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Model: SX25JW Brand: Amana Age: More than 10 years
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geovic  
#1 Posted : Sunday, September 29, 2013 4:45:44 PM(UTC)
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geovic

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Joined: 9/29/2013(UTC)
Posts: 1
Yesterday morning, my late 1980's vintage Amana refrigerator started making loud buzzing sounds - 3 seconds long, exactly 90 seconds apart. It seemed to come from the defrost timer, behind the toe panel.

It sounded nasty, so I turned off the fridge, went to work, and took a closer look at it in the afternoon. Turned it back on - the condenser fan blew, the buzzing buzzed, but the compressor didn't come on.

Turned the defrost timer knob to defrost, and the fan and the buzzing both stopped. Turned it back to cool - fan, buzz, no compressor sound.

The buzzing seemed just like when the (ceramic disk) start relay failed a couple of years ago, so I pulled it out, shook it, it didn't rattle, measured 4 ohms across the terminals, and put it back in.

Since the buzzing seemed to come from the defrost timer, I pulled it out, and here are the resistance values ...

TERMINALS....COOL / DEFROST
........3 & 4.....8.4K / Open
........3 & 1.....8.4K / 8.4K
........3 & 2....Open / 8.4K
........2 & 4....Open / Open
........1 & 2....Open / Closed
........1 & 4..Closed / Open

Here are my questions …

#1. The timer is bad. Correct?

#2. Would the timer motor resistance have caused the periodic buzzing, or is there something else going on?

#3. Would the timer motor resistance have prevented the compressor from starting?

#3. My current plan is to jumper the #1 & #3 terminals, to bypass the motor. (See the photo, there’s room for a wire inside the case.) Then I could do a daily defrost manually, until I can get a replacement. (There’s an appliance parts store in the area, but I have an important job to finish that will take another 2 or 3 days, at least.) I’d like to save the food, it’s been 34 hours so far, there’s still a small chance. Also, if a motorless timer will allow the compressor to start, it will prove it’s just the timer, otherwise I’d be spending time and (some) money getting a nonrefundable part, just to find out I’m actually facing a big repair bill, or the cost of a new fridge.

I’m going to hack the timer in the next couple of hours, so if you’re knowledgeable enough to know for a fact that this is a bad idea, please post here soon. Or, if you think it’s a good idea, I’d like to hear about that, too.

Thanks in advance,

George
geovic attached the following image(s):
DefTim_Halves-2.jpg
DefTim02-2.jpg
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denman  
#2 Posted : Monday, September 30, 2013 4:07:05 AM(UTC)
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denman

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Here are your parts
Parts for SX25JW - AppliancePartsPros.com

SX25J / P7870105W does have parts breakdown diagrams

Your test readings look OK to me.
3 is one side of the timer motor. Goes to Neutral
1 is the other side of the motor and also common for the contacts.
2 goes to the defrost heater
4 goes to the compressor.

[COLOR="Blue"]
#1. The timer is bad. Correct?[/COLOR]
Cannot say at least not from your resistance measurements.

[COLOR="Blue"]#2. Would the timer motor resistance have caused the periodic buzzing, or is there something else going on?[/COLOR]
Not necessarily. It could be that there is anm electrical problem in the timer but there may also be a mechanical problem which is preventing the motor from turning so it sits there and buzzes.
[COLOR="Blue"]
#3. Would the timer motor resistance have prevented the compressor from starting?[/COLOR]
No.
The timer motor is not in the compressor circuit.
Only the contacts are (1 to 4).
They could be the problem if they are badly pitted and therefore drop voltage across them. This would be very rare as usually the either weld together or do not close at all.
If when you measured "........1 & 4..Closed / Open", you sed your most sensitive meter scale and got zero ohms then the contacts are OK.
Be sure to short your meter leads together before doing the reading so you can see if there is a zero offset in the meter.

[COLOR="Blue"]#3. My current plan is to jumper the #1 & #3 terminals, to bypass the motor. (See the photo, there’s room for a wire inside the case.)[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]I hope you see this before you do the above.
If you jumper 1 to 3 when the control thermostat closes you will have a dead short to ground. In other words arcs, sparks and tripping the beaker.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Blue"]Then I could do a daily defrost manually, until I can get a replacement. [/COLOR]
I do not think that it is just a defrost timer problem.


You may have two problems in the unit if you are sure that the buzzing is from the defrost timer and not the compressor.
The condenser/compressor fan is most likely wired in parallel with the compressor so if it is on the compressor should be on.
Measure across the condenser fan, if you have 120 volts and the compressor does not start then it is a compressor problem.
Below is a good site with info on how to check things.
How To Fix a Refrigerator - Appliance Repair Guide - ACME HOW TO.com

Note that checking the compressor windings is not a definitive test. It will tell you if the compressor is bad but does not tell you that the compressor is good. It may have winding to winding shorts or a mechanical problem that is preventing it from starting.

Same applies to the capacitor as sometimes they can breakdown when the full 120 volts are applied to them and your metere does not do this.
Note that capacitors are very reliable and seldom fail.
THIS FORUM IS DEAD!!!!!!!
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