Annette I have a GE side by side refrigerator GSS23QGTA WW and the defrost mechanism is not working properly. I replaced the defrost thermostat and the defrost heater and frig works properly until the frost builds up again. When I got the defrost heater it was a duel heater instead of the single one that was the original. I originally connected the electrical ends to the original connections in the freezer and disconnected the yellow wires that came with the unit. When that did not work I saved the yellow wires and reconnected them, after again defrosting the frig again. Again cool properly, begins to make ice again and within a couple of days ice begins to build up again. That fan seems to be working because I will feel heat discharged at the kick plate.
Answer Annette, If you disconnected the yellow jumper wire that was between the heating coils and connected the wire directly to just one of the elements then the issue will end up being a bad heater. The new heater is designed as a dual heater and must be used that way otherwise the single element will burn out. If this is not the case then you need to test the defrost thermistor that is at the top of the evaporator. The thermistor at 0 degrees should be 42.2k ohms of resistance. If this checks ok then the main control board would be the issue. Read More... Answered by AppliancePartsPros.com | Tuesday, September 9, 2014