Refrigerator Light Switch

​One day you open the fridge door and all is dark. A simple matter of a new bulb! Only . . . not this time. The old bulb was in fact burned out, but a new bulb still left us in the dark. 
​   The first stop I made was online, at PartSelect.com, which carries parts for many appliance brands. Ours is a GE refrigerator, and I did have the model number. 

The sad, dark refrigerator.

     ​The PartSelect site told me that 93% of the time, the problem is the switch. In the remaining 6% (rounding error) it’s the light socket and terminal. This website ​also has videos that demonstrate exactly how to install many of their parts—a helpful feature because I could get an idea of which tools and how much force would be needed. And, the site provided the correct part number for me to use in searches. 
​     I decided to try the switch replacement, but I didn’t buy it from PartSelect. I looked around for different pricing options. I considered not only the part price, but also the shipping price and the delivery time. I ended up ordering the part through Amazon because that gave me the best price including shipping, and as it turned out, the fastest delivery. (Click photos to enlarge and see captions.)

​The first step is always to turn off the power. I couldn’t unplug the fridge without moving it out, so instead I looked for a refrigerator circuit in our breaker box. Luckily, we had one! I made sure the power was really off by flipping the breaker when the fridge was running and noting that it had stopped. Also, it turned out that a wall receptacle was on the same breaker, so I could test the power there. Had I not had a breaker, I would have turned off the main switch.

As you can see, things changed in this house over the years.

​The replacement is pretty simple; however, I had to remove the temperature selector dial on the right because it was in the way. I made sure to take note of where it had been set before removing it. (Click photos to enlarge. Sorry for the fuzzy focus.)

​The old switch took some force to remove, especially on the right side. I didn’t want to force the left side, where the prongs are, because I didn’t want to damage them. I used a putty knife and screwdriver to work the part out. The right side finally gave way with a snap.
    Once out, the connectors pulled off easily with needle-nose pliers. Both connectors are in a single plastic unit so they come off as a block. They slip onto the new prongs easily. 
     Before putting the switch into the housing, I put the new bulb in and then flipped the breaker. Sure enough, the bulb lit up. So, I put back the new switch and the temperature selector

The old switch pulled out. The dual connector for the red and black wires is still attached to the prongs. The connector was pulled off with needle-nose pliers.

The new switch with wires connected and power turned on. The "T" shape probably allows the rocker to work with more models.

Happy well-lit fridge.

The part cost just under $13 delivered. The replacement took me about 20 minutes, with my typical fussing. Compare this to a service call with a minimum charge of about $110.00 plus parts.