Defrost Thermostat

Thanks to others who also gave some detailed instruction on repairs I was able to do the same. I have a GE Profile side by side refrigerator/freezer Model No. PSC25PSSCSS The first repair I did was to remove/replace freezer defrost thermostat sensor that is cliped to condenser tube I snipped the wires close to the thermostat and pulled it off the tube I stripped the ends of the wires and twisted the strands then placed a piece of heat shrink tube onto the wire pushing it away from the exposed wire then I soldered the two color coded wires together then I pulled the heat shrink over the conection and used a lighter to heat up the heat shrink until it sealed the conection repeating this on the othr wire as well. I then removed the Old defrost Heater element by removing to screws then I disconected the two wires by simply pulling the connector plugs off both ends of the heater element assembly. This fixed the freezer being too warm for a short time but it started getting warm again that's when I noticed the defrost fan was not working, when you have the door open to freezer push the door switch in you should hear the fan come to life and blow hard. The fan was replaced I had to remove everything to get to it it's pretty simple to do it just unplugs make sure you order the right fan though My fan comes with the Thermistor already integrated into the plug this makes it easier. This fixed the problem with both Freezer & Refrigerator The Temperatures returned to normal Freezer 0 degrees Refrigerator 37 degrees I also checked out the refrigerator side Condenser I noticed only that the Condensate pan was starting to rust so I will remove it and use some Muretic acid to clean it up and then spray it with some Cold Gavanize with Zinc you can get this spray paint at Home Depot it seals and prevents rust. Or you can order a new one for about $ 16 bucks but it will start rusting just like the old one did eventually if you do order a new Condensate Pan I suggest spraying it before you reinstall it so that it will not rust. Greg H. Eldorado, AR

Both parts were easy to install and they fixed the problem. It is a two person project as it is very hard to get both hands inside the freezer section because it is so narrow. Be sure to orient the wire nuts in the right direction to avoid condensation and follow the instructions to create a drip loop on the wire connectors. We reviewed many "fix it" forums and almost bought the mother board. Really glad we found parts select, saved over $100.

Emptied the fridge and freezer. Unplugged it and in so do doing defrosted the freezer coils. Replace the listed parts, for they were right there easy to get at and replace. Between the three of them we had an 80% chance of getting what was wrong. The freezer and the refridgerator are both working just fine. No more warm milk.

Repair man said we needed a new circuite board, which I ordered and installed, however didn't fix the problem. Freezer was still freezing up, so I ordered a new defrost heater and thermostate. Installed yesterday, so it will be a week or so before I can check to see if this repair is working. However, replacement of these parts was very easy, and online ordering and delivery service the best. Keeping fingers crossed this repair does the trick. Best, Mike

took the back off and defrosted with a hairdryer. disconected the part pulled the part out cut the wires. put the other part on and instaled it. put it back together and it seems to be working just fine. thank you

remove back panel inside fridge freezer side, everything frosted, unplug and used a hair dryer

1. Took out defrost heater and the bottom and tested (per this site) tested OK.

2. Then looked at the defrost thermostat, it was swollen with the top coming off. so i new it was bad
3.clipped and stripped the 2 wires, spliced in the new one with wire nuts and sealed them with silicone. All better

Level of difficulty, as far a mechanical skill goes is relatively easy; however, everything in the interior of the freezer (including icemaker) must be removed to get to the defrost thermostat. The defrost heater only needs the racks and back panel removed. It probably took about 45 minutes with a heat gun to melt the ice off of the coils so that I could work on it-need lots of towels/rags to pick up the water.

Unplugged Frig. Emptied freezer shelves of food, removed ice container, removed all shelves, removed light bulb cover and light bulb, removed rear panel over coils (2 phillips on bottom and 2 1/4" hex on top/staggered. Used HAIR DRYER hung on a wire to defrost the "ICE BLOCK" over the coils. Used heavy towels to catch the water in the bottom so the condensate drain didn't just overflow. Removed the 2 screws holding the old element. Unplugged the quick disconnects. The new 2 element heater purchased at PartSelect is not "encapsulated" like a florescent tube as was the original. Much greater efficiency with exposed element coils. RE-routed blue wire on left of coil bank to the right-used the same split insulator that pink wire is in to keep it safe, did not need to use the jumper extention that comes with the kit. Plugged in both the blue and pink wire quick disconnects, installed the new defrost element with the 2 screws. Cut the old thermostat right up against it's sensor pot. Stripped existing wires, used my own wire nuts to mate the new thermostat, wrapped tight with electrical tape, then tucked them up underneath. Snapped the new sensor on the evaporator line at original location. Replaced panel, plugged frig back in, turned control in Frig side to 1, and it works like new now. No more freezer burn. Ice cubes better. Still, this design is poor and no more GE major appliances for me.

For several years, had problem with water accumulating in the bottom of the refrigerator...took out the "custom cool" drawer and assigned my kids the responsibility to dry it out daily after supper (about a fourth of cup of water daily)...the water was condensing and dripping down the left side of the refrigerator... NOT coming from the refregerator evaporator drip pan area. Then the refrigerator and freeezer had erratic cooling...paid 4 grand for this GE stainless steel on the front/sides frig about 5 years ago... then my wife said she wanted a new refrigerator...what the heck...went on to numerous websites and finally decided to do my own "overall"...had nothing to lose except the price of the parts. A helpful web site is the GE technician site at...www.manualinstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ge-sidebyside.pdf. I ordered the four thermisters, a new freezer defroster (the old one was probably OK...the freezer coils were not "iced Up"), and a new defroster thermonmeter. While I was at it, I ordered a new refrigerator evaporator drip pan that was rusting a bit. As per other instructions in this website, just spliced in the new thermisters,used wire twist caps and eletrical tape to seal them. The GE site is a bit more elaborate on the "correct" way to do this. The refrigerator evaporator coil is a bit tricky...see the above ge site...but I just cut the rubber thermister holder down the middle and then tracked the thermister through the holder and stuck it in the block and taped the holder back together...(removed the block first ) and then zip-lined the block back to the coil like it was originally. It was about 3 hours to do everything...and guess what...temp in the freezer is -5...temp in the frig is 36...and NO MORE WATER IN THE BOTTOM OF THE REFRIGERATOR, NO MORE WATER DRIPPING DOWN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE REFRIGERATOR...what will my kids do...I feel like the refrigerator guru now. Wish I had done this several years ago. The parts I ordered came in 3 days. I'm lovin my refrigerator now and my wife is lovin me. It's really easier than I thought it would be...the GE tech website has some "diagnostic" info to isolate different problems... but I just decided to replace "everything" since the parts were not that expensive and it was going to be a "do or die" on getting a new refrigerator.

I REPLACED ALL OF THE PLASTIC PARTS AS WELL AS THE HEAT COIL THAT IS MOUNTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COILS THAT KEEPS THE COILS FROM FREEZING UP. IF I HAD NOT MELTED THE PLASTIC PARTS THE COIL COULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED IN 2 DAYS, 1 DAY TO RECEIVE THE PART AND THE NEXT TO DO THE WORK. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THIS HEATER.

Thanks to the very fine posts on this site, and availablity of parts, I didn't have to call in a repair man. Due to the near-10 year age of unit, I first ordered a new fridge for the kitchen and moved the GE to the garage. Let it manually defrost. Figured based upon comments posted here I was dealing with the defrost system problem so ordered the temperature sensors for top and botton, the defrost thermostat, and the defrost heater. As a wise poster said, if I am going to pull the damn thing apart, I'm going to make sure I have all three parts in case I need a particular one. Do not have the skill or gauges to troubleshoot electrical components. Parts arrived from Parts Select in great time, and excellent packaging protection. Parts Select also has great diagrams of the unit, although I could not find written repair instructions anywhere. At first I was going to wait for the parts to arrive and replace everything, but since there was a dely in getting the new fridge in, and the freezer section of the old fridge worked fine, once I had defrosted the old fridge, and cleaned up a few of the rusted over connections, I put everything back together, to await new fridge and receipt of parts for old fridge. Well, as is the story of my Karmic life, once fridge defrosted, and I put everything back together, plugged old unit in inside garage, everything came back up working perfectly on the recommended settings for both freezer and fridge sections. Has continued to maintain correct temps for over a week now. Also have new fridge. Don't recommend the top freezer Maytag one for about $700, as construction is cheap, and temps fluctuate all over the place. Had Home Depot exchange out for the LG $740 top freezer model, and am really impressed with its construction and performance so far. (Both units are recommended buys by ConsumerRepots.Org) Not sure how long old unit will keep running correctly, nor what caused it to come back to life after the defrost. Perhaps a simple clogged drain tube, or shorted out rusted electrical connections that I cleaned. Anyway, am keeping Part Select parts on hand for possible future breakdown, and enjoying having both fridges running. We needed additional freezer space, and got the peace of mind of a new unit for the kitchen.

took back panel off in freezer.unpluged unit then cut wire to sensor tie in new one wire nut them up and taped.on the heater strip took off two screws and unpluged two wires put the new in same way as taking old one off.I am pleased that the parts from part select came as fast as they did I would for sure buy from them again and prices were very fair.Thank you very much for your service.

I read stories from the website how others did it so I figured I would give it a try. I put all the frozen stuff in the refrigerator piled up. Took out the shelves. Took out 2 screws with a socket extension ( nut driver will work fine.) Remove the light bulb. lifted up on the back panel...it came right out. Saw the coils and on top the sensor. Took it off, cut the wires, spliced in the color coded new one ( pink to pink, orange to orange) Stuck it in the top coil in the original position and crossed my fingers! I put all the pieces back easily, restocked the freezer and waited. HOORAY!! My ice cubes are all separate and free. NO frost inside. A very easy fix for $20.

Note: If there is a large amount of ice build up on your coils a hair dryer works great. The drain is on the bottom anyway. Also , you may want to seal around the wire nuts to keep moisture out. I did

On the PartSelect website, I chose the 'refridgerator is too warm' problem choice. The site sugested replacing the sensors so I purchased them. The drain trough on the refrigerator side was leaking and it and the defrost thermostat were not too expensive so I bought them too.
Once the parts arrived I installed them. I had already disassembled the inside of the freezer. The sensors and thermostat had to be connected electrically. So I cut off the old parts and stripped their wires. (the new parts' wires were already stripped.) I then used wire nuts to connect the new wires to the old and stuffed the wire back into its compartment and installed its cover. The defrost Thermostat has to be clipped to the refrigeration line. So after attaching its wires I had to work it into its place.
I then reassembled the inside of the freezer and let it sit for an hour before turning it back on. Once it was turned on it seemed to work well, but after only 3 or 4 days the coils began freezing over again.

You guys ought to win some sort of website Emmy. I found your site as I was searching for a new motherboard, thinking this was the cause of the temperature control problem. I took the time to go through the little diagnostic process you offer and I discovered that the much less expensive defrost thermostat was more often the root cause of the problem ($8 vs $160 for the new motherboard). The part arrived within 3 days and the installation video was enormously helpful. Removal of the rear panel was more difficult than suggested on the video. I'd suggest removing the freezer light fixture before trying to remove the panel as it is nearly impossible to bend the metal panel around the light bulb bases. Anyway, the whole job cost me about $16 for parts and delivery and the fridge is running fine. The combination of the diagnostic tool and the installation video were fantastic...far beyond expectations.