Just bought a used dryer from a friend & she said she THINKS the heating element is bad. After looking around inside the dryer & doing some research online I think I narrowed it down to a few problems.
#1. The thermostat. Obviously it’s bad because well…it’s TOAST! Burnt all to hell!
#2. The Heating Element. It’s probably still usable but I don’t want to take the chance.
#3. The High Limit Fuse. Not only was it fried & burnt out but it was COMPLETELY BYPASSED! The 2 wires that was supposed to be connected to the fuse was capped with a wire nut & taped off! My question is Why! Why would anybody want to bypass the fuse in the first place? This can’t be good right? I’m still trying to figure out how this thing didn’t catch on fire! Is this dryer worth salvaging or should I scrap it before I sink 50-60 bucks for the parts? Any advice or input would be appreciated…
#1. The thermostat. Obviously it’s bad because well…it’s TOAST! Burnt all to hell!
I am assuming that you are referring to the control thermostat on the blower (Item 14 in Section 5). This thermostat has an internal heater which is used to change temperatures so check that it is wired in correctly.
[COLOR="Blue"] #2. The Heating Element. It’s probably still usable but I don’t want to take the chance.[/COLOR]
Check the element with a meter
Unplug the unit and both wires at the heater.
Check the heating coil for continuity, should be 12 ohms approximately.
Then check from each coil connection to the frame/case, both should be infinite ohms (open). If not you have a grounded element (element has sagged and is touching the case). This can cause it to run and the thermostats cannot regulate it.
[COLOR="Blue"] #3. The High Limit Fuse. Not only was it fried & burnt out but it was COMPLETELY BYPASSED! The 2 wires that was supposed to be connected to the fuse was capped with a wire nut & taped off! My question is Why! Why would anybody want to bypass the fuse in the first place?[/COLOR]
Someone did not know what they were doing and did not care if their house burned down.
This can’t be good right?
Right
[COLOR="Blue"]
I’m still trying to figure out how this thing didn’t catch on fire![/COLOR]
Just lucky.
Is this dryer worth salvaging or should I scrap it before I sink 50-60 bucks for the parts?
Cannot say that is a decision only you can make.
If you can get your money back I would ditch it.
If the unit is in good shape it may be worth fixing.
You will have to check the wiring in the unit from it’s terminal strip all the way through. Since the goof shorted out components and left it like that then there is a possibility that they also messed with the wiring.
New connectors will have to be installed so you can replace the thermal fuse.
Note: The unit has a thermal fuse and a high limit thermostat. I would replace both (Item 5 in Section 4)
I did notice that the two wired for the fuse were labled F1 & F2. That could show which is hot & which is ground I’m assuming. I managed to snap some photos of the wire connectors. The two wire were connected to the thermostat & the other photo is the wires connected to the heating element. I havent seen any visible damage along the rest of the wiring harness jst where they tie in to the burnt out parts. But I will take your advice on an ohm meter. Thanks again Denman
When you replace the connectors be sure to use ones rated for high current.
Also cut back the wire till you get to nice clean copper.
This should ensure a good connection. Any corrosion/pitting at a connection is a resistance which will heat up when current passes through it. This will further degrade the connection, raising the resistance hence raising the heat and so on and so on till the connection fails.
Take off the front cover by taking out the screws at the bottom that hold it on to the cabinet and observe what is happening in the spin mode.
If the belt and pulley are turning but there is no spin the transmission may well be the source of the problem, and if the machine is over 10 years old a new basic top loader may be your best decision.