Our Frigidaire dryer doesn’t put out any heat, otherwise it is working okay. I’ve pulled it completely apart and removed the drum to check continuity on the heating element, the thermal limiter and the safety thermostat. All showed conductivity. The heating element measured 11.8 ohms, and both the thermal limiter and the safety thermostat measured 0.3 ohms. Are these readings okay? What else can I check?
Looking at another parts display, I see that this dryer also has a cycling thermostat buried near the motor/blower assembly. I plan to check that for continuity tonight as long as I can get to it. How difficult will it be to put my probes on this part? If it is defective, how difficult is it to replace?
Hi.
First thing you should have done - check if there 230VAC coming to the dryer.
The motor runs of 120VAC. Check the input at the terminal block at the rear of the dryer.
When you are checking the continuity do you remove one lid off?
Thank you. Post the results.
Simon.
Thanks for responding. The dryer is actually from my daughter’s house and I moved it over to my garage so I could take it apart without worry that my 2 year old grandson would get curious. I have no 220V in my garage so I cannot check the voltage input to the dryer.
I did measure the continuity of the cycling thermostat and found the wide terminals ok but the narrow terminals were not. I strongly suspect this thermostat is the problem and plan to check if my local appliance store has the part. If not, I will order online.
I checked continuity on all parts by removing both connections and putting the probes directly on the contacts. I did the same for the cycling thermostat, checking the wide terminals 1st and the narrow ones 2nd.
Hi.
Good luck, but before going through all the hassle check the outlet for 230v.
Simon.
I checked the outlet and it delivers 240V. I checked continuity of the power cord by touching one probe to one of the three posts and then touching one of the inputs on the terminal block. Only one input showed continuity and the other two did not. I checked the other posts the same way and in the end, all three show continuity to the respective input on the terminal block, so I believe the power cord is okay.
I also checked continuity on the terminal block for L1, N and L2. I checked these in the same way as above, measuring between the posts on the power cord and L1, N or L2. For all three contacts (L1, N, L2) I could find a post that gave 0 ohms resistance. This is the same post that gave 0 ohms resistance when measured across the imputs.
However, I’m concerned because I did purchase a new cycling thermostat and checked it for continuity the same way I did the old one - with the same result. I get a reading between the wide posts but not for the narrow posts. I would have expected to see resistance between both of the post sets.
Before I reassemble the dryer and take it to my daughter’s house to see if now works, what else can I check?
Just to add my 2 cents…
Any further troubleshooting should be done with the dryer connected to the power source of 240 VAC. If you don’t feel comfortable to do such tests, it’s better to hire a pro to do it for you. Otherwise let us know when you will be ready.
Gene.
P.S. The cycling thermostat in such situation considered to be good while there is continuity across the large terminals.
Well hello everyone, I finally put the dryer back into my daughter’s house and verified that there is 230V coming into the terminal block. But after turning the unit on, there is still no heat. What are my next steps? I’m getting very frustrated.
Hi.
Do you have the wiring diagram of the unite?
Simon.
yes, it is on the back of the unit.
Read the diagram how to check the timer contacts and also check the resistors value at the timer.
Unfortunately I can’t find the diagram anywhere.
Thank you.
Simon.
Unplug the dryer. Disconnect the wires from the heater. Make sure they are not touching any other wires and/or any metal parts.
Plug the dryer and start it. Measure the voltage between each of the wires and the ground. Post the results.
It might help a lot if you can post the wiring diagram.
Gene.
Hi Gene & Simon, finally was able to get to my daughter’s house and check out the voltage at the two wires on the heating element. Between ground and the yellow ones there was no voltage, between ground and the black one there was 120V, both while the dryer was running on the heat cycle.
I also found the wiring diagram and it is attached as pdf file. For the two yellow wires going to the heating element, one comes from the motor and the other comes from the timer.
Hi.
According the diagram the contacts at the motor switch M2 - M3 doesn’t close. You need to replace the motor.
The motor 5303283470
Thank you.
Simon.
Hi Simon, from the diagram I can see that conclusion. I have two additional questions - 1st, is it feasible to repair these contacts rather than replace the motor, and 2nd, is the replacement motor newer than the 19 year old dryer, i.e., has this motor been used in subsequent model years?
Hi.
You can always try to fix it but the statistics are against you.
And yes - this is most likely very common motor. But you should check it by the model number.
Thank you.
Simon.
Hi, I have another motor and before I begin the replacement, I just wanted to know if there are any special tools or techniques required to complete this job.
Hi.
I don’t think you need any special tools to replace the motor.
Good luck.
Simon.
Thanks, Simon. I started to take the motor out. The electric connector is burned on the yellow and black wires and now I wonder if this has been the problem and not the motor itself. Can I get this connector? Can I simply splice it into the existing wiring? What would cause this burning? Could this have led to a serious house fire?
If I do need to replace the motor, how do I remove it from the cage? I don’t see an easy way to do this.
I wanted to say that I also see some burning at the connection to the heating element. See attached pic.