Whirlpool WPW10165425 Bimetal Defrost Thermostat OEM Part

My unit has a bottom freezer that is a drawer. I had to remove the drawer, rack, glides, glide tracks, and ice maker to remove the rear panel. This was a little difficult but after researching a few videos on line I learned some tricks that made it easier. I used a hair dryer to melt the ice. This is best done with 2 people having one at the back to sponge the water into a bowl from the pan to avoid a water mess. Using a bolt meter I checked the heating element and found it had continuity. I then placed the thermostat in a glass of ice water for 15 minutes and checked continuity there. Since the thermostat did not close I determine that was the issue. I put everything back together and ordered the part. It came in a few days and changing it was easy. The appliance repair place I talked to on the phone gave me an estimate of $400 to $500 dollars. The part with shipping was under $50 and took me 3 hours total to make the repair including the first time I took the freezer apart to defrost the coil and diagnose the issue.

Having never fixed a fridge before, I did a little research. The unit was not old & the cooling system was operating. Observing the frozen ice inside, I diagnosed it as the heat rod and/or it's thermostat as bad. I contacted ApplianceParts Pros, who assisted in confirming my theory. IMPORTANT NOTE: the sales advisor Joyce was truly an intelligent, knowledgable professional, NOT some "burger-order taker" usually encountered. This alone speaks VOLUMES. Subsequently, the parts arrived promptly,THEY WERE EXACTLY THE CORRECT PARTS, and I did the repair, saving myself time, money & inconvenience. I cannot, I repeat, cannot offer enough praise for ApplanceParts Pros. and will certainly recommend, & use if need be, going forward. Highly recommend !

Replaced bimetallic switch and refrigerator has been working for more than a week correctly maintaining freezer and refrigerator temperatures. So, frost is being melted and air flow is not being blocked. It was very surprising that failed switch would be intermittent.

I replaced the Bi-metal-Def and the heater, but it didn't fix the problem ,so I replaced the control board and then it worked.

New heater and def thermostat