removed, you are ready to complete the repair by reversing the removal process.

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 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 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.

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 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.

Through out broken plastic, replace with new one
to be replaced in a few years.

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 cables. 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 ;)

Once I saw the replacement part I understood how to pry out the switch with a small screwdriver. Then just unplug the old one, plug in the new one and pop it into place.

The PartSelect site made it easy to correctly identify the correct part, it was inexpensive, and the shipping was fast.

I'm very pleased!

The initial problem was that the ice maker was not working. I had the unit repaired at a local store and they assured me that it worked fine in their workshop. I believed that the valve was the next logical part to replace. The installation was very easy. I unplug the refrigerator and turned off the water. Removed two, easily reached, screws and pulled the unit out. Disconnected the wire harness (you may want to mark the top of the wire harness before removing for immedite alignment on reassembly) and tubing. Notice a spot in the tubing that had been kinked, so cut that out. Reassemble and turned everything back on. Installation went perfectly. Unfortunately, I still do not have ice and will be doing some additional trouble shooting to determine the next course of action. I may be in touch.

Removed screws from cover tested for power to motor found power was on to motor but motor did not work. I went to your web site was able to locate part in about 5 minutes . Even with over night shipping the part came to about $50,00, far cheaper tha a service call would have been.

Thanks John Paulsell

Unpacked, inspected, found two minor defects in the form of two tiny slivers along the seal edge which I cut with a small scissor, laid the seal down on the kitchen table, applied heat to the deformed areas and reshaped them with my fingers, heated the entire seal lightly, removed the old seal starting at the right hand upper corner using my fingers, installed the warm seal starting at the top corners by pushing it in its slot making sure the outer lip stayed out of the slot and worked my way around. I believe that the heat from the dryer made it pliable and easier to manage.