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Dale.1  
#1 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 11:28:11 AM(UTC)
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Dale.1

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My Maytag side-by-side is 12 years old. The fridge only gets down to 45 degrees and the freezer slowly freezes ice but not meats. I was told by a repair man that the Auto Damper Housing Assembly (Part Number: AP4069713) needed to be replaced. I replaced it and there was no change in my fridge's behavior. I am now guessing that it is the thermostat.

When I looked for the part on this site, there were several pieces to choose from. What part(s) do I order to replace the thermostat?

Also, when I had the fridge turned off to do the repair, a large puddle of water formed under the front of the fridge. There was no frost of any kind in the freezer prior to turning off the electricity.

Oh, and the Freon is fine.

Thank you for any help you can give me. :)
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scott5495  
#2 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 11:55:45 AM(UTC)
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scott5495

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most likely you have a defrost problem. behind the back panel in your freezer section you will find the cooling coils. if the box is not defrosting you will have real heavy frost on the coils, enough so no air can flow through the coils. if air cannot move through the coils the freezer will not get cold enough and since the ref section borrows air from freezer it will get warm also. I base my assumption on the fact that when you unplugged it, you got a lot of water underneath. when the box defrosts it drains water into a pan at the compressor. the pan can only hold a normal amount of defrost water, after that it overflows. possibly heater bad, defrost thermostat bad, or defrost timer. since water freezes at 32 degrees, it is cooling. meats and ice cream need 0-5 degrees.
Dale.1  
#3 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 12:41:58 PM(UTC)
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Dale.1

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Thanks, Scott. Your reply makes a lot of sense. So how do I go about determining which is the problem, of the three you mentioned: the heater, defrost thermostat or defrost timer?

When I restarted the fridge yesterday, after doing the repair, it seemed to take a long time for the air coming from the fan to feel cool. Even after five hours of running, it didn't get down to 45 degrees in the fridge UNTIL I turned the freezer temperature control all the way up to 9. (The fridge control is set at about 6.)

Thanks for your help. It is much appreciated. :)
scott5495  
#4 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 1:12:41 PM(UTC)
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scott5495

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first take the back of inside of freezer while unit is still trying to cool. see if you have a lot of frost buildup. if not, we may have to go another direction.

to test defrost parts you will need an volt ohm meter.
to test defrost heater you will need to disconnect the heater and read ohms from one side to the other of heater. [meter lead on each of heater wires. set meter scale on low ohms scale. heater should read 20-40 ohms if good. the defrost terminator is at the top of the coils, [small, round and two wires. disconnect the terminator and check for ohms continuity. set meter on higher ohm scale to get reading. the terminator fits onto one of the lines on the cooling coils. the terminator must be on a frosted line to check. also look to see if the terminator is "damaged" in any way. if both of these check good, you have a bad defrost timer. defrost timer may be electronic. if it is, it is located in the ref. side at top.
Dale.1  
#5 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 2:45:03 PM(UTC)
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Dale.1

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Oh, this is getting complicated. Where do I get an inexpensive volt ohm meter? Is there something that can do the same job, like a voltage meter? I found one at a hardware store that has a digital readout for $19.97.
scott5495  
#6 Posted : Sunday, July 7, 2013 5:10:09 PM(UTC)
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scott5495

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a volt meter usually has an ohm scale on it. that is not a bad price. I bought an excellent craftsman meter from sears for about 15.00
digital meter
Dale.1  
#7 Posted : Monday, July 8, 2013 7:02:56 AM(UTC)
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Dale.1

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Thanks, Scott. I will check it out.
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