susan wrote:

I need to change the wiring on Electric clothes dryer from 4 wire to 3 wire plug. original 4 wire was color coded but the 3 wire is not. am i to assume that the middle one is the neutral and the other two can go on either post? Hope you can help me – thanks!

When it comes to electrical stuff, I follow this hard and fast rule: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING! And the truth is that in this modern age of readily available, inexpensive (even after accounting for inflation), and easy-to-use multimeters, you don’t have to!

Let’s take a look at your three-wire power cord, like this one ratcheer. Notice that it has two straight spades set at an angle and the middle spade is L-shaped; this is so that it can only fit into special electric dryer outlets like this one. That L-shaped spade is for the neutral connection and should correspond to the middle conductor. Note that I said “should.” This is where we get to the part about not assuming anything; and we don’t have to ‘cuz it’s easy enough to verify using our multimeter.

What’s that you say, you don’t even have a multimeter much less know how to use one? Well, now, that’s a problem that’s easily remedied! Kommen zie hither, bittë, and grok ye on my world-famous quick ‘n eazy guide to making basic electrical measurements. Go on, click it and read it over real quick-like, I’ll wait. Pay particular attention to the part about making continuity measurements ‘cuz that’s where we’re going with all this.

See? Was easy, da tovarish? Now, just take your multimeter and set it to measure resistance so we can do a continuity check. With one probe on the L-shaped spade and the other probe on the middle terminal at the other end of the cord, you should read full continuity. If you do, then you’re good to go– you have just verified that the middle wire of the cord is the neutral wire.

To learn more sweet mysteries of dryer cord wiring, come hither. And if you need parts, repair manuals, or accessories for your dryer, come git you some!

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

The 6E error code on this dryer part of this pretty decent stacked laundry unit means there’s a temperature control problem. Le Manuél identifies three suspects: thermistor, wire harness, and control board. Now, if you were to put on the blinders and go by only what Le Manuél says, you may miss something else altogether that’s causing the problem. A clever DIYer posted the results of his struggles with this very problem. I’m posting his report here for your edumucation not so much for what he found, but to illustrate the process of troubleshooting and problem-solving needed to fix anything, whether it’s a broken dryer or a broken economy. The mental skills are the same: you need to be willing the see the problem as it really is so that you can apply the correct remedy. In other words, the first step to problem solution is problem identification. And not all problems have cookbook solutions. The single best tool you have in appliance repair– or in any other problem you’re grappling with– is that oil-based computer betwixt your ears.

I thought the following may be of interest to anyone tussling with the Maytag SE1000 stacked dryer-washer unit. I have been experiencing an intermittent problem of the unit dying with the cryptic message 6E on the dryer readout. I discovered this was fixed by jiggling the connectors to the microprocessor board. But finally, it died and didn’t come back to life, no matter how I harassed it.

So I took the microprocessor board out of the unit and looked it over very carefully with an Optivisor, in the hope of finding a bad connection or something else which might explain this behavior. Because the message 6E is supposed to mean that the ambient temperature is too low, I concentrated on the wiring to and from the thermistor. Then I found that the thermistor, which is off the board, is connected in series with a small potentiometer, which is mounted on the processor board on the opposite side to where the connectors are. So it is hidden until you remove the board and panel unit.

This potentiometer was faulty. It registered a much higher resistance than it should have, and I found it was prone to go open circuit when I stressed the board slightly. So I presume that the frequent temperature changes in the dryer cabinet have, over the years, caused the potentiometer to wear a dead spot in its track. By simply turning the potentiometer very slightly, I was able to get it off the dead spot and found it working properly again.

It doesn’t surprise me at all that a potentiometer in that environment would be a weak link with a high expectation of eventual failure. But tweaking a pot sure beats paying $300 for a new processor board!

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.