'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too'''
I had a GE Profile 30 with a similar problem. "Luckily" I could see some of the frost (or rime ice) building up on the back, which signaled to me that the defrost had gone (if it was the seal that had gone, I would have expected the ice to build up in the front).
In my case it was actually the defrost heater or "tube" that had failed.
To determine if the is the thermostat or heater that has failed you can do an electrical continuity test with an Multimeter/Ohm-meter. If the connection between the two sides of the heater is open, then the heater has failed.
In the case of this GE unit the heater assembly comes with a new defrost thermostat. It is easier to repair this assembly than the thermostat itself. And, a generic version of the assembly costs about the same as the "official" GE thermostat (which makes it almost an obvious decision). Indeed, I am grateful to the local appliance parts shop for rightly suggesting that I check the defrost tube before committing to changing the defrost thermostat.
''The good news is that it is all fixed now -- thanks in part to helpful forums like this!''
'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too'''
I had a GE Profile 30 with a similar problem. "Luckily" I could see some of the frost (or rime ice) building up on the back, which signaled to me that the defrost had gone (if it was the seal that had gone, I would have expected the ice to build up in the front).
In my case it was actually the defrost heater or "tube" that had failed.
To determine if the is the thermostat or heater that has failed you can do an electrical continuity test with an Multimeter/Ohm-meter. If the connection between the two sides of the heater is open, then the heater has failed.
In the case of this GE unit the heater assembly comes with a new defrost thermostat. It is easier to repair this assembly than the thermostat itself. And, a generic version of the assembly costs about the same as the "official" GE thermostat (which makes it almost an obvious decision). Indeed, I am grateful to the local appliance parts shop for rightly suggesting that I check the defrost tube before committing to changing the defrost thermostat.
''The good news is that it is all fixed now -- thanks in part to helpful forums like this!''
'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too'''
I had a GE Profile 30 with a similar problem. "Luckily" I could see some of the frost (or rime ice) building up on the back, which signaled to me that the defrost had gone (if it was the seal that had gone, I would have expected the ice to build up in the front).
In my case it was actually the defrost heater or "tube" that had failed.
To determine if the is the thermostat or heater that has failed you can do an electrical continuity test with an Multimeter/Ohm-meter. If the connection between the two sides of the heater is open, then the heater has failed.
In the case of this GE unit the heater assembly comes with a new defrost thermostat. It is easier to repair this assembly than the thermostat itself. And, a generic version of the assembly costs about the same as the "official" GE thermostat (which makes it almost an obvious decision). Indeed, I am grateful to the local appliance parts shop for rightly suggesting that I check the defrost tube before committing to changing the defrost thermostat.
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''The good news is that it is all fixed now -- thanks in part to helpful forums like this!''
'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too.'''
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'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too'''
I had a GE Profile 30 with a similar problem. "Luckily" I could see some of the frost (or rime ice) building up on the back, which signaled to me that the defrost had gone (if it was the seal that had gone, I would have expected the ice to build up in the front).
In my case it was actually the defrost heater or "tube" that had failed.
To determine if the is the thermostat or heater that has failed you can do an electrical continuity test with an Multimeter/Ohm-meter. If the connection between the two sides of the heater is open, then the heater has failed.
In the case of this GE unit the heater assembly comes with a new defrost thermostat. It is easier to repair this assembly than the thermostat itself. And, a generic version of the assembly costs about the same as the "official" GE thermostat (which makes it almost an obvious decision). Indeed, I am grateful to the local appliance parts shop for rightly suggesting that I check the defrost tube before committing to changing the defrost thermostat.
'''It might also be the defrost heater coils too.'''
I had a GE Profile 30 with a similar problem. "Luckily" I could see some of the frost (or rime ice) building up on the back, which signaled to me that the defrost had gone (if it was the seal that had gone, I would have expected the ice to build up in the front).
In my case it was actually the defrost heater or "tube" that had failed.
To determine if the is the thermostat or heater that has failed you can do an electrical continuity test with an Multimeter/Ohm-meter. If the connection between the two sides of the heater is open, then the heater has failed.
In the case of this GE unit the heater assembly comes with a new defrost thermostat. It is easier to repair this assembly than the thermostat itself. And, a generic version of the assembly costs about the same as the "official" GE thermostat (which makes it almost an obvious decision). Indeed, I am grateful to the local appliance parts shop for rightly suggesting that I check the defrost tube before committing to changing the defrost thermostat.