How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP3884319 / WR50X10071 Defrost Thermostat

Defrost heater tested OK. Replaced defrost thermostats and fixed th problem. Onine video and tech help was excellent. Had never tried anything like this before. Saved me $$$ 

Ordered parts to replace non working parts and install was plug and play...how ever the defrost timer took a littile more , but i just wired them together and used a heat shrink tube to wrap them back up, good as new....... 

Heater defroster part number AP5982425. I have GE model GTE16DTHCRBB. I found a Youtube video of a repair of a similar model. Getting the heater defroster out was not a piece of cake because you can not see the mounting due to it being behind the coils, same is true for reinstalling the new. There is a strap on top of the heater defroster that has to be connected to the heater defroster before being reinstalled. It kept falling off as I tried pushing the defroster back into the mounting behind the coils. With patience, which I have little of, I finally got it installed. I used my wife's compact mirror to see the brackets which hold the heater in place to get an idea of how to reinsert the heater defroster. I also had to bend some cheap tin tabs to 90 degrees to get the old part off. That did not go well because one tab bent in the middle and complicated getting the old part off. I broke the old part getting it off as a result. 

First thought was to check and change the defrost thermostat which has two. Then I read about other people having the same problem and decided to change the control module. After receiving the parts it was simple to change all of the parts. Changing the control module i found that one of the parts on the old board a capacitor had blown apart. After changing the parts the unit is running great. 

I can’t believe how easy it was to fix. I was told by 2 repair techs I needed a new compressor. I asked the appliance parts pros and they suggested replacing the temperature control and defrost thermostat. When the parts arrived I replaced them in about an hour. The frig started to work like it was a new frig again. 

Replaced defrost control thermostats along with the control module. 

Replaced defrost thermostat and defrost heater. I used a hair dryer to defrost most of the ice build-up. I should have waited a little longer to make sure all the ice was thoroughly melted because I broke the styrofoam piece while I was pulling it out - the bottom was still frozen in place. The videos were very straightforward, and really helped to have them playing while I was working on the fix. I used some heat shrink tubing on the defrost thermostat instead of the connector caps, and then wrapped them in electrical tape, just in case. 

Replaced defrost thermostat. 

I replaced the defrost timer, the thermostat, and the evaporator fan. 

Verified the 110v motor worked by ohming it. Took a voltmeter to the power plug, no power. Ran a jumper across the thermostat for a quick check- motor ran. Replaced thermostat. For s#!+$ sake, I replaced the motor also even though it wasn't bad. Frig cold, wife happy...