Refrigerator Repair Instructions

Amana Refrigerator Model #: TZ21R3L

My refrigerator was not working properly. It had all of the working signs but something else was going on. The ice in the tub was wet, there was frost building up on the back side of the freezer, and the refrigerator area was getting warm. Usually the refrigerator is about 45 degrees, this day it was about 52 degrees. I didn't have the money to run out and replace it so I decided to try to get it fixed. After a few calls, most of which were quoting me around $150 to $180, I thought, man, I can replace this 13 year old refrigerator with a 3 to 5 year old one for about $300, why put $180 into it. After realizing that paying $300 or $400 for another refrigerator would hurt at this time, I decided to try to milk it until I made a final decision. One repair guy told me that 1 or more of 4 parts can be the problem, but if I needed more time, I could unplug the box for a day, then it would work for a week or two.

This was the problem: The box was not defrosting as designed. Come to find out, frost free refrigerators defrost themselves all the time. The main 4 parts to this system are: 1 - Fan, 2 - Heater, 3 - Thermostat and 4 - Timer. When 1 or more of the 4 parts do not work properly, ice builds up behind the freezer and stops cold air transfer from going from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment. When the ice is thawed, the box will work properly again. So, my box was iced up and I needed it thawed fast.

I took the freezer area apart and seen the ice build up. When I went to the appliance parts store, they said they could sell me 3 of the 4 parts for about $110.00. I could hear the fan blowing so I knew the fan worked. Someone at the parts store told me to check the heater element with an ohm meter to see if it was good, I did, checked good. So either the timer or thermostat was bad. I went back to the store to take my 50/50 chance on the cheaper part and a repair man there said it was likely the cheaper part, thermostat. So $26 later I was on my way.

It took me almost 2 hours to complete the job. Mainly because I ran into a snag because of Murphy's Law. If your machine is iced up, it will need to be defrosted so allow for 6 hours (a 5 hour thaw time). If it is not iced up, you can do the job in an hour to two.

Tools Needed:

1/4 Inch Ratchet Driver	Wire Cutters
Pliers / Wire Crimper	Wire Connectors
Electrical Tape	Parts (Thermostat)

Instructions: Read each step in it's entirety before doing the procedure. It will help you avoid breaking parts, harming yourself, etc.

NOTE: Quick tip: This would be a good time to give your freezer a spring cleaning. I put all of my ice, ice packs, etc. into the refrigerator area to keep the stuff in there cold/cool.

1. Turn off the refrigerator. I just did it with the switch inside the refrigerator door but it would be safer to unplug it.
   
2. Empty all the stuff out of the freezer. I put all the ice and ice packs in the refrigerator to help keep the stuff in there cold and all the food in the freezer in my garage. If you don't have another freezer, put the stuff in a cooler or somewhere else it can stay cold for a few hours.
   
3. Remove the freezer racks.
   
4. Remove the ice-maker. It has 3 screws and a wire connector. Remove screws then lift it away from the side. After it is loose, it will be easier to unplug the wire connector from the back of the freezer. The wire connector has tabs that you squeeze at the top and bottom of the connector, squeeze them and pull the plug loose.
   NOTE: There may be water in the ice maker so don't be surprised it water leaks out.
   
5. Remove the tube that fills the ice-maker with water.
   
6. Loosen the ice-maker connection wires from the back of the freezer panel. It has two tabs at the sides, squeeze them together and push the wires into the back of the freezer compartment.
   
7. Remove the freezer rack rails.
   
8. Loosen the screws that old the back panel in place. Mine has 5 screws (see above picture with tape marking the screws), they all had the same heads on them. If you have a screw or 2 with different heads on them, leave them, they may hold something to the back of the panel that doesn't need to come loose.
9. Take the light kit loose. Remove the light cover then loosen any screws in the top so that it is no longer secure to the freezer.
   
10. Take the top panel loose. Mine has a few clips that push into the top of the freezer compartment. I simply pulled it down with my fingers, you may need a flat tip screwdriver to pull it loose.
    
11. Once it starts to come down, the back will come loose as well. I had to work the top through the back to get the back removed. I left the top connected, kinda hanging from the wires.
    

The back is now removed. You can see the ice that has formed in the back of the freezer. It is best to let the ice thaw before replacing any parts or putting it back together.

Now that the ice has thawed you can replace the thermostat. If your old thermostat has a 2 connector end like your new one, you can simply swap them, if not, you may have to do a little re-wiring to get it replaced. My old one had a loose connector on the orange wire but the brown wire was wired into another plug that had a multi-wire plug, so I had to rewire a little.

12. Take the thermostat loose from the clip that holds it to the tubing.
    
13. Remove the old thermostat. I had to cut my brown wire and unplug the orange wire.
    WARNING: If you did not unplug your freezer, you should do so now, before cutting any wires, etc.
14. Connect the new thermostat. I had to splice the brown wire together with a wire connector. Make sure you have a good connector, you do not want to have to go back into the freezer to repair a loose wire.
    
15. Clip the thermostat back to the same tubing that the old one was removed from.
    WARNING: Failure to clip the thermostat to the tubing the way the old one was removed will cause the thermostat to malfunction. It will not work properly if it is not hooked on the tubing properly.
    
16. Go to step 11 and put the freezer back together (reverse the order of the instructions).
17. Once it is back together, clean it.
    

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End of instructions.