59679142991 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

First I had to determine what was wrong. Obviously the compressor was working since the freezer was cold. Digging for awhile revealed that the evaporator coils for the freezer had frozen up into a solid block of ice. Then I had to figure out why. Tested the defrost heater in place--small resistance (~3 ohms), OK. Removed and tested the timer--unsure. Removed and tested the defrost thermostat--did not turn on when plunged in ice water or frozen with canned air (turn the can upside down--be careful!, you can instantly freeze-burn your skin), bad. Chose to purchase and replace both the timer and the thermostat. Took the opportunity to THOROUGHLY clean everything, front, back, and underneath. Found the drip tray transition piping cracked at the junction and replaced it with a cut-off funnel "glued" into place and to the underside piping with the RTV Silicone. When parts arrived, tested them and confirmed that the original timer was OK and the thermostat was bad. Installed the new thermostat (and went ahead and installed the new timer). NOTE: one connector on the thermostat was not identical to the orginal equipment. Rather than cut the refrig wiring, I chose to build a jumper with the original connector on one end and a new one for the new thermostat on the other. Buttoned everything back up, re-leveled it, and let it run for 24 hours at the manufacturer's recommended "first" settings (4 and 4) without being disturbed. Seemed fine, loaded it with food, everything is great including non-frozen veggies! (I suspect the ice was forming frequently and blocking the return from the refrig compartment, which is right next to the veggie drawer.)

Followed instructions supplied. It was relatively easy and the parts fit exactly right. Sears wanted twice as much for the part and service would have charged me another $100 to come to my home. I saved over $100 doing the project myself.

Had to remove screws inside back of freezer panel, took off old thermostat. This one had a different plug on the end that wasn't compatible, so had to cut that off and wire it to the old plug end. Piece of cake. Put back panel back on and back in business. Hardest thing was getting the screws out!

I unplugged the fridge. Loosened the 2 top screws on the ice maker and removed the lower screw. I disconnected the wiring harness and removed the Ice maker. I removed the plastic timer cover in front. I then loosened the screws on the face of the ice maker and removed the broken ice stripper and replaced it with a new one. Re-tightened the screws on the face, installed the timer cover, plugged in the wiring harness, re-attached the ice maker. Plugged the fridge back in and walla, it was making ice in 30 minutes!

Unplugged refrigerator. Removed lower back access panels and panel running up the back of refrigerator. Removed and disconnected old fan. Removed old fan motor from mounting bracket. Removed fan blade from old fan motor and placed on new fan motor. Connected new fan motor to power supply. Tested. Reinstalled.

tested bulb good ,replaced door switch first(least expensive)then ordered light socket and circuitboard.If clicking sound is heard replace circuitboard first to save on return shipping because the switch and socket where ok

Very easily removed the nuts holding the gasket to the door. Previously took new gasket from packaging and used a hair dryer to smooth the wrinkles from it, about 5 minutes. Installed the new gasket and adjusted the seating of the actual freezer door, for a proper fit. Now there is no snow in my freezer and the poor compressor only kicks on maybe ten times a day, as opposed to most of the day. Not to mention what the savings in electricity may be and extended life for my Amana. Should have done this two months ago. Service and shipping from Parts Select is second to none, with a website interface that makes sense- try most of the other online retailers and you will know what I mean.

I called the local Amana repair man, wanted $150 for a new ice maker because they could not get the part I needed. Found Partsselect.com and the part cost $17 with shipping. They saved me over $100. The repair was very easy too, just removed a couple of screws.

Thanks,
Matt

First I removed all the screws with the exception of the top row, these I just loosend.I made sure how the old one was installed before I removed it.I then used a hair dryer on the new one briefly to take out the shipping kinks.I removed the old one and put the new one in with a little adjusting as i went. I then put all the screws back in,adjusted it a little more and finished by snuging up all the screws.It was very easy and works like new.

Turn freezer section control wheel off, unplug unit. Then remove all items/baskets from freezer to allow access. Use nut driver to unscrew 3 screws on control plastic housing. Drop down housing from top and unplug wires (note correct locations) from control wheel switch. Remove screws and ground wire from metal backing plate to plastic housing. Push or pry the 2 metal holdtabs down carefully to allow the 2 plastic housing tab fingers to be pushed inwards to seperate metal plate from housing. Pry control wheel off from switch arm with screwdriver. Remove switch and replace with new one.
Use the reverse order of removal above to replace into freezer but use caution when replacing wheel onto switch arm and plugging in wires. Remember to carefully pry the 2 metal tabs back up to secure the plastic finger tabs in place.
Job done.

I removed the Icemaker then the backpanel in the freezer. The fan motor removal required only to hex screws and three wires to dismount. The biggest problem I had was the replacement motor had the connecting pins for the wire harness on the reverse side. I thought I could unbolt the motor and flip it but this did not work. I remounted the new motor and was able to get the wires connected. The thermostat clipped in place but one of the wires had a different connector than the new unit. I used a wiring snap connector to complete the connection. The defroster timer was under the refridgerator and after taking two screws off the cover plate was just an unplug and plug in the new unit. When I first turn the unit back on nothing happend. I soon realized I had to advance the timer until the unit kick on. It has worked fine since and solve both the noise problem and defrost issue.

I hired someone to do this, but after watching him do it, this is an easy job. Amana made a smart refrigerator and it's easy to do your self. I saved a LOT of money buying the parts here and I should have attempted it myself. The trick is heating up the gasket once it was mounted and then when you had a tight seal to the door, tape the door shut and LEAVE it as many hours as you can (minimum of 4, but overnight better).

Removed the hinge cover, removed three hinge screws, removed door. Then I used a screwdriver to pry out the hinge bushings, pushed the new ones in and replaced the door. Both Maytag and Lowe's (who held the extended warranty) said that the door was not a repairable item and would have to replace the whole door. Since that would cost more than the value of the fridge, they voided the warranty and returned my cost. Too bad we didn't know about Part Select, we would have held their feet to the fire.

I called a repair man from a pretty large name to come out and take a look. He found out in about 10 minutes that it was a bad capacitor. The quote he gave me was $75 for the part and $175 labor. I tried my best not to laugh and tell him no thank you. He did have to charge me for him to show up, which was only $98.
So I used what he told(minus the "scrap it") and opened it back up. Although he had left wires everywhere and the broken pieces laying inside, I thought it was enough for me to order the part. PartSelect was very easy to navigate and ordering was a breeze. Took about 4 days to get the part and I ordered in the X-mas craze. Fixed it in about 15 minutes.

1st remove the gasket from the packaging & let it get to room temperature . 2nd use a hair dryer to get it in shape . 3rd cut out a piece of the box that the door gasket was delivered in to cover the freezer opening after you remove the door,4th(remove the door by removing the bottom hinge) 5th put the door on a table to remove the old gasket with a screw gun,(now is a good time to clean the door up) after the old gasket & panel was removed I found the insulation inside the door panel frozen solid so I replaced it .If you don't replace this fiberglass insulation or a least try to thaw it out you defeat the purpose of the doors insulations R value. 6th replace the gasket (replace the gasket the same way that you removed it) 7th put the door back on the freezer.You don't have to remove the freezer door to do this job but it makes a much neater job & a better seal when the door is closed. This isn't the 1st door gasket I replaced so I kind of knew what I was doing.Good Luck