Just picked up a used dryer in pretty darned good shape, but a week or so after bringing it home it stopped tumbling: it just hummed a bit.
So, I replaced the circuit board and it worked again…for a few hours.
Replaced circuit board again, but this time no joy at all, just humming when I turn the start knob.
I pulled out the drum and tried starting the motor. It started slowly and ran with effort, so I ordered and installed a new one. I also found that the grease in the rear drum bearing was more like chewing gum, so cleaned and greased that with the correct grease. Unfortunately, the new motor, while seemingly running fine without the drum in place, will not turn the drum. Perhaps it does not have enough power, but why? There is no significant voltage drop when I turn knob, so I suspect some electronic part, but which one?
Thanks for any help… I’m tired of buzzing when I try to start the thing and of my wife unhappy about wrinkled clothes…
The board has nothing to do with the main motor it just provides power to the timer motor so the timer advances to off when it senses the clothes are dry.
You may have received a defective motor or have a mechanical problem with the drum support.
Try turning the drum by hand it should turn fairly easily. You may want to try this on a couple other units to get a feel for it.
If it is hard to turn you have a drum mounting problem either rear or front.
I am assuming that the problem is still that it buzzes and the motor will not start (no drum rotation, no air flow and no heat).
If you have air flow and heat then the belt is slipping for some reason.
You could check the voltage across the motor when it is running.
Probably the easiest point yo use are connection c on the timer and connection x on the motor. It should be around 120 volts.
Note: Take extra care as it is dangerous doing a live test.
Yep, voltage test pointed me to the problem: poor wiring (neutral is not conducting properly, probably due to rats). Now all I need to do is crawl under the settling house (basely any wiggle room remains) and run new wire in conduit. All is solved, but I wish I had found this before spending money on various parts.