Amana Refrigerator/Freezer Not Cooling or Freezing

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
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1

So i’m less than 1 week away from closing on the sale of my home and it looks like my bad luck continues…

We noticed that everything in our freezer was soft (was fine less than 24hrs earlier). I put the themometer in there and sure enough, was registering around 60 degrees F in the freezer. So i pulled the front grate and rear panel and vacuumed everything out. It wasn’t totally blocked, but it was pretty dirty.

When i had the back panel off i noticed the compressor was pretty warm and there was an occasional clicking coming from it every minute or so but the compressor itself would not vibrate. I checked both the compressor and evaporator fan and they were both functioning just fine. There was no frost build up on the coils inside the back wall of the freezer compartment. I pulled the capacitor on the side of the compressor and shook it and nothing sounded loose.

So we emptied everything and pulled the plug so that it could sit and cool down all night. I started the fridge up first thing this AM and the compressor was still not running and i just had a clicking noise.

So now it seems like i’m down to 2 possibilities. 1 is that the relay/overload piece (http://www.deyparts.net/product/whirlpool-refrigerator-relay-and-overload-12555902# is bad or the compressor is shot.

So, in an effort to make it out of the sale of my house without loosing even more money, anything that i can help to further identify the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

3

See the attachment for the tech sheet.

So now it seems like i’m down to 2 possibilities. 1 is that the relay/overload piece (12555902 - Whirlpool Refrigerator Relay & Overload is bad or the compressor is shot.
I agree with you.

You could try checking the compressor windings for resistance and to be sure they are not grounded.
Below is a link on how to do this.
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/refrigerator.php

The test will tell you if a compressor is bad, they do not tell you that the compressor is good as it may have other internal problems.

There is no good way to check the start device so all you can do is try a new one.

4

Well shortly after posting yesterday i went and bought a direct replacement overload relay and a 3 in 1 start relay.

Went home and pulled the original overload relay…just so happened to give it a shake and noticed something was rattling in it and some debris was coming out the one side of it. Pried it open and this is what i found.

Swapped in the new direct replacement part ($55) and buttoned everything back up and i’m back in business!!

Finally, luck was on my side :slight_smile: