I am in the process of trying to replace m refrigerator defrost thermostat. Well the replacement thermostat that I've purchased comes with open power leads with no connectors. It looks just like this
Chuck it, that is pretty disgusting. How did they get in there? Flies had to lay eggs for there to be maggots. Did you leave the doors open while the power was out?
The item you have picture is a temperature switch. It determines when the heaters should shut off by the temperature of the evaporator return line. It does not matter which direction the wires are hooked up because it is just an on/off switch. You can go to Radio Shack or even AutoZone to get the connectors to place on the new part to match. But I would suggest getting some type of rubber sleeve or heat shrink to place over the splice in order to keep the water out. There will be moisture running over this connection due to melting ice. Yes, you can cut the leads off the old switch and splice them to the new one, But try to seal the splice with something like silicon to repel water away from them after you splice it.
