Ge WR51X10029 Refrigerator Defrost Heater Assembly OEM Part

After reviewing a number of testimonials and your videos from your APP.com site I determined my most likely problem was either the defrost heater, thermostat, timer or possibly all three. The real challenge now began. Getting to the specific parts with my specific model number was a real challenge. It was not as easy as removing the light guard and 5 screws since my model had two Track Cant Shelf vertical rails restricting the removal of the back panel. Also, these rails could not be removed without the removal of the ice maker reservoir, the 4 screws attaching the ice maker, and the other cover plate. Bottom line is that the glass tube protecting the heater coil was green in appearance and not transparent. It appeared to be burned but I did not bother to check since it was 14 years old as was the timer. I replaced all three parts. The timer is located in the fresh food section, not the freezer section, in the area of the light and the control levers. The position of the temperature control slide levers must be to the lowest temperature setting (far left) to allow for removal of the 2nd cover plate. Friction "slots" held the cover in place and slide extensions that hold the cover can be removed with a "tug". Don't pull on the plate except where the extensions connect to the cover, otherwise it will most likely break. After removal of the back freezer panel the coils were completely covered with ice, blocking the flow of air into the fresh food section. The above are the details...The real story is that I could not have accomplished disassembly without the expert assistance of Erika G. in your customer service department. She was excellent in answering or getting the answer to every question I had on what turned out to be a GE Refrigerator that was not as simple to repair and documentation was scarce. Taking pictures is essential at every stage during disassembly. I have successfully used Appliance Parts Pros in the past and this was another success story. Thanks APP for the time, assistance, fair prices and a working fridge! Again Kudos to Erika for her professionalism and diligence. Gil

Replaced the heater harness defroster assembly because the coils were freezing up thinking that would take care of the fill tube issue also. That did not take care of the ice maker fill tube freezing up. Replace the timer and the coils no longer are freezing up but the fill tube is still freezing up. Replaced the grommet and the fill tube is still freezing up. Finally replaced the dual water inlet valve and it took care of the fill tube freezing up. The dual water inlet valve was plugged up with foreign material on the inlet side of the solenoid. In the future, I would check the dual water inlet valve as the #1 item for the ice maker fill tube freezing up and pushing out of the grommet. Even though I replaced all these other items the total cost including shipping ($150) was less than a service call and repair. Now my 14 year refrigerator might out live me.

Replaced the defrost heater and defrost thermostat (they come together as one part). The defrost heater element had burned out likely due to a bumpy ride to a new house. The fix took about 1 hour and now the fridge runs good as new. Part cost only about $70.

The video was great on the product page, that really helped me. Although with my fridge, it was a little different, and a little more challenging to get to one of the the connections. It was pretty easy once I was able to access it. And did I mention that the video really helped out a lot!

I got the correct part numbers off of the Technical Data Sheet attached to the bottom of the refrigerator, watched the online repair videos to ensure I knew of any gotchas, then quickly and easily replaced the parts. I didn't do much in the way of diagnostics so I replaced the heater bracket, thermostat and control units all together as they were all ~ 16+ years old. Note that the WR51X10029 already includes the thermostat (WR50X0122) so no need to purchase the thermostat separately if you buy the heater and harness kit (also, no splicing, heat tubing required).