Our Maytag dryer, Model MDE8400AYW, Serial # 23763845EA, won’t shut off automatically. I believe it needs a new timer and was also told to replace the wiring harness too. I’m guessing that the timer replacement won’t be too difficult but I’m not so sure about the harness difficulty 
. Is this a repair that a novice diy’er should attempt? Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
Replacing the tmer is an easy repair. Basically you take off the console, pull off the knob and dial, take out two screws and there you are. This manual will have illustrations and step by step steps.
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag_library/docs/16023110.pdf
I do not know who advised you to replace the wiring harness but it is highly unlikely you need to do so. Just inspect it carefully, clean the contacts and reseat it properly and there you go.
Thanks for the reply. One of the reps I spoke with at APP suggested the new harness. Apparently her reference material stated that the harness should also be replaced when replacing the timer. What do you think?
I have just checked Maytag’s tech library on this model and they have issued the following tech bulletin.
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag_library/docs/TDL-0033-S.pdf
It does not say you need a new wire harness because of the change, but I would call in the order to APP (we are volunteers who reply and are not associated with the parts operation) and see if you need one because of this change. You will need your serial number to make sure you are getting the correct timer a there appear to be several versions.
Changing it should not be a problem, you just pull of the old connectors and put on the new harness the same way, except the timer may be slightly different. The only problem is some people just pull everything off and forget what goes where. Be careful pulling the connections as sometimes they are hard, then suddently let go and you scrap your knuckels.
It may be that the wire colors are marked on the terminals, but even if they are I always make a diagram of how the wires go before pulling any off. I then like to do it one by one, pull off one old, put on the appropriate new one.
Hopefully you can get a timer that will allow you to keep the old harness, but if you have to change it out you should be fine.
I’ll be calling and ordering parts from APP soon. When they arrive I’ll post whether my repair was successful or not. Thanks again for your suggestions, your time and your help!
I did get a call from someone at Whirlpool Corporation who said they saw my post on this site. They left a callback # but I haven’t been able to reach them yet. Any ideas what they might want?
Not sure, but sometimes these are Whirlpool authorized techs and not Whirlpool itself. I would certainly call and see what they can tell you.
Keep us informed, a lot of folks are now following this.
I was finally able to reach the Whirlpool representative that called and she offered to have a local repair tech diagnose the problem…at no cost to me!!! The tech determined that the moisture sensor was bad. Called APP, ordered the sensor, received it 2 days later, replaced it in about 3 minutes and…dryer now works and shuts off automatically! I am returning the timer and the wiring harness. Thank you so much for your time and your help.
Wow, that sounds great. I assume what was happening was the that machine would work fine in Timed but not shut off in Automatic.
Glad you got it fixed and thanks for the update, it was very helpful.