Seemingly simultaneously the water dispenser on my 5 year old Amana fridge (side by side) stopped working and the fridge had a meltdown. Now it's not cooling well. The compressor doesn't seem to be turning on, but the fan is working periodically. Anyone know what's the problem? Any help would be appreciated ...
Well, it seems the system is working still, but poorly. The fridge is essentially room temp while the freezer is slightly cold at the bottom. I'm not sure what's working and what's not. The water dispenser is not working and I have to assume that it may have something to do with the problem or is at least a clue. I just unplugged the unit to defrost any potential freezing. If it works when I plug it in I guess I may need to replace the defrost thermostat. We'll see ... I wonder how much those run?
Hi,
The chilled water quit?....or the icemaker?...the icemaker often will not go once the freezer temps rises too warm. Chilled water quiting might be a coincidence?
Model#?
Is the compressor clicking on and off?...if yes, bad start relay, bad compressor, dirty condensor coils, slow/not working condensor fan motor are some trouble makers.
Appliance Repair Aid
The chilled water quit. I think the icemaker quit also, probably because of the high temp. Seems like them quitting together might be a big coincidence.
The model # is SCD23VW
I do believe the compressor is clicking on and off, but not very often at all. After doing yet some more research (love the web), I took a look at the condensor. I didn't actually realize this was INSIDE the freezer. Anyways, there is frost on it and the stuff at the bottom of the freezer is still frozen but the stuff at the top is thawed. I'm guessing the frost shouldn't be there. I'm also guessing that since the inlet for the water line is in the same area as the condensor (but on the back of the fridge), that maybe it's frozen and that's why there's no water at the dispenser (the dispenser still clicks when I try to get water). I'll have to take it apart a little more, but I believe someone is coming by today to take a look to see if it is repairable under warrantee.
So now I'm thinking that either the defrost thermostat or the heating element on the condensor needs replaced. Whaddya think?
Ooops ... I guess I meant evaporator instead of condensor above. Can ya tell I'm an amateur?
Well, nearly everything in the freezer thawed (sorry for the dramatics ... no fires or anything), except for stuff at the evaporator area at the bottom. The refrigerator also became essentially room temp. The fan that was working periodically is the condensor fan. I didn't know until recently that the "coolness" is distributed from the evaporator to the upper freezer and the fridge also via another fan ... controlled by the defrost thermostat apparently. I spoke with an Amana repairman and he states that it is common for my particular fridge, since the water reservoir is at the bottom of the refrigerator, to freeze the reservoir if the defrost thermostat or, less commonly, evaporator heating coil, has gone bad ... just because of it's proximity to the frozen evaporator. Anyways, after having it defrosted and plugging it back in, the water dispenser works ... so I must assume that it was frozen somewhere between the intake and my glass of water. The new defrost thermostat also brought the fridge back to life.
So, my contribution to this thread, aside from taking much away from it, and having a fixed refrigerator, is that if the water dispenser stops working at the same time as the defrost system fails, it's likely because the water line is frozen somewhere along it's path near the frozen evaporator. At least on my fridge the defrost thermostat not only controls the heating coil on the evaporator, but the evaporator fan itself. I'm not sure if every system is like this, though.
Thanks again everyone!
Hi,
The evaporator coils should have frost on the coils, but the coils should be lightly and evenly coated...if a build up is occuring on the cooling coils the cold air cannot be circulated by the evaorator fan motor.
jeff.
Appliance Repair Aid
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