Do-It-Yourself Story

My cooktop repair was a total success from start to finish. I reviewed and later followed the APP repair video, which helped me decide if I wanted to tackle the repairs and guided me right before I started. The APP phone staff member was very helpful verifying the parts I had identified online using the model number of my older GE Profile cooktop to locate and view the correct online exploded view diagram. I told him it was a pleasure working with him. The parts arrived within 3 days of ordering them. The price I felt was typically high for GE parts, so no surprise there. Actually, the APP parts purchased were comparable if not slightly cheaper than those on the GE website even though they were OEM GE parts. The repairs took me about four hours because I like to take my time in new repairs (to me) and not make stupid errors requiring buying additional parts. I have done a good deal of repair of other equipment and have learned to observe carefully, think about the construction, and proceed with caution. The difficulties I had, related to the design of my older model cooktop compared to the cooktop repair of the video and the fact that I was dealing also with the rectangular vent chamber hanging from the bottom of the cooktop chassis which was different than the model in the video. Two issues concerned me: 1) the heating coils & ceramic coil housings could have been damaged during the repair by falling out of the chassis had I not temporarily taped them down to/into the chassis using blue masking tape. 2) replacement of the switches for my model required getting at them from underneath the chassis through all the other wiring. This access required tilting the chassis on a bench (but not turning it over and dropping out the coils and ceramic housings) and working at an angle in a dark enclosure. I photographed the wiring as recommended in another video for proper replacement, a step that was not necessary but was reassuring if I had gotten distracted from the job. Seeing into the switch enclosure required a bright lamp. On my GE model, some of the hex screws needed to be removed from the underside of the chassis to access a plate that held the switches, so I recommend using a magnetized hex wrench/driver. I had to improvise and used a small piece of tape to provide for a friction fit to hold the screws in my unmagnetized hex driver when replacing them. Once the switches were replaced, I could set the cooktop with the vent housing on my bench so that the coils would lie flat. I removed all the temporary tape. I then went to the glass cooktop, removed and cleaned the rubber switch seals (another APP video is available for that) and cleaned the cooktop surface at the switch holes, replaced the seals into the top and prepared to reassemble the top to the chassis and then the chassis to the counter. I am very pleased with the results.