Clothes dryer?

[Bob Bancroft]

Is this a good spot to ask about our electric clothes dryer?
Seems like I recently read on here about someone changing some fuse or some such in a clothes dryer.
Our very low use electric clothes dryer quit today. Everything outside of the dryer(power) appears OK.
I got the book out and it tells me nothing.

 

[DoubleO7]

Is this a good spot to ask about our electric clothes dryer?
Seems like I recently read on here about someone changing some fuse or some such in a clothes dryer.
Our very low use electric clothes dryer quit today. Everything outside of the dryer(power) appears OK.
I got the book out and it tells me nothing.

Wont run at all or does it tumble with no heat generated?

 

[300jk]

Is this a good spot to ask about our electric clothes dryer?
Seems like I recently read on here about someone changing some fuse or some such in a clothes dryer.
Our very low use electric clothes dryer quit today. Everything outside of the dryer(power) appears OK.
I got the book out and it tells me nothing.

Bob that was me a week or so ago. Our dryer is a whirlpool electric. All the sudden it wouldn’t work. Timer came on but the dryer didn’t . I replaced the thermal fuse and everything is good again. I also did a cleaning out of the lint which wasn’t bad. Fuse is on the back. Need to take off the sheet metal on the back. Fuse is near the dryer exhaust. 2 wires to it. One small screw holds it in place. Worst part of the whole thing was moving the dryer and taking the back off. That was my issue. Could also be bad door switch. With it plugged in see if the light goes on and off when you press it with your finger. You can also test the motor by turning it on and holding down the door button while trying to spin the motor. Thermal fuse is probably the easiest fix. Cost was about 15 bucks at local appliance place. Common part. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Wont run at all or does it tumble with no heat generated?

Nothing

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Bob that was me a week or so ago. Our dryer is a whirlpool electric. All the sudden it wouldn’t work. Timer came on but the dryer didn’t . I replaced the thermal fuse and everything is good again. I also did a cleaning out of the lint which wasn’t bad. Fuse is on the back. Need to take off the sheet metal on the back. Fuse is near the dryer exhaust. 2 wires to it. One small screw holds it in place. Worst part of the whole thing was moving the dryer and taking the back off. That was my issue. Could also be bad door switch. With it plugged in see if the light goes on and off when you press it with your finger. You can also test the motor by turning it on and holding down the door button while trying to spin the motor. Thermal fuse is probably the easiest fix. Cost was about 15 bucks at local appliance place. Common part. Let us know how you make out.

Thanks. I just went and played with it. I wonder if I have multiple problems? The door switch is all floppy. I can play with it and the light will go on and off. I got it to run. The coils glowed red in the back and it shut down. Should they get that hot? Seemed extreme to me. Our previous dryer was junked because it went to full- unregulated heat. Very reminiscent of what I'm seeing now.

 

[DanielW]

Thanks. I just went and played with it. I wonder if I have multiple problems? The door switch is all floppy. I can play with it and the light will go on and off. I got it to run. The coils glowed red in the back and it shut down. Should they get that hot? Seemed extreme to me. Our previous dryer was junked because it went to full- unregulated heat. Very reminiscent of what I'm seeing now.

You can usually see the element glow red if the door's open while it's ruunning. That wouldn't concern me too much, as long as you have decent airflow. Sounds like perhaps just a bad door switch. I'd just bypass/jumper it and see how it does.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

You can usually see the element glow red if the door's open while it's ruunning. That wouldn't concern me too much, as long as you have decent airflow. Sounds like perhaps just a bad door switch. I'd just bypass/jumper it and see how it does.

Thanks.

 

[DoubleO7]

The door switch is all floppy. I can play with it and the light will go on and off. I got it to run.

By depressing the door switch and holding it in just the right position?

Maybe the way the way the switch is "mounted" is loose or if a friction or click-into-the-hole type securement, they are loose or broken.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

By depressing the door switch and holding it in just the right position?

Maybe the way the way the switch is "mounted" is loose or if a friction or click-into-the-hole type securement, they are loose or broken.

Switch is busted. I'll get another.

 

[300jk]

Switch is busted. I'll get another.

That sounds like the problem ! Hope you get it fixed cheap !

 

[Bob Bancroft]

That sounds like the problem ! Hope you get it fixed cheap !

Got one on the way for less than $5. We'll see. Thanks. (the first one I found was $30!)

 

[MarkB_MI]

Since you originally asked about the thermal fuse, I have some experience with these. They're a safety device that blows if the dryer heating element gets too hot. I think both electric and gas dryers have them, but I've only replaced them on electric dryers. You have to buy both the fuse and the high limit switch; it's assumed that a stuck limit switch caused the fuse to blow.

You always want to check the dryer vent to make sure it isn't blocked when you replace the fuse and limit switch. Recently I changed out the fuse and limit switch in the dryer at one of my rentals. Although the vent wasn't blocked the fuse blew again a week later. I then replaced the cycling thermostat switch. I also replaced the duct between the dryer and wall, since it was slightly kinked. The dryer has worked fine since then.

Regarding the door switch, I have another dryer that has a switch that's stuck on. The switch has been on back order for over two months. Hopefully your dryer doesn't use the same switch.

A common mode of failure for gas dryers is the gas valve coils. When one of them fails, typically the burner will run for a few seconds then turn off. The coils are fairly easy to replace. You replace them as a pair.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Whut mark said. I can't find the video now I followed one on youtube that was very informative on diagnosing an electric dryer an brought a kit off if amazon. I was helping a friend on the phone she was doing the work. She ended up rebuilding it but still had problems when I went to look at it the vent was stopped up.​

3387134 Cycling Thermost 3977767 Dryer Thermostat 3977393 Thermal Fuse 3392519 Dryer Thermal Fuse for Whirlpool Kenmore KitchenAid Dryer Replaces Parts 3399693 WP3977767VP WP3977393​

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Since you originally asked about the thermal fuse, I have some experience with these. They're a safety device that blows if the dryer heating element gets too hot. I think both electric and gas dryers have them, but I've only replaced them on electric dryers. You have to buy both the fuse and the high limit switch; it's assumed that a stuck limit switch caused the fuse to blow.

You always want to check the dryer vent to make sure it isn't blocked when you replace the fuse and limit switch. Recently I changed out the fuse and limit switch in the dryer at one of my rentals. Although the vent wasn't blocked the fuse blew again a week later. I then replaced the cycling thermostat switch. I also replaced the duct between the dryer and wall, since it was slightly kinked. The dryer has worked fine since then.

Regarding the door switch, I have another dryer that has a switch that's stuck on. The switch has been on back order for over two months. Hopefully your dryer doesn't use the same switch.

A common mode of failure for gas dryers is the gas valve coils. When one of them fails, typically the burner will run for a few seconds then turn off. The coils are fairly easy to replace. You replace them as a pair.

Thank you. This dryer has a timer which allows you to choose heat or no heat, but there's no thermostat you can set. How is the coil regulated? Or isn't it? This is starting to annoy me as our previous dryer was junked by a repairman because it was getting too hot! You mention thermal fuse, high limit switch, and cycling thermostat. Now it's sounding like maybe the previous dryer was easily repairable!

 

[MarkB_MI]

Thank you. This dryer has a timer which allows you to choose heat or no heat, but there's no thermostat you can set. How is the coil regulated? Or isn't it? This is starting to annoy me as our previous dryer was junked by a repairman because it was getting too hot! You mention thermal fuse, high limit switch, and cycling thermostat. Now it's sounding like maybe the previous dryer was easily repairable!

This dryer has a timer which allows you to choose heat or no heat, but there's no thermostat you can set. How is the coil regulated? Or isn't it? This is starting to annoy me as our previous dryer was junked by a repairman because it was getting too hot! You mention thermal fuse, high limit switch, and cycling thermostat. Now it's sounding like maybe the previous dryer was easily repairable!

Indeed, old school dryers are rock-simple and easy to repair. If you can get parts, that is. I've had to scrap a couple of dryers because the parts were unavailable.

The cycling thermostat is inside the dryer; the one I replaced was located near the dryer vent outlet. This one had four terminals: two are for the switch that controls the element and the other two are connected to the temperature selection switch. The heating element is controlled by both the high limit switch, which is near the element, and the cycling thermostat. Those two switches are in series, so either one can turn off the element.

Here's a link to the cycling thermostat I replaced:
Whirlpool cycling thermostat