The Defrost Thermostat is an OEM part for GE refrigerators. This component monitors the evaporator temperature. It activates warming to defrost the evaporator once the temperature reaches a certain point.
Over time, the defrost thermostat can fail due to electrical issues, exposure to fluctuating temperatures, or general wear and tear. A malfunctioning thermostat can lead to excessive frost buildup, affecting the refrigerator’s cooling efficiency.
Symptoms of a bad defrost thermostat include:
- Excessive frost buildup in the freezer
- The refrigerator or freezer not maintaining the correct temperature
- Water leaks inside the refrigerator
- The defrost heater not activating during the defrost cycle
This GE replacement part is also compatible with Hotpoint, RCA, and some Kenmore models.
Do-It-Yourself Stories from Customers like You
The evaporator coil kept getting heavily frosted and the compressor ran almost continuously Reid D. • Santa Maria , CA • April 01, 2016
The defrost heater element looked good and had continuity. The defrost thermostats checked good, so that just left the Defrost Module as the likely suspect. I installed a new defrost control module and thermostats. The thermostats were inexpensive and the old ones could have been intermittent,
The only "tricky" part was finding out how to get to the back screw that holds the main control panel. Discovered that the return air duct surrounding the control panel needed to come off. It helps...
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