WR51X10101 Refrigerator Defrost Heater Compatible For GE Refrigeratores

The heater worked in my freezer BUT I had to take the "guts" of the new unit and re-use the old bracket but it did fix my problem ... just extra work.FOLOW UP 13 June 2025Heater no longer working! Loosing more items in my freezer because it failed! Product should last longer then 6 months! Amazon not willing to help! Shame on you Amazon!Follow Up 16 June 2025Manufacturer reached out and had Amazon send new part. Part arrived quickly. I installed new part today and all is well again with my fridge/freezer. I changed my rating not for quality of part BUT for quality of customer service afforded me by seller! They stood behind part and made the situation right.

My 20 yr. old GE S/S fridge temp. starting creeping up to about 50 deg.; as it had done in the past. I also noticed that the inside rear panel of the freezer had a thick coating of frost - all indicating that the evaporator coil behind the panel was frosted over due to a lack of normal automatic defrosting. This is a repeat issue on many GE/Hotpoint, etc. fridges, where the defrosting elements only seem to last about 4-5 years before they burn out. I had also replaced the fridge's defrost timer about 1 year ago- keep in mind that the defrost timer controls when the defrost cycle starts and stops. (For my older GE model it cycles the automatic defrosting once every 16 hrs., for about 35 min defrosting time.) So, a lack of defrosting can also be caused by a bad timer, not just the defrosting element. You can test for this by slowly manually turning the defrost timer of your fridge until you hear a "click" noise. That means the defrost cycle should start and you should hear some small hissing/clicking-type noises coming from the freezer within about 5-10 minutes. If you don't hear any noises, than most likely the defrost element is bad. (You can check Youtube for many videos on testing fridge defrost timers, elements and thermostats.) On my fridge's element that was bad, one side of the coil was burnt open and the resistance btw the two socket contacts was infinite. (A good element should measure btw 20-30 Ohms.) I unplugged the fridge from the wall outlet and removed the freezer contents to a cooler. I removed the rear panel from the freezer using a Phillps screwdriver and a 1/4" nut driver. As expected, the evaporator coil was almost completely frozen over; which I was able to defrost using a hair dryer, along with sponge to remove the water to a small bucket. When that was done, I removed the old defrost element on the bottom, just below the coil. This replacement part fit perfectly and plugged in to the fridge's wiring harness without any issues. Repair completed! My fridge now defrosts daily and my fridge temps stays at a very nice -34-35 deg. with ease- also, no more frost on the inside rear freezer wall. Probably saved about $200+ doing it myself in under 1hr., rather than calling an overpriced appliance repair service Tech to come out. This is a good replacement part that most DIYers can do with ease in under an hour- totally worth a little of your time and effort. Stay Cool!!

Bueno

For a 30yo Hotpoint, existing has 2 separate elements (a foot apart from each other) and wider shroud with tabs to screw into coil structure. I dismantled the two elements out of the shroud and managed to insert them into the old ones but the jumper wire had to be cut. Using the old jumper wire to maintain wiring in a series, this plugged into the new elements on one side. The other side (one pos, one neg) I could not remove the wire plugged into the new elements without damaging them for some reason so I stripped the ends and hard wired to the existing with a little dab of solder and shrink tubing, a lot of work in a tiny side by side. Seems to work fine so far.

**Modification is needed if your molde is only single element like mine! ** Having to elements instead of one was an upgrade in my book so I didn't mind, it came with the extra wire and clips to do so and has been working great.

GOOD PRODUCT, PERFECT FIT! FAST SHIPPING

GE stainless steel side by side fridge started to creep up in temp only on the refrigerator side. The freezer was always cold, between -3 and 1 degrees F. The fan inside the freezer was running 100% nonstop. After the fridge got to 56 degrees, I researched and found after taking the inside back panel off the freezer after emptying all the food out, the coils were a block of ice. I used a blow dryer and melted it all away and reassembled. The fridge worked great for about a week and a half and then the symptoms returned. This time I took the defrost heater out and measured an open. Zero continuity. It also looks like a burned out light bulb with the blackish grey glass. I put this one in, but it wasn’t an exact fit. I only got one screw in the right side but it’s tight and it’s not going anywhere. The original is longer so it can reach two screw holes. The connections are done on one side so I had to cut the pink wire on the right and connect it with the included white wire and bell crimp connector.It seems all in there, even though it’s not an exact fit. Though it’s shorter than the original, this has two tubes in it, vs the single long tube GE put in.Time will tell if this works or not. It was a cheap enough experement at least.

The plastic connector housing shows signs of melting. Maybe an used or reconditioned item, but it works.