10 year old Amana bottom freezer fridge issue

The same thing can happen to the freezer on top type. My parents have a 30 year old Amana. The drain pan hole was plugged up and the coils turned into a block of ice. We took the bottom out of the freezer and found a deteriorating piece of Styrofoam over the coils, the drain hole was plugged and the pan was full of Styrofoam debris and old bits of food. We pulled the fridge out, turned it off, let it thaw, carefully lifted up the freezing coil, and sucked the water and debris out of the pan with a wet vac. Then poured a bit of water in the pan and it wouldn't drain, so we took the drain hose loose on the back of the fridge and poked a wire up through the opening and dislodged a big blockage. Then we used the vac to suck up toward the pan and down toward the evaporator pan to make sure there was no more blockage, hooked the drain hose back up and poured water again. It went all the way through. No blockage. There was also one coil of wire from the defrost element that dropped through the drain hole in the pan to keep ice out of the hole. If your fridge has this, watch for it and make sure it doesn't get damaged and remains in place.

We happened to have a piece of Styrofoam in the shop that was the same thickness as the old piece, so my dad took the old piece, used it for a pattern, cut a new piece, placed it over the freezer coils as before, put the bottom back in the freezer and...Voila, fridge fixed.

Take note. If you move the coils around in a refrigeration system be careful. If you cause even a microscopic fracture in the sealed system, it is ruined. Also be careful of the coil fins. They can be very sharp and cut like a razor. Keep the condenser coils, fan, and air pathways clean. You can get a coil brush to clean the coils, but we found there are sometimes many places you just can't get to with a brush or vacuum cleaner, so we cleaned as much dirt as we could with the former then resorted to compressed air for the final cleaning. It makes a terrible mess, but it's just about the only way to completely clean the area under the fridge. We used compressed air from the back and used a wide vacuum nozzle on the front to try and catch as much dust as we could. You can also place an air cleaner near by set on high to help clear the dust out of the air.

One last point and a question, if anyone knows. I told my Mother to keep Dad from bringing lots of frozen food home and packing the freezer so full that the air can't circulate. Same goes for the refrigerator section. People make the mistake of thinking that refrigerators should be packed like a deep freeze for efficiency. Not true. In a refrigerator with forced air, items have to have some space around them and between them and the vents for air to circulate for effective cooling. During the repair I noticed the bin for the ice maker was being pushed to the back of the freezer, blocking a duct that blew extremely cold air over the ice maker to make ice quickly. My Mom got a small block of wood to put behind the bin to keep it in the proper position so it wouldn't get pushed back. That helped a lot too. Remember, don't pack a modern refrigerator. The old kind with only the evaporator coil that had to be defrosted manually could be packed a bit more tightly.

The question I have is, why does the compressor seem to have a hard time starting up. Sometimes it seems to be worse than others. Seems like it's worse in the summer. It makes this "grunting" sound before it finally gets up to speed. My Dad says it's, "loading up". I think what he's referring to is an imbalance in pressure between the condenser and evaporator sides of the system which will cause a compressor to overload and kick off until the pressure between the two sides equalizes to the point where it can come back on. I don't think this is the case. The unit will shut off for a thirty minute defrost cycle and when it kicks back on the compressor will make the same sound even though it's had plenty of time for pressure equalization. I suspect an under voltage or current situation. A few years back they had the drop line to their house replaced because it was old (50 years) and had gone bad. It seemed to get a little better after that, but didn't completely go away. When I'm in the basement by the breaker box and the air conditioner comes on, the box buzzes briefly. I know it's not the same circuit, but I suspect a commonality. Could one leg have a loose connection? Possibly a loose connection in the outlet box or a bad outlet? A loose connection in the refrigerator's wiring or a weak compressor start capacitor? Do compressors get weak over time? I could check the line voltage drop at the outlet when the fridge comes on. How much should the voltage coming out of the cap. to the compressor drop when it comes on. I would entertain suggestions. I'd rather this refrigerator not die. Thanks.


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Post# 533753 7/30/2011 at 14:15 (4,662 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Just talking to my cousin, her approximately 10 year old Amana bottom freezer fridge is not working. Freezer is fine, everything is frozen and it is making ice. However the fridge is warm and food spoiled. She had guests this week and it was packed tight, plus it is hot and humid and the door was opened and closed a lot. Trying to do a long distance diagnosis, my two thoughts are, one - the opening that circulates cold air from the freezer frosted over and is plugged up. Or two, the fan that circulates the air is not working. It's been years since I worked with a bottom freezer unit, but those are the things that come to mind. At the moment she has emptied the fridge and turned it off, but left the frozen stuff in the freezer. I suggested she empty the freezer too and let the whole unit warm up. Anyone have any suggestions at what else she should look at?

Post# 533758 , Reply# 1 7/30/2011 at 14:26 (4,662 days old) by 18millstreet ()
Checkrate/Likes *bottom freezer trouble* Hi, I worked on a late model kitchenaid last year with same problem,we found the return vent in corner of freezer compartment had frozen up,blocking air passege to refrigerator section. I hope this helps,walt

Post# 533777 , Reply# 2 7/30/2011 at 16:20 (4,661 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes It is very likely a defrosting problem that has allowed so much frost to form that air is not circulating over the fins with enough speed and capacity to move up into the fresh food section. She might as well let the freezer continue to stay cold. A service call will be needed to fix the defrost timer or defrosting system. If the tech can get out within a few days, the freezer should continue to stay cold.

Post# 533780 , Reply# 3 7/30/2011 at 16:40 (4,661 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes I talked to her again, she is emptying the freezer to let that defrost. Hoping that will solve the problem. It's been very humid and with the frequent opening of the unit we're hoping it was a one time thing. Plus, her sister loves to pack everything into the refrigerator and I've seen times when she's done that and things are frozen from no air circulation. If it does it again I might have to run out and look at the timer or the heating coil.

Post# 533802 , Reply# 4 7/30/2011 at 18:23 (4,661 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)
Checkrate/Likes *Funny* My Amana French Door fridge has stopped making ice. I think the water valve is out. A cheap fix. Would love to replace it with a Kitchenaid, though. Malcolm

Post# 533807 , Reply# 5 7/30/2011 at 18:38 (4,661 days old) by henry200 ()
Checkrate/Likes I never encountered that problem with either of my bottom-freezer Amanas but did have it happen once in the GE Profile I have now. The defrost drain got plugged and ice built up blocking the duct. The fan was enclosed in a solid block of ice! Once I got it all thawed out the problem was solved.

Post# 533866 , Reply# 6 7/31/2011 at 00:59 (4,661 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Yeah, I''m hoping that solves the issue too.

Post# 534129 , Reply# 7 7/31/2011 at 18:24 (4,660 days old) by paulg (My sweet home... Chicago)
Checkrate/Likes *I've experienced this* We had a bottom-freezer Amana in the past. The freezer was fine but the fridge warmed up. We had Amana Factory service come out. A nut came off the bracket holding the fan that moves air from the freezer to the fridge. This caused the fan to move out of place, jam, and stop spinning. No cold air to the fridge causes it to warm up. Focus on the fan. Ice buildup is possible too. As long as the freezer works you're in pretty good shape.

Post# 534142 , Reply# 8 7/31/2011 at 19:41 (4,660 days old) by retropia ()
Checkrate/Likes We had a similar problem with our 1998 Kenmore-by-Whirlpool side-by-side. The freezer stayed cold enough but the refrigerator wasn't. It turned out our problem was the defroster thermostat had failed. The coils inside the freezer, near the lower bottom, had iced over. This didn't allow cold air to pass through to the refrigerator. A technician came out, had us remove everything from the freezer, used a portable steamer to de-ice the coils, replaced the defroster thermostat, and that got everything working correctly again.

Post# 535630 , Reply# 16 8/7/2011 at 23:18 (4,653 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY)
Checkrate/Likes *Same problem with a Jenn-Air!* Just visited my sister who's having a similar symptoms with a 10-y.o. side-by-side Jenn-Air... any idea where to start looking for the timer? Freezer is cooling but air not getting to fridge side. No access or pull-off vent at base, where does one attempt to give the timer a nudge? Thanks!

Post# 534189 , Reply# 9 8/1/2011 at 00:22 (4,660 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Apparently this happened a couple of years ago and I believe the defrost timer was replaced. Too soon for it to go again, but stranger things have happened.

Post# 534281 , Reply# 10 8/1/2011 at 09:45 (4,660 days old) by runematic (southcentral pa)
Checkrate/Likes Rarely do we replace Amana BM defrost heaters. We do see A LOT of defrost therms go bad and also the evap fans do go out. If the door was open a lot, it may have frozen up the vent to the refrig. A good defrosting should help that.

Post# 534311 , Reply# 11 8/1/2011 at 11:31 (4,660 days old) by retropia ()
Checkrate/Likes Here is a pix of what our blown defroster thermostat looked like. As you can see, the top is partially pushed out.

Post# 534406 , Reply# 12 8/1/2011 at 19:47 (4,659 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes Checked on it today and a good defrosting seems to have done the trick, we'll see. My hunch is the damper frosted over with all the open/close action. Time will tell.

Post# 534907 , Reply# 13 8/4/2011 at 06:41 (4,657 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)
Checkrate/Likes *Same Thing In Reverse* The same thing can happen to the freezer on top type. My parents have a 30 year old Amana. The drain pan hole was plugged up and the coils turned into a block of ice. We took the bottom out of the freezer and found a deteriorating piece of Styrofoam over the coils, the drain hole was plugged and the pan was full of Styrofoam debris and old bits of food. We pulled the fridge out, turned it off, let it thaw, carefully lifted up the freezing coil, and sucked the water and debris out of the pan with a wet vac. Then poured a bit of water in the pan and it wouldn't drain, so we took the drain hose loose on the back of the fridge and poked a wire up through the opening and dislodged a big blockage. Then we used the vac to suck up toward the pan and down toward the evaporator pan to make sure there was no more blockage, hooked the drain hose back up and poured water again. It went all the way through. No blockage. There was also one coil of wire from the defrost element that dropped through the drain hole in the pan to keep ice out of the hole. If your fridge has this, watch for it and make sure it doesn't get damaged and remains in place. We happened to have a piece of Styrofoam in the shop that was the same thickness as the old piece, so my dad took the old piece, used it for a pattern, cut a new piece, placed it over the freezer coils as before, put the bottom back in the freezer and...Voila, fridge fixed. Take note. If you move the coils around in a refrigeration system be careful. If you cause even a microscopic fracture in the sealed system, it is ruined. Also be careful of the coil fins. They can be very sharp and cut like a razor. Keep the condenser coils, fan, and air pathways clean. You can get a coil brush to clean the coils, but we found there are sometimes many places you just can't get to with a brush or vacuum cleaner, so we cleaned as much dirt as we could with the former then resorted to compressed air for the final cleaning. It makes a terrible mess, but it's just about the only way to completely clean the area under the fridge. We used compressed air from the back and used a wide vacuum nozzle on the front to try and catch as much dust as we could. You can also place an air cleaner near by set on high to help clear the dust out of the air. One last point and a question, if anyone knows. I told my Mother to keep Dad from bringing lots of frozen food home and packing the freezer so full that the air can't circulate. Same goes for the refrigerator section. People make the mistake of thinking that refrigerators should be packed like a deep freeze for efficiency. Not true. In a refrigerator with forced air, items have to have some space around them and between them and the vents for air to circulate for effective cooling. During the repair I noticed the bin for the ice maker was being pushed to the back of the freezer, blocking a duct that blew extremely cold air over the ice maker to make ice quickly. My Mom got a small block of wood to put behind the bin to keep it in the proper position so it wouldn't get pushed back. That helped a lot too. Remember, don't pack a modern refrigerator. The old kind with only the evaporator coil that had to be defrosted manually could be packed a bit more tightly. The question I have is, why does the compressor seem to have a hard time starting up. Sometimes it seems to be worse than others. Seems like it's worse in the summer. It makes this "grunting" sound before it finally gets up to speed. My Dad says it's, "loading up". I think what he's referring to is an imbalance in pressure between the condenser and evaporator sides of the system which will cause a compressor to overload and kick off until the pressure between the two sides equalizes to the point where it can come back on. I don't think this is the case. The unit will shut off for a thirty minute defrost cycle and when it kicks back on the compressor will make the same sound even though it's had plenty of time for pressure equalization. I suspect an under voltage or current situation. A few years back they had the drop line to their house replaced because it was old (50 years) and had gone bad. It seemed to get a little better after that, but didn't completely go away. When I'm in the basement by the breaker box and the air conditioner comes on, the box buzzes briefly. I know it's not the same circuit, but I suspect a commonality. Could one leg have a loose connection? Possibly a loose connection in the outlet box or a bad outlet? A loose connection in the refrigerator's wiring or a weak compressor start capacitor? Do compressors get weak over time? I could check the line voltage drop at the outlet when the fridge comes on. How much should the voltage coming out of the cap. to the compressor drop when it comes on. I would entertain suggestions. I'd rather this refrigerator not die. Thanks.

Post# 534917 , Reply# 14 8/4/2011 at 07:57 (4,657 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *RELUCTANT TO START COMPRESSOR* This is not likely caused by a bad wire connection in the refrigerator as the wiring is so light in gauge in the appliance that a bad connection will usually burn and fail pretty quickly. Low line voltage at the instant of start will cause this, check the voltage as the compressor tries to start if it dips below about 105 volts that could be your problem. It is not likely that your ref has a motor start capacitor, very few refs have used these for at least the last 30 years as standard equipment. If it does it could be weak, you can also add a start assist capacitor and sometimes changing the relay and overload on the compressor can help. But other than this you have a weak and or failing compressor. Amana has always had more than thier share of compressor failures, they have never made thier own compressors and have always been at the mercy of what other companies could supply. This has nothing to due with the compressor problem but it is almost impossible to block the air flow in a FF freezer to the point that it can cause any performance problems. And if fact a very full freezer will maintain much better temperature stability with door openings and going through the temperature swings during defrost cycles.

Post# 535145 , Reply# 15 8/5/2011 at 07:59 (4,656 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)
Checkrate/Likes *Compressor Reply* Thanks John, I'll give those things a check. Guess I was under the wrong impression about over packing a fridge. It sure seemed like things got better in that fridge after my Mom got some of that crap out of the freezer and moved that ice bin forward though. Don't know. Brian