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

Samurai Appliance Repair Man
http://fixitnow.com

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The number one cause for this is poor dryer venting. We professional appliantologists are always telling people this but they never believe us. As Sublime Master kdog so wisely observed, “We get to explain poor dryer venting situations to non-believing consumers on a daily basis.” http://applianceguru.com/forum2/27937-2.html#ixzz12xe1tMnD

I’ve got a dozen or so posts on this site dealing with dryer venting problems and explaining why proper venting is Numero Uno importanté for your dryer to run properly. Come check ’em out.

If your dryer vent exhaust looks like this, don’t be surprised if that thermal fuse keeps blowing over and over again…

(click to enlarge)

Need parts for your dryer? Get ’em here==> http://parts.fixitnow.com

Phil the insurance guy wrote:

Oh Mighty and Wise One, I have a Kenmore 80 Series dryer. After replacing the igniter, I am ready to put the drum and belt back on, but I have a part, and I think it may be incomplete. In the diagrams I’ve seen online, it shows the idler bracket attached to an idler wheel, which pulls the belt tight. However, mine does not have a wheel – it only has a “C” guide with no moving parts, which would seem to create too much friction. It looks very smooth, like it may have had a belt running over it for ten years, but this just kinda goes against my grasshoppah intuition. Does this look right? Am I missing a wheel or something? (see photo uploaded) Thanks for replies.

Yea verily, the Samurai is well-acquainted with the abomination of which you speak (and show in your photo).

This was one of Whirlpool’s many brief forays into engineering dementia when they thought they could save a shekel and a half by eliminating the roller on the idler pulley. Net result? Boocoo premature belt failures.

Finally, after years on the market and under overwhelming screaming and kvetching from servicers and customers alike, Whirlpool finally caved and went back to the tried and true roller-style idler pulley.

For more info, read my post on this which includes other photos and a link to the proper, roller-style idler pulley:

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2009/05/08/crappy-idler-slider-pulley-on-whirlpool-built-dryers-causing-noise-and-broken-belts/

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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

Model number variations: MDG8400

This is a classic bad timer condition; if the dryer runs in one cycle it should run in the rest. Replace the timer and problem solved!

Part link for the timer==> http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=t-MDG8400AWW-%3d%3dc13i1002865&PartID=1002865

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

This can be a head scratcher because the heating element in a dryer should only come on when the drum is tumbling. There’s still power to the display and you can run diagnostics but the motor won’t turn on. In fact, this is one of those cases where simply running the diagnostics without any insight into how dryers work can only lead to more confusion.

For example, in a recent topic in the repair forum, running diagnostics gave the following results:

Diagnostic Mode: 3 errors Displayed
F28 – Moisture Sensor – performed test on Moisture sensor and got the all clear. Not an issue.

F30 – Air Flow – checked lint filter and vent hose. Lint filter filthy, wife obviously hadn’t cleaned it in several cycles.

F31 – The mystery code. The tech papers do not list this code for this model. Only info available on F31 is for a Whirlpool Duet (L2 Line Voltage) and a post here on these forums (Bad thermal fuse)

Read more: Whirlpool Cabrio WED6400SW1 no tumble but has power – The Laundry Appliance Repair Forum – Do-It-Yourself Appliance Repair Help – ApplianceGuru.com: The Samurai Appliance Repair Forums http://applianceguru.com/forum2/27493.html#ixzz10BPfhKDe

What’s a grasshoppah supposed to do with this? What’s anyone supposed to do with this? This doesn’t help narrow down the problem.

But what does help is keen insight into how dryers work. A big clue here is that the heat still comes on even when the drum isn’t tumbling. This means the heating element is getting power through “illegal” means. In this case, a grounded heating element was letting the element get power when it wasn’t supposed to. A grounded element just means that the element wire has broken and one end is contacting the element housing, like this:

(photo courtesy of ApplianceAid.com)

The element shown above is not the same one that goes in this dryer, but they’re all basically the same, just different shapes.

The fact that the motor isn’t running but the control panel still gets power is a sure sign that the thermal fuse is open.

The fix is to replace both the thermal fuse and the heating element. Easy job. Here are the part links:

Thermal fuse:

http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=t-WED6400SW1-%3d%3dc44i1455409&PartID=1455409

Heating element:

http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=t-WED6400SW1-%3d%3dc42i1201501&PartID=1201501

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

Example model number: WGD9550WL

Diagnostic mode is your first kata when you’re doing battle with a weird problem with this dryer, such as stopping mid-cycle. These dryers have so much electronic ca-ca in ’em that it’s hard to troubleshoot without running the test mode. So, here’s the keyboard dance:

DIAGNOSTIC TEST MODE

1. Be sure the dryer is in standby mode (plugged in with all indicators off,
or with only the Done indicator on).

2. Select any one button (except Pause/Cancel and Controls Lock/ Unlock)
and follow the steps below, using the same button (remember the button):
a. Press/hold 2 seconds.
b. Release for 2 seconds.
c. Press/hold 2 seconds.
d. Release for 2 seconds.
e. Press/hold 2 seconds.

3. If this test mode has been entered successfully,
all indicators on the console are illuminated for 5 seconds
with 8:88 showing in the Estimated Time Remaining three digit display.

If there are no saved fault codes or active fault codes,
all indicators on the console will momentarily turn off,
then stay on with 8:88 displayed.

Opening the door should cause a beep and
an alphanumeric number (such as P:3 ) to be displayed.

Closing the door should cause a beep and 8:88 to be displayed.