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My Amana built-in B136CAR3 will not defrost, top section too warm. Repair guy came out, charged $145 and said the compressor was fine, and left. No fix. I think I found multiple problems... please note, this is a built-in, and the cusXXXXX XXXXX panels are super heavy maple, I think the cabinet maker took a little liberty with the measurements...So the freezer iced up so bad I couldn't open the door, and the top section is getting almost no cooling. This is the 5th time I've had to manually defrost it by taking off the back panel. I know I can use some kind of forced override on the control panel to defrost it without disassembly (how?). Anyway, at one point the lights were staying on in upper and lower sections, so I partially unscrewed the lightbulbs so they won't turn on. It appears the freezer seal isn't tight fitting on the left side. Also there is a micro-switch on the left side of the freezer, looks like it's supposed locks out the icemaker from operating when the drawer is open, but it appears to be broken, this might be partially causing the freezer drawer from closing and keeping the seal tight. So... could the main reason for the icing up be due to a bad defrost sensor, or heating element? arg... been fighting this for a couple of years, and the service tech guy has been useless.
Optional Information: Brand: Amana Type of Appliance: Refrigerator Already Tried: Manually removed rear freezer panel, defrosted it. Cleared the drain tube. Cleaned upper radiator near compressor on top of refer. Call 3 service techs, all came up zero after 10 mins... and 5 of that was trying to figure out how to remove the freezer drawer...
Hello and thank you for using this service. I see your issue and yes a defrost thermostat would be the most likely cause of your issue. You need to check the back freezer panel. The unit is probably frosted up. This will require you to take the back freezer panel out. There are several screws to get it out. Once ouut if the unit is frosted up more than likely the defrost thermostat is bad if it is all frosted up. The defrost thermostat is clamped to the evaporator on the upper right hand side. The thermostat will look like the top is coming off. If it looks like that it is bad. It will look like this typicallly when it is bad. If it seems expoded like this it is bad and need to be replaced.CLICK HEREPlease rate my response thanks!!!
Experience: Over 15yrs experience with 10,000+ in home repairs.
got it all defrosted. Going to check the fan, and the defrost thermo. Do the heater's usually hold up ok? Also, regarding the microswitch (left side wall back behind and below the ice maker... is it for the ice maker lock out? The tech saw it was busted and lock-tied it's lever up, so it acted like the drawer was always open.
The heater on that unit typically does not go bad. The switch is just to kill power when the drawer is open for the icemaker, so it does not run when the drawer is open.
Yup it was bloated like the picture. I got a new one for only $24 locally. I had to clip the brown wire because the connector on the new one was flat-blade style and the old one was round-barrel type -- So I swapped the old wire to the new unit. The markings on both the old and new were the same.
Yes it should be colder, check the return vent and the refrig vent to make sure they are not iced up. It should be flowing good out of the refrig vent when the freezer door is closed.
Thanks so much for your help! Just Answers won't let me add a bonus at this point, otherwise I would(!).
Hmm... ya know... maybe the freezer fan isn't working... I'll check.
It sounds like the vent chute is plugged up with ice. You need to get an inspection mirror with a flashlight and look above the fan up the tube. You will oprobably find it is all blocked up with ice. You just need to melt it out with a steamer or unplug it and let it defrost if that is the case.
Vents are clear... Nowf the reezer is taking a long to time chill a cup of water, and that's barely to surface freezing. It does, however, appear that the defrost cycle is working now. It looked like it was starting to ice up, and now I see it's not and there's a little water in the tray. But the refer section still doesn't get below 45 degrees.
Have you taken off the inside panel in the freezer? That looks like it is on the back of the unit.
You are correct, this is on the back of the unit. Are those lines supposed to ice up? I took the panel off because ice was forming on the outside of the unit, on the sheet metal over that area.
You need to take the back panel of the freezer off again and look at the evaporator. It sounds like your system may be low on freon, you would get that icing like that if it is. If the evaporator is not frosted towards the bottom but is at the top where the lines come then the unit has a leak. This sounds like the case especially since it can not freeze water. Check that evaporator and let me know if the whole thing is frosty or just the very top. If you lick you finger it should stick to any part of the evaporator if the unit has enough gas and is pumping correctly. Here is a pick of a unit with barely any freon leftCLICK HEREAppliance Guru41104.1286207986
Good plan, I'll check again and let you know. hmm... Ya know... I just remember that when the tech came out, it was only frozen in one corner on the evaporator. way low by the vent. Look for my next post shortly. Thanks for sticking to this -- you've way beyond the call of duty!
No problem, check the link I sent you in the last post that is a great pic of a evap with low freon in the system.