Jennifer M Ny , NY July 10, 2018 Freezer and refrigerator not cold enough Yes, a 49-yr old woman fixed this fridge all by herself! AppliancePartsPros was very helpful in the diagnosis of the problem, which I determined to likely be the result of defrost failure. There was a large amount of ice and frost coating the back of the freezer despite the inside temp being 42 degrees. My husband thought I was crazy to think it was a problem with ice when the temperature was warm, but I told him to trust me and I would attempt the repair. He just wanted to throw the old one out (10 yrs old) and get a new one. But I stubbornly said I wanted to a chance to repair it myself - yes a woman repairing a fridge - oh no! So I purchased the three components of the defrost cycle for repair, watched the videos linked to the parts and got to work. When the ice was gone, I took the heater out first for inspection since that was easiest to get to in my GE. A quick look revealed that the ceramic housing for the heating element (a single element heater) was crumbling and it didn't take much force for it to fall apart completely. My smoking gun! Or actually not smoking which was the problem. The dual-element heater replacement didn't have a video, but there were clear written instructions provided. The only thing that didn't quite match up with the instructions is that it said that the pink wire would be on the right and the blue on the left for a metal heater casing. My pink wire was on the left. The instructions anticipated that switching to the dual-element heater would require splicing new wire in to lengthen the pink wire long enough so it would reach the same side as the blue wire. So I had to do some wire stripping and splicing. My husband had all the necessary tools because at one point in his life he had worked on houses, but now he just works at a computer all day. The instructions also made reference to something that I had to Google and learned was silicone caulk. Luckily he had some of that laying around too, so that part was easy. To his credit, he did set up the caulking gun for me :). I think he was secretly hoping that my repair would fail and he could both gloat and buy a new fridge, BUT it's been 5 days and we are down to 0' in the freezer, 36' in the fridge and NO frost buildup. Woot! Victory! [Although I put that it took 1-2 hours, defrosting actually took the longest time of the whole repair (~1 hr), with the actual active me-and-screwdriver repair part taking about 30 minutes, then 3 hours for the silicon caulk to cure.] Read More... 357 People found this story helpful Do-It-Yourself Rating: Repair Time Estimate: 1-2 hours Tools: Adjustable Wrench, Screwdrivers
Stephen E Trenton , TN July 12, 2015 Appliance: General Electric Refrigerator GSS20IEMBWW Freezer frosting up on walls refrig part cooling but not up to par First replaced the main board in back. Better but not repaired to full status. Gained access as per your videos to Defrost limiter and Defrost heater parts, which incidently both checked full continuity on ohm meter. Discovered my bought new GE refrig had double element heater as original part, but Limiter had already been replaced as wires were cut and speed nuts utilized with no silicon sealent in evidence. Evidence that Lowe's had sold me a repaired or returned refrigerator and represented it as New. Refrigerator now functioning as per a new model. BTW while in back of unit I brushed the coil by removing the fan with a soft baby bottle brush and shop vac. Then lubricated the bearing with a drop of transmission fluid. Runs extremely quiet-no noise at all. Quite a bit of dust collects INside the coil. I would suggest, IF, you know how to balance the fan blade it's plastic and quite a simple job. Same with the fan and blade in the front side in the freezer compartment. Do not over tighten screws retaining the front cover to the evaporator coil in the freezer compartment, snug but not torked as the tabs in the coil assembly will easily pucker and lose lock capacity. The cover plenum on the bottom back side of refrigerator fan is a booger to remove and replace, but access can be accomplished by reaching over and behind the compressor. I used a flex shaft and 1/4 inch deep well socket and still had to say the magic words a few times. The back screw is hidden from sight and you'll have to feel for it. Refrigerator is now cycling cold/defrost cycles as it should, it runs quieter than new, and thermostat settings over door in refrigerator section are both set on three and doing nicely to keep freezer producing ice, and refrigerator keeping milk fresh and other products at proper temp. I must compliment the staff and salespeople. Shipping is fast-ordered one morning received parts next day weekday. Main board ordered on a Friday took longer but that was Fed-Ex normal weekend lag. Altogether with website nfo and videos and staff helping to get right parts I highly recommend your service to anybody with the skill set necessary to change a spark plug in a lawn mower should have no problem. Considerable savings on parts and I did not have to pay a technician to guess at what was wrong with my refrigerator. Watch the videos and save money and time Appliance Parts Pros have got their act together and I will use this service again if needed. Read More... 128 People found this story helpful Do-It-Yourself Rating: Repair Time Estimate: 1-2 hours Tools: Nut Drivers, Pliers, Screwdrivers, Socket Set
Michael B Princeton , WV April 01, 2014 Appliance: General Electric Refrigerator GSS23SGSASS NOT COOLING AS IT SHOULD, & NOTICED FROST ON BACK INTERIOR WALL OF FREEZER. UNPLUGGED UNIT & REMOVED EVAPORATOR COIL COVER. SEEN COIL WAS COMPLETELY ICED OVER. DEFROSTED COIL WITH HAIR DRYER, REMOVED DEFROST HEATER & CHECKED WITH OHMETER. FOUND HEATER TO BE OPEN & ORDERED NEW STYLE DUAL ELEMENT HEATER FROM APPLIANCE PARTS PROS. THEY SENT THE GENUINE GE PART TO ME WHEN PROMISED, I MODIFIED THE WIRING AS REQUIRED & IT HAS BEEN WORKING GREAT. THANKS APPLIANCE PARTS PROS!! Read More... 111 People found this story helpful Do-It-Yourself Rating: Repair Time Estimate: 30-60 minutes Tools: Nut Drivers, Screwdrivers
Roger J Hillsdale , MI March 12, 2014 Heater defrost Replaced heater defrost in side by side fridge. Simple repair blue wire pink wire Read More... 36 People found this story helpful Do-It-Yourself Rating: Repair Time Estimate: Less than 15 minutes Tools: Pliers, Screwdrivers
Tondalaya L Chicago , IL June 12, 2014 My freezer wouldn't get cold and freeze I followed the instructions on you tube on how to fix it. I had to replace my single defrost heater with a double, so I had to rearrange the wires so I could connect both ends. (I didn't want to use the cord that came with the kit as I didn't have anything to trim the wires with). once I rearranced the wires so I had the pink wire on the left and the blue on the right, it worked. Put all the screws back in and wala! Read More... 9 People found this story helpful Do-It-Yourself Rating: Repair Time Estimate: 30-60 minutes Tools: Screwdrivers