Hello,

I have a Amana side by side refrigerator that is about 12 years old. I noticed yesterday a little water coming out from under it. I woke up this morning and there is more water. I opened the door and the items on the top shelf were defrosted and the ice was almost all gone in the bin. I thought maybe a good cleaning would help so I took the fan cover off and it was completely built up with dirt, not much air could have been getting through. We have been doing some remodeling and neglected to clean behind it apparently. Anyway I also took the front bottom grill off and vacuumed that. The fan on the back runs continually and the fan inside, I just don't hear the compressor kicking on. I felt of it to see if it was vibratingly quietly but I could not keep my hand on it because it's too hot. I noticed the last several months when it kicked off it was louder than normal. I have called around and people say it could be the compressor, or the relay switch or something with the defrost. Does anyone have any ideas before I invest money into a 12 years old frig. Everything else on it is fine so I don't know what to do.

Okay I have to update, It has been running since I cleaned it. It seems like it is not defrosting as much but I am not sure if the compressor is running or not. I try to touch it and it is pretty hot. When I turn the themostat down though the fridge does vibrate shutting off so doesn't that mean the compressor is running. I just have not heard it shut off like I normally do, but I didn't know if it is running longer trying to catch up to the temp??

Kibby

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Anyway I also took the front bottom grill off and vacuumed that. The fan on the back runs continually and the fan inside, I just don't hear the compressor kicking on. I felt of it to see if it was vibrating quietly but I could not keep my hand on it because it's too hot. I noticed the last several months when it kicked off it was louder than normal. I have called around and people say it could be the compressor, or the relay switch or something with the defrost. Does anyone have any ideas before I invest money into a 12 years old frig. Everything else on it is fine so I don't know what to do.

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I think the guesses that it's likely the compressor is correct. The fact that the compressor is very hot indicates it is getting power, but the fact that it's not running suggest that it has probably seized up. Replacement is the only solution.

You'll have to decide if the repair cost is worth it or not. 12 years is less than average for a freezer.