BR18V2E-P1320708WB Amana Refrigerator - Instructions

i just took the prts apart and replaced with new part really easy and saved $185.00 easy as pie

I took a chance and ordered a switch that is next to the top of the door. looked for how to remove it easily done in ten minutes works fine last long time.

removed cover in back of freezer and observed that defrost cycle seemed to happen too often. In comparing the existing part # with the factory part, I determined that possibly the wrong part was installed previously. (it had a 6 hr cooling cycle with a 45 min defrost...spec said I should be 8 hr cool & 20 min defrost) I did research on applianceguru.com... well worth the 5 bucks! I ordered a timer & thermostat & purchased a special refrigerator brush to clean the coils on the bottom. Cleaned the coils, replaced the parts in about 15 minutes and WA-LA! the freezer started getting really cold, but the fridge wouldn't get below 55. but it FELT cold! I swapped thermometers with the freezer & found out the thermometer was faulty!!! I now have the cool control backed down to 5/7 & freezer to 6/7. temps are freeze 0 and cool 40. works better than since we bought home 5 yrs ago! research & troubleshooting took a bit of time, but by the time I ordered parts I felt very comfortable I had the right parts. All said, cost me about 40 bucks instead of probably $200 from tech... schematics from partselect.com were very helpful as well!!

Pull refrigerator out from wall to shut off water and power. Remove ice bin, pulling front down then out. Remove screw at bottom of icemaker, then pull down to release two clips, Pull out a couple inches to get hand behind icemaker to release wiring harness connector. (squeeze top and bottom to release clips). Remove unit. Remove wiring harness and wire bail from old unit and install on new unit. Reverse steps to install new unit. Make sure ice bin is fully inserted, or unit will not function.

replaced the handle with a new one. Very simple. Very easy.

unscrewed old handle and screwed in new one, whalaa. thank you.

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....!!!

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.

I was told to order the run capacitor and the technician thought it would repair the refrigerator; but it did not. The appliance technician had to take the run capacitor off and install what he called a "hard start" and the refrigerator is operating right now.

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.

Part received was what I needed. There was one issue--the 'feed' opening to receive water and direct it into the ice tray was a side feed and what I needed was a back feed. That means I had to do some exchanging of parts to make it work. That exercise took more time that the actual installation.

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.

Remove 3 screws, took top hinge out, fz door and inserted shim...done.

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!!!

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.