Fixing the Dryer

So the dryer decided to stop putting out hot air last night. Right after Geo said he needed clean jeans for piano lessons this morning. Oops. I always inwardly groan a little when the appliances need tending, but I still rolled up my sleeves and got started with the troubleshooting last night. I was SO hoping it was going to be the fuse as that looked like the easiest fix, but, no (and I’m actually thrilled it wasn’t the fuse). This is the video I watched that pointed me in that direction and gave me the courage to tackle the job.

As soon as we got back from piano lessons, Eli (11) and I set to work. We watched another YouTube video about the different parts to test to hopefully determine the problem. Bill was not as clear as I would have liked about what a normal multimeter reading looked like (vs. abnormal), but I think I figured it out enough to rule out the timer as the culprit. The next thing he suggested testing was the thermostat on the heating tube. He also said that if it registers as “bad,” that there’s a way to reset it. His trick made us laugh… Throw it really hard on the floor or bang it on a hard surface. If at first you don’t succeed, try again (and again if necessary). You know what? It WORKED! Eli enjoyed banging the daylights out of the thermostat, but after we tested it (after 2 or 3 bangs), it registered normal. Woohoo!!! Thanks, Bill, for that wonderful tip!

We hooked up the front door panel and plugged it in and turned it on and… the heating coil glowed red! I’m so thrilled it was a relatively simple fix (Eli did most of the unplugging (not of the power cord) of connecting cords, unscrewing screws, reassembling the drum cable… So really it wasn’t that much work for me at all. The dryer also got a good cleaning out while I was at it which is always a good thing! Now I’m off to dry some clothes.

UPDATE:

Ok, so sometimes when something seems too good to be true, it is. After a load or two, the thermal cutoff shut off again. I “reset” it and tried the drier and this time nothing happened. No heating, no turning on, nothing. Um, … now what?

So I went to my favorite appliance fixit blog to see what they’d say. 

I checked all the connection, everything was connected properly. I was getting power because the door light came on when I opened the door.

I tested the starter, the relay switch, circuit board, couldn’t find anything wrong with those. I tested the thermal fuse, it was still good. I tested the element, it wasn’t shorting out.

Finally I found a wire that had come unplugged that I had missed. I plugged it back in and voila, the dryer now turned on. But…

It still wasn’t heating. I did some internet sleuthing and found a site that said the felt seals on the drum get old and that might let heat into the cabinet causing the thermal cutoff to trip. Sure enough, my felt seal was very worn and hanging in strips. So I replaced the felt seal.

I took the lint screen out and scrubbed it with soap till it looked almost new.

Finally after taking the dryer apart and reasembling it more times that I can count, the new thermal cutoff arrived in the mail. I installed it and it hasn’t tripped since. Thank you Lord!