I believe my 2004 GE refrigerator's defrost timer has failed. A new timer is on the way courtesy of eBay. Is there any problem doing the following manually for a few days?
-- Disconnect and remove completely the defrost timer
-- In the refrigerator where the defrost timer previously was, and at the defrost timer's wires going to the defrost heater and compressor, leave the power to the compressor connected, except for brief periods as described in the next step.
-- Every six hours or so, disconnect the power to the compressor and power the defrost heater for 25 minutes. Be super careful not to run the defrost heater more than this.
It is a 6 hour/25 minute timer. Obviously I will adjust this a bit for convenience. I am defrosting the fridge now to start fresh.