It was a crisp fall morning here in New Hampster when the call came in. Whirlpool Duet electric dryer, the sensing light comes on, control panel responds to the buttons, but it just won’t start running.
So, I set down my breakfast bottle of Tuckerman’s Pale Ale, saddled up the Samurai Repair Van and peeled out.
Upon arrival, I stood in front of the dryer with the customer and verified the complaint. Sho’nuff, the sensing light came on but the motor wouldn’t run when you pressed “Start.” You’d hear a click from the control board then nuttin’, honey.
Since the Duet is one of them over-designed, electronified dryers, you gotsta at least get some eyeballs on the schematic diagram to get an idea of the possible suspects. Conveniently, the dryer comes with a decent tech sheet located just under the top panel. To take off the top panel, you need to pull the dryer out from the wall a few feet to remove three retaining screws in back. With the top panel off, you’ll see the tech sheet in a plastic pouch like ahso.
Now, this is what sets a Fermented Grand Master of Appliantology (FGMA), like yours so very freaking truly, apart from your average parts changing monkey (PCM). Where a PCM might just ASSume that the control board is bad– and he would be woefully, hideously wrong– a Master Appliantologist would meditate upon the deeper meaning of life as revealed in the schematic.
So I fired up a spliff, er, I mean, a stick of incense and focused my keen, Vulcan-like squinties upon the schematic whereupon I did perceive a thermal fuse in series with the motor. Being a certifiable black belt in the ancient martial art of Fixite Do, I realized that if the thermal fuse is open, well, motor no workee.
With the speed of an intoxicated electron and the precision of fuzzy logic, I removed the dryer’s kickplate and took off the blower cover so I could get my nimble fangers on that thermal fuse, located on the blower housing. I checked continuity with my meter and, shazayyam!, that bad boy was wide-azz open!
I pulled a new thermal fuse off my van, slapped it in there and that dryer fired right up… after I plugged it back in and turned it on. Giddy up!
To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.
Just had a service man from Servicecare come and he replaced the thermal fuse to the tune of $196. The dryer worked for an hour and then is doing the same thing. He tried to tell me that I was probably going to need a board and I said no, I didn’t think so. Now he is saying that I need some other kind of fuse. I feel like I am being ripped off!
If the new thermal fuse blew after an hour of running then the problem will be one of two things:
1. Bad air flow. This can be caused by vents that are too long, too many bends or turns, kinked, or the vent hood outside is blocked.
2. grounded heating element making the heating element stay on when the timer is not on the Off position.
If your guy didn’t check these things out, then you are being ripped off by a parts changing monkey.
Thank you so much for your reply! Still trying to figure it out!
No, now I need a new motor because the internal fuse is bad. Someone tell me that I don’t have to go to appliance repair school to know if I am being taken advantage of.
I am having a similar problem, but sometimes the dryer will work. It will run for a little bit and then stop or for a while and dry the clothes. I ran a diagnostic test and the only code I got was when I opened the door “6E” would show up, but go back to “88” when I close the door. My outside vent cover is broken and I am wondering if there is a partial blockage that could be causing it to not start?