Customer Questions and Answers for Defrost Heater by Ge

Hello Scott, The heater harness assembly WR51X442 will take care of the issue better than just the heaters will because it replaces the defrost thermostat also. This is better because if the defrost thermostat is going bad, too much current will flow through the circuit and this tends to cause premature heater failure. It is also much easier to change because you don't have to "wire" them in. Whatever you do, do not change only one heater because this will cause the complete assembly to fail prematurely. The instruction sheet that comes with the harness assembly explains this also.

Hello Ken. Loosely wad up newspaper and place inside the unit for 3 to 5 days to remove the odor from the unit.

Hello Bob, You may want to replace the defrost thermostat WR50X122 when you replace the defrost heater. The defrost thermostat turns off the heating element when it reaches about 50°F in the evaporator compartment. If it never opens and turns off the heating element, the heating element tends to burn out prematurely because it stays on until the defrost control, (timer or board), cycles out of the defrost cycle. Be aware that the defrost heater is the most common part to fail on this design.

Hello Carlos. The defrost heater is located inside the freezer behind the freezer wall on the evaporator coils. It is held onto the coils with screws and connected with wires. You will remove the screws and pull the wires out of the foam retainers beside the evaporator, to replace the heater. Reinstall in reverse order.

Hello David. No, the heater WR51X442 and the thermostat and the timer are the three parts of the defrost system. Based on the information you provided, you will need to replace the defrost heater, if it is open for continuity. Hope this helps.

Hi Lucky. It sounded initially like you had a damper issue allowing too much cold incoming air into the fridge (upper side). Now you have a defrost issue. If it is freezing on the back of the freezer wall, then the defrost heater (includes the defrost thermostat-prewired) needs to be changed. Part # WR51X442. Thank You.

Hello Will I am. Here is a link to our return policy. Hope this helps. http://www.appliancepartspros.com/customerservice/returns.aspx

Hello Bill. The timer WR9X489 is behind the control panel inside the refrigerator. You will need to remove the control panel to access and replace it. Hope this helps.

Hi Chris. What you are describing is a normal defrost failure. The compressor cannot satisfy the normal Fresh food temperature control setting, so it continually runs. The defrost thermostat controls the temperature rising of the defrost heater while in defrost so that it will ' open' and stop the electrical current to the defrost heater so the cabinet does not melt. It also closes (At a pre - determined setting such as 23 degrees) so when the defrost timer goes into defrost , then the heater can operate. You more than likely will not need the timer. The defrost heater part # is WR51X442. It comes with the defrost thermostat included. The defrost timer is part # WR9X489. I hope this helps. Thank - you. AP2061695

Hello Maha. The defrost heater is located inside the freezer behind the freezer wall on the evaporator coils. It is held onto the coils with screws and connected with wires. You will remove the screws and pull the wires out of the foam retainers beside the evaporator, to replace the heater. Reinstall in reverse order. Hope this helps.