Amana side by Side SXD26VE - ApplianceBlog.com

thomj05 · #1 December 27th, 2005, 08:56 AM

I have a problem with my Amana side by side SXD26VW (purchased 4/6/00). My problem is identical to the problem as Jake had on his Dec 8, 2005 post but his resolution was never nailed down. My unit will stop cooling and fridg/freezer contents melt. The only thing that will get it going again is to unplug it for 1/2 hour and then plug it back in. It was happening about every couple months (food getting soft and water dispenser not giving water) but would eventually restart by itself. It now happens every other day. I can tell when it is in this non-working condition because the water dispenser does not work and then confirm by feeling soft frozen juice containers in the freezer. After reading this forum, I am guessing that it is a bad compressor shutdown switch. I will have to get behind there and take a look.

I wonder what component is bad which would disable the water valve when the compressor goes into this disabled mode? Thanks for your help in advance.

Here are the things I observe when it is in that warm problem condition:
- Warm air blowing inside the fridg and freezer
- All lights work when door is opened up
- All fans are on (inside and outside)
- Water dispenser does NOT work but the water light does work. The water comes back to life as soon as the compressor is working again
- Ice dispenser works fine
- There is NO frost on the back freezer panel

Things I have tried:
- The timer appears to be working. When the unit is in the problem-mode, spinning the timer has no impact to get the compressor to come on again
- Only unplugging it for 30 minutes and then plugging it back in puts it back into service
- After it was going again, I placed the thing into defrost mode and observed lots of heat at the back of the freezer panel (I saw the thing actually glowing)
- Monthly I clean/vacuum the coils, fan, compressor very well. Its very clean under there
- Observed the defrost cycle was approx 30 minutes

***Jake*** · #2 December 27th, 2005, 04:12 PM

Very odd that the water dispenser quits when the compressor does, makes me think there is a loose or bad wiring connection somewhere. You may have to call a appliance tech. out, this is a very odd problem.

It does sound like your compressor is starting to fail on you, its covered by a 5 yr. part and labor warranty, a tech. has to come out from Amana to verify that anyways before he or she orders a compressor, you can ask him or her about that dispenser problem as well.

I just noticed your over the 5 yr. warranty period. It would cost about $300-$600 to have the compressor replaced.

Jake

thomj05 · #3 December 27th, 2005, 07:33 PM

Thanks Jake for the reply. After I left my original post, I went out and picked up the 3 following electric parts to try before calling the repairman. For the $45 it cost me, I figured it was worth a try.
1.) Defrost timer control, 8hr.
2.) Overload, 4tm
3.) PTC relay for compressor

It is all back together and cooling and dispensing water just fine. I checked the wiring at the connectors when I replaced the parts and the wiring looked sturdy and non-burned. I have my fingers crossed for the unit to keep cooling for at least another 5 years!

I checked the actual date of purchase and it was 4/6/98 (not 4/6/00). The warranty in the manual is 5 years for the SX and as you indicated, it's out of warranty.

***Jake*** · #4 December 27th, 2005, 09:25 PM

Glad that took care of it!

Hopefully it will last another 5 yrs. if not more.

Jake

thomj05 · #5 January 2nd, 2006, 08:04 AM

Unfortunately, it lasted over the weekend and now things are warm in there and the water doesn't dispense again. I pulled it out and did more digging while still plugged in during the failed condition. ffice

ffice" />>>
1.) The compressor is running and the line going to the freezer is chilled (I made a wrong observation last post...sorry)>>
2.) The fan in the freezer is not running>>
3.) The water solenoids (2 because of the water filter) are showing 120 volts when activated. They also buzz when activated but no water comes out>>
4.) Turning the dual thermostats in the refrigerator section down and then up again after 5 minutes does not fix the failed condition>>
>>
The new question is, what could be causing the freezer and refrigerator fans to not come on and the water dispenser to not work while the compressor and all other electric are still working?

***Jake*** · #6 January 2nd, 2006, 11:52 AM

Ok, you will need to ohm that defrost thermostat for continuity while its frosted up, if no continuity, then thats why the freezer fan is not coming on.

Then your defrost thermostat will need to be replaced,

Here is the one for your model:
Defrost thermostat with wire harness

Jake

thomj05 · #7 January 3rd, 2006, 11:42 AM

Thanks Jake, I'll do that tonight.

Yesterday I paid an appliance serviceman $70 to come out and look at it. When he arrived, the unit had been cooling for about 20-30 minutes as I had it unplugged for 30 minutes prior and it reset itself. After explaining to him the symptoms and failed behavior, he opened the freezer door and removed the back panel to expose the freezer coil and thermostat. He looked at the coil and said the problem is that the refrigerant system has a leak and would not recommend fixing it as there is no way to determine where the actual leak is (could be inside the walls). He proceeded to justify his diagnosis by pointing out that the frost had only developed on the top 1/4 of the coil in those 20-30 minutes of running and it should have been at least 1/2 way down the coil. At the same time, we also witnessed water actually dripping down from the bottom 1/4 of the coil instead of freezing. I asked him if he could put a test tool on the line to tell me what the refrigerant level is. He said that it would cost $400 to tap into the system in order to tell. Then he proceeded to show me new Frigidaire side by sides that he sells. Hmmm.
After that bad news, I went to Best Buy and put money down on a new $1,300 Samsung (great digital controls on the freezer door). Unfortunately, it's not deliverable for 2 weeks. With 2 weeks to spare, maybe we can find this Amana's problem and I will cancel the Samsung order.
Does that Technician’s diagnosis add up based on the information I provided here?

***Jake*** · #8 January 3rd, 2006, 05:36 PM

Nope, it sounds bogus to me.

Its best to buy the Samsung, just get 20-30 pounds of dry ice to put in the Amana, that should last you a couple weeks.

Jake

thomj05 · #9 January 3rd, 2006, 08:32 PM

I cut out the Defrost Terminator out and tested it. The results were all over the board. Here they are:
1.) Straight from the Amana Freezer=0 to 7 (but continuity)
2.) Warmed up with hair dryer = 110 (it never opened up). By the way, lots of brown water came out of it after I thawed it out with the hairdryer. The top was also pushed up around the seal indicating the water expanded it when frozen.
3.) I then refroze it and guess what? No continuity until it warmed up for 30 seconds and then suddenly I had a closed circuit. (just the opposite that should be happening)

I am going to plunk down another $40 for a new one tomrrow. Cheaper than $1300 if it works! I am guessing that this baby is being affected by the water that is now inside. I used 2 different meters to verify the results. I read that this should read continuity when cold and open above 55 degrees. This thing is bad.

By the way, I saw several others that posted the same problem where the Amana side by side doesn’t cool and the water doesn’t dispense. Unfortunately, nobody ever gets to the bottom of this Amana problem. Hopefully we can this time!
Amana SCD22TBW
and
1998 Amana Side by Side Refrigerator - freezer not working
and
Amana side-by-side problem. I have Pics (1/2 way down)

***Jake*** · #10 January 4th, 2006, 01:02 PM

Yea, this defrost thermostat issue on the Amana's has been going on since the mid 90's. I always just leave the defrost thermostat on the evap. coil and ohm it for continuity while its still frosted. If no continuity, then thats always the problem, It sounds like yours was closed with continuity, but the contacts inside were just bad, and not contacting properly, or intermittently doing this.

Changing that defrost thermostat should take care of it, I would be surprised if it didn't.

Jake

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