How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP5953061 / CLS30820101 Thermistor Assembly

I replaced the relay and capacitor in the side of the compressor. Watching the video made the job much easier. I also took advantage of having the back off of the refrigerator to clean the fan and the coils. 

Changed out the Thermistor. 

This was a super-easy repair and saved me from having to buy a new frig! First, I replaced the defrost sensor since that was the cheaper part and I wasn't sure what was causing my LG frig to not hold a low enough temperature. The video on the site takes you step-by-step through the hardest part, which is disassembling the freezer doors to gain access to the sensor. Once you're there, you just plug in the new one. When that didn't fix the issue, I replaced the thermistor assembly. There was no video, but from reading other user's comments I was able to determine that you simply removed the back plate on the frig to access the compressor. From there, you just unsnap the old thermistor and plug in the new one. Takes about 10 minutes. 

Diagnosed issue was bad overload relay. Ordered part and installed new relay and issue solved. 

Had a tech from Sears tell me what was wrong then told me nobody had the part and they would have to order it would be two weeks to get the part then I would be without a refrigerator for two weeks that was unacceptable Appliance parts pro had the part for a lot less and shipped it two days latter I installed the part 15 minute repair thanks Dave 

Replaced the Thermistor Assembly in our garage fridge after talking with Brandy on the phone and sending a picture of the LG manufacture's plate inside the fridge, so she could confirm the replacement part number. It also helped reading online accounts of how to test to determine what is wrong and how simple the fix MIGHT be. I lucked out that for about $168.00 the Fridge/Freezer is working again. Quick shipping also boosted my appreciation for their customer service. Thank you, Brandy and AppliancePartsPros.com! 

I was planning to call a repair technician thinking that the problem was the compressor. I found the AppliancePartsPros.com website to check for the cost of the compressor to get a ball park idea how much the repair would cost. In reviewing the list of available parts I read the customer comments describing symptoms that matched what my refrigerator displayed. I found that previous customers resolved the problem by replacing the thermistor assembly. So I purchased the part, received it the next day, and by day's end my refrigerator was back working. Thank You AppliancePartsPros.com. 

In hindsight, we heard a clicking over the past month or so that we actually thought was the oven, but after the fridge died, the clicking was gone. I figured there was a relay or contactor that went bad. After watching a couple of YouTube videos, I was confident that I knew what parts needed replacing. I opened up the back of the fridge located the compressor starter contact relay, confirmed it was bad with a multimeter, also confirmed that the compressor was still good, also with the multimeter, they ordered the parts. They came in 2 days as promised, it took me 5 minutes to install the parts and plug the fridge back in. The fridge is now fixed. This website saved me $1800 that I would have spent on a new fridge. 

I got the Thermistor Assembly, and installed it the fridge is working perfectly again! 

I used an Emporia smart plug to monitor refrigerator power use and noted a large power draw (1 kW) which coincided with the clicking noise. It would last 15 seconds and then repeat every 1-2 minutes, occurring several times until the compressor would finally turn on drawing 120 watts. Biggest problem was identifying what kind of start relay was used and if this also contained the overload switch (source of clicking noise). Lots of conflicting info on Google searches. Measured resistance between terminals of compressor -- 6-10 ohms. Decided to spend the extra bucks and get the starter assembly from AppliancePartsPros since they seemed to have a similar looking part which sounded like a guaranteed replacement. Talking to their technical support made me more confident. Installed part noting where Load and Neutral wires came off, bent grounding tab out of the way a little and installed new wire retainer. Working fine ever since. Thought I was pretty clever doing the remote monitoring and plotting of power with a $12 smart plug I had been using to control living room light.