How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP5985148 / W10822259 Refrigerator Condenser Fan Motor

Replaced fan motor, little tight for hand, be very careful of Freon tubes not to bend them. Pre-threaded screw holes in motor, makes easier to start screws in bracket. 

The condenser fan was covered with black grease mixed with accumulated dust and dirt. It also started making humming noise. Removal and replacement was easy. When cleaning the greasy deposits off the fan blade I bent them ever so slightly without knowing it. This caused the blade to rub against the housing when re-installed. It took a few minutes to figure out what happened. Tweaking the angle of the blades every so slightly solved the problem. Refrigerator functioning normal now and quiet. 

Research indicated that the compressor fan needed to be replaced. It was simple to look up and order the part, which arrived in just a few days. Instructions were easy to follow, making installation quick and simple. The only question I had was about the fan placement, as I didn't have enough sense to record how it was installed on the old part. I see that other customers had the same question - it would be nice to add that information to the instructions. That was the reason a less than 15 minutes' job took me almost 30 minutes! I didn't need to alter anything for my installation, but instructions and parts were included in case it was necessary. 

Ordered the fan motor which was very easy and used express shipping. 

I cleaned the the coils and cavities underneath the refrigerator. Upon inspection of cleaned cavity, I noticed the condenser fan not operating at full capacity/speed. I ordered a replacement early Friday and received it Saturday around noon. Fan replacement took about an hour. My original fan used a different plug than the replacement. But the included instructions covered the change. I had a two wire no ground set up. I was slightly miffed by not having the fan mounts threaded on the new replacement but I realize this fan is used across several models. So I hand tapped it to used original hardware instead of the supplied sheet metal screws. Fridge center divider is barely even lukewarm. Extremely happy with the speed of shipping and motor quality. 

Looked up model number and searched AppliancePartPros.com for proper motor to replace defective motor (see photo above). Part arrived FAST on the second business day. Unfortunately the fan was different than my OLD original. The mounting holes were the same and the electric connections were the same, but my fan blade was NOT held on by a threaded shaft and nut. Instead my fan blade was held on by pressing it on a small 1/16" shaft. I was a little frustrated since I need to repair the refrigerator NOW. I decided to drill out center of old fan, tap correct threads, rubber washers for spacers, screwed on blade AND IT WORKED GREAT. I should have ordered fan with motor and eliminated problem. Appliance Parts Pros did exactly what I asked in an awesome fashion. I appreciate their having parts for our old refrigerator. 

Change it 

The motor I ordered and received was exactly what I needed. I removed the original motor from the refrigerator then removed the fan from the motor. After cleaning up the fan I mounted it onto the new motor and installed the motor into the refrigerator. This took care of the problem completely. 

Replaced the condenser fan motor 

Fan was bad, but other issue was dust in cooling fins. Appliance Parts service was great!!