You didn’t say whether this is a gas or electric dryer; however, in my infinite wisdom and mercy, the Samurai divines that you have an electric dryer. Therefore, we shall proceed on this infallible divination. If I’m wrong, ask for a refund.

This might be a classic case of a grounded heating element. Oh, I know what you’re asking, “A do-what?” Say it with me one time: grounded heating element. This is where the electric heating element (which is really just a coil of steel that glows orange-hot when current runs through it) has split in two and one part is touching the dryer cabinet or the heating element housing. (A bobby pin or coin or some other conductive debris that got into the heating element area can create this same condition.) This makes a direct connection from one leg of the power supply to ground, i.e., a short. The circuit breaker is doing its job in cutting power to the dryer.

The other possibility is that the circuit breaker itself has gone bad and is no longer able to carry a load without tripping. If you do need to replace the breaker, make sure you use one with the the same current rating as the original. For example, don’t replace a 30-amp breaker with a 40-amp breaker.

Ok, happy fixing!

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

Wiring in a new power cord for your electric dryer? Upgrading your electric dryer outlet from the old three-prong to the new four-prong outlet? Well, grab hold of those two large lumps at the base of your spinal cord and let’s romp through the wild and wacky world of dryer cords and outlets.

These two pictures illustrate the power wiring on a the terminal of an electric dryer. The one to the left here is the old-style three-wire configuration. Most people have this type in their homes. New code changes, though, require that dryers now have a four-wire cord, shown to the right. These are just just thumbnail pictures that you can click for a larger view. But I’ll bet you already figured that out, didn’t you?

Besides the number of wires in each cord, there are two important things to notice. First, in the four-wire configuration, notice that the dryer’s grounding strap is folded back on itself. The whole point of the four-wire cord is to separate the ground from the neutral. The green wire (the “new” extra wire in the four-wire cord) is attached to the dryer cabinet. In the three-wire configuration, the grounding strap is left intact and the neutral and ground are tied together.

If you need to re-wire the outlet, these pictures will explain the anatomy of the three-prong (left) and four-prong (right) outlets. Once again, these pictures are just thumbnails–click ’em for a larger view.

One more thing. All these pearls of dryer cord wisdom apply only to electric dryers–gas dryers use a standard 120v wall outlet.

Recommended reading: Electrical Requirements for Appliances.

For more information on your dryer or to order parts, click here.

Recommended Reading: Dryer Disassembly for Most Common Brands and Models

Order Parts for Your Dryer

When your dryer drum isn’t turning anymore, it’s usually a broken belt. Tearing the dryer apart is usually straight-forward enough but stringing the new belt on the motor and idler pulley can be tricky. This handy little picture shows the proper belt configurations for eight different makes of dryers. Your dryer is most likely included in this picture.

Didn’t see yours? No worries, mate. Check out the complete encyclopedia of dryer belt configurations.

I have more detailed photos illustrating the dryer belt configurations here for

• Maytag, including instructions
• Whirlpool/Kenmore
• GE, New-Style
• GE, Old Style
• Speedqueen
• Frigidaire

Need a belt for your dryer? We got ’em for every brand and model you can imagine right here.

Ah yes, the mysterious rumbling dryer. The cause of this noise has eluded many do-it-yourselfers. But St. Applianopoulos, the patron saint of appliance repair, has led you here to the Oracle of Appliance Enlightenment® for further illumination. The problem is not the belt, idler pulley, or drum rollers. It’s the blower wheel, shown here to the right–click the picture for larger view.

What happens is that the hub of this plastic blower wheel eventually wallows out on the metal shaft and no longer makes a tight fit. That’s why you hear it rumbling when the motor shaft starts spinning the wheel from a dead stop. Once the blower wheel is spinning at the same speed as the motor shaft, the noise goes away. Likewise, when the motor stops, the blower wheel’s momentum causes it to again spin at a different speed than the shaft and the noise reoccurs. Replacing this blower is an easy repair, not even two mugs on the SUDS-o-meter.

To make this repair, you’ll first need to disassemble the dryer to get access to the blower wheel. To remove the old blower wheel and secure the new one in place, you’ll need a pair of external snap-ring pliers. If someone else reading this has a Magic Chef dryer, same deal applies. You’ll need to order a slightly different blower wheel, shown here to the left.

That’s about all there is to this bit of rocket science. Now go fix your dryer!

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

You’ll be able to fix most problems with your Whirlpool-built dryer (this includes most Kenmores) with one of these replacment parts.

If the drum thumps and bumps as it turns, you need one o’ these. Also, replace ripped, torn, or deformed lint screens promptly to prevent big problems, like burnt out motors or vent fires.

This element fits almost all Whirlpool-built dryers (yes, that includes Kenmore) that have the lint filter in the top panel (that’s the most common and also the best one). This is the most common thermal cutoff switch. You’ll find this mounted on the heating element can.

If your dryer is part of a stack laundry center, then your thermal fuse probably looks like the one shown here to the right. Otherwise, it’s probably like the one to the left. The look the same but they differ in one important way: the size of the terminal spades. The spades on the statcked laundry thermal fuse are ¼” wide whereas the other one has 3/16″ wide spades.

On some models, the thermal fuse looks like this.

Gas dryer not firing up? Common troublemakers are shown here. From top to bottom they are: the ignitor, the radiant sensor, and the gas valve coils. A blown thermal fuse will also create a no-heat condition so be sure to ohm out the thermal fuse with your meter.

Remember Samurai’s Ichiban Law of Appliance Repair: Never replace a part unless you have proof that the part is bad. For help in getting that proof, read the Gas Dryer Problem Solver.

You have a case of what we professional appliantologists call Ventitis Restricticus. That’s the academic Latin name for the diagnosis of your dryer problem. Actually, it’s not a problem with the dryer at all–it’s a bad vent. Specifically, the airflow through the vent is restricted by any number of factors: overly long, kinks, crimps, clogs, too many 90º turns, and yada-yada and so-forth and like that-there. Don’t believe me? Ok, here’s a quick and easy way to prove it: completely disconnect the vent hose from the back of the dryer and fire up the dryer. After observing the dryer heat up normally and averting your eyes at my brilliance, refer to The Ultimate Dryer Venting Guide to surgically correct the Ventitis Restricticus. Hail, Caesar!

At some point during the life of your dryer, you’re gonna need to open it up to do some surgery. Here are basic disassembly procedures for the most common dryer brands and models. And, Hoss, a genuine manufacturer’s repair manual can be a valuable accomplice in your dryer repair odyssey. Come git you some.

• Admiral, Norge, some White Westinghouse, Montgomery Wards
  First, pop the hood on that sucker. Here’s whatcha see on the inside looking in from the top and here’s looking at the guts of the dryer with the drum removed.
• Amana-Speed Queen
  First, remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. After you’ve removed the front panel, you’ll see four screws that hold on the front drum glide bulkhead. Remove the bulkhead and set it aside–be careful about the door switch wires. To remove the drum, first unstring the belt from the tensioner pulley.
• GE/Hotpoint
  • Old Style: First, remove the several screws holding the top down and then the bottom two screws Lift the top and remove the two front panel retaining screws on the inside. Then remove the drum center bearing clip, unstring the belt, and remove the drum.
  • New Style: Remove the top panel retaining screws, pop the top, and then remove the inner front panel screws. Unstring the belt and remove the drum. Here’s what it looks like with the drum removed. There are two variations on this dryer that affect how you restring the belt. Variation 1 has a rear access panel through which you can restring the belt. Variation 2, however, does not have this rear access panel. (Thank you, GE ) To restring the belt on this sorry excuse for a dryer, remove the phillips screw inside the rear exit opening of the blower duct and remove the duct. Then restring the belt from the front.
• Sears Kenmore, Whirlpool, Roper, Kitchen Aid, Estate
  
  • Lint Filter on Top:
    Remove the two screws at the lint filter and pop the top up. Here’s what it looks like under the hood. Remove those two screws inside the top of the front panel. Now, go ahead and unstring the belt to remove the drum. With the drum removed, you can see the drum rollers. If you need to remove the motor, this’ll hepya. You can remove the back panel to get to the blower chute and lots of other stuff, too. This shows how to remove the blower chute.
  • Lint Filter in the Door: Remove the front kick panel to reveal the bottom retaining screws for the door panel. Now remove the top panel to reveal the top retaining screws for the door panel. Disconnect the wiring harness for the door switch and remove the door panel. Now unstring the belt and remove the drum.
• Maytag
  Disassembly is very similar to the Amana-Speed Queen dryer. Remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. Remove front panel, and then remove the drum support bulkhead. The front glide set for the drum is shown here. With the bulkhead out, you can access the blower housing. Remove the belt before pulling out the drum. If you need detailed instructions on replacing the belt, this will help. With the drum removed, you can access the rear drum rollers.
• Frigidaire and White-Westinghouse
  Pop the top, remove the front panel screws, unstring the belt, and pull out the drum.

For more information about your dryer or to order parts, click here.

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

Since you refer to an element, and absent any other information about your dryer, I’m going to clairvoyantly assume that you have an electric dryer.

Before you even open the dryer, use your voltmeter to measure for 240v at the dryer wall outlet. You can’t just look at it and think it’s fine (I actually get people telling me that!) And just because the dryer motor runs, this doesn’t mean you’re getting 240v at the outlet, either. The motors runs on 120v but the heating elements require 240v and a common problem is for one leg, L1 or L2, of the 240v supply to open. If you’re not getting 240v at the dryer outlet, you’ll never get the elements to heat up. Plain n’ simple. Whether you have a four-prong outlet or a three-prong outlet, you gotta check the voltage at the outlet with a meter!

Ok, so you checked the voltage at the outlet and you actually measured 240v on your meter. Now, and only now, we turn our keen, laser-like attention inside the dryer. Let’s look at an example wiring diagram for an electric dryer. This one happens to be for a Whirlpool/Kenmore electric dryer and is probably very similar to yours. In the diagram, the heating element is shown in the lower right hand side. L1 and L2 are drawn on the either side of the diagram. The heating element connects to L1 and L2 through several different components. L1 connects to the heating element through the timer, a thermal cutoff, the operating thermostat, and the hi-limit thermostat. The heating element then connects to L2 through the motor centrifugal switch. All it takes is for any one of these components to fail open and this would prevent the heating element from receiving the needed 240v to get hot. Again, even though the example diagram is for a Whirlpool/Kenmore electric dryer, this is a typical configuration for any electric dryer.

Although any one of these components can kill the voltage to the heating element, there are a couple that tend to fail more commonly and can be easily checked. A quick and easy test to do is to measure the continuity of the thermal cutoff, the operating thermostat, and the hi-limit thermostat. Do this with the dryer unplugged and your meter set on the Rx1 scale. Disconnect at least one wire from the component being tested to isolate it from the rest of the circuit. If you find one that’s open, replace it and problem solved!

While you’re checking the continuity of these things, check the wiring for burnt or loose connections–this is another common cause for no-heat in electric dryers. If all those check out, then that leaves the the timer and the motor centrifugal switch.

Easiest way to test the timer is to detach one lead from the heating element (doesn’t matter which one), run the dryer and measure for 120v out of the timer pin that powers the heating element circuit–in our example, it’s pin R. Measure for this voltage by setting your meter to the 150vac scale and placing one probe on timer pin R and the other on any metal point on the dryer frame. Oh, I know what you’re asking, “But if the heating element needs 240v, why are we only measuring for 120v at the timer?” The heating element gets its 240v in two halves: 120v from L1 and 120v from L2. We’re only looking for the L1 half at the timer so we’re looking for 120v.

Finally, if the timer voltage checks good, then that only leaves the motor centrifugal switch which, if you’ve made it this far in your checks, you can safely assume is bad. Since the centrifugal switch is an integral part of the motor, this means you have to buy a new motor. A manufacturer’s repair manual and an AllenBar take a lot of the frustration out of this job.

Ok, go fix your dryer!

This can only be one thing: broken belt. Here’s your three-step prescription to dryer wellness:

1. Get your dryer model number use that to buy a new belt.
2. Disassemble your dryer to access the broken belt.
3. Install the new belt.

For two-terminal thermostats, no. For three-terminal and four-terminal thermostats, yes. In these cases, use the wiring diagram to determine how the wires connect.

Holy Guacamole! There are so many things screwed up here I’m not sure where to begin: basic geometry, building codes, re-sale of your house, and plain ol’ common-friggin’-sense. Let’s start with the basics.

Come with me now on a journey back through time, all the way back to when you were just a devilish glint in yo daddy’s eye… Ok, not that far back, but let’s go back to 8th grade geometry class, you know, the one where you were too busy trying to look up Mrs. Soper’s dress to learn how to calculate the area of a circle. Anyway, Mrs. Soper was trying to tell you that to calculate the area of a circle, you multiply the constant PI (3.14) times the square of the radius, like ahso:

A = PI * R^2

Reducing the diameter from 4″ to 3″ (a 25% reduction in diameter, by the way) may not sound like much, but look at the equation for area again. Area varies with the square of the radius. This means little reductions in radius, make for big reductions in cross-sectional flow area. In your case, reducing the diameter from 4″ to 3″ reduces the cross sectional area from about 12.5 sq. in. to about 7 sq. in. So, a measly little 25% reduction in diameter really amounts to a 44% reduction in the cross sectional area. Do you think this will have an effect on your dryer venting efficiency, causing little annoyances like a 44% increase in drying time and a 44% increase in the cost of operating your dryer? Hmmm, there’s a brain tickler for ya. Well, hang with me, Hoss, ‘cuz we gittin’ to the good part.

Check out this table–it lists maximum dryer vent lengths for vents with varying numbers of turns and exhaust fittings for both rigid metal duct and flexible metal duct–all based on a standard 4″ diameter vent. Ok now, let’s take a ezzample. S’pose you have a common, 4″ rigid aluminum dryer vent that idiot builders with half their brains stuffed into Jim Beam bottles install every freakin’ day all across Ameedica. And let’s further suppose that the total length, including all turns, bends, and twists, is 20 feet, that you have three 90 degree elbows, and that the vent terminates in a standard 4″ vent hood. Referring again to the dryer vent length table, you’ll see that the maximum allowable vent length under these conditions is 18 feet–two feet shorter than our hypothetical vent, but probably close enough that the dryer will still work ok.

Now, just for grins, let’s pretend our vent duct is only 3″ diameter instead of 4″, all else remains the same. Ain’t no rocket science here, Hoss: just take the same answer we figgered out above and reduce it by 44%. In other words, where the allowable maximum length for our 4″ vent was 18 feet, if we reduce the vent diameter to 3″, our maximum allowable length is cut down to only 10 feet! With the total vent length at 20 feet, I can guaran-damn-tee you that you’re gonna be running clothes through the dryer at least twice before they get dry, longer as the vent ages and crap builds up in there, which a 3″ vent will do much more quickly. Can I hear a “Shazzayyam!”

Ok, enough higher math. Now tell me this dryer vent wasn’t your idea! If so, then you need to be taken out and thrashed brutally about the thighs and buttocks. What if the concrete settles and fractures part of the duct causing lint to build up at the fault point, you’re going to what…call Mr. Rooter for a ream job? Why not just build an external 4″ vent and then clean or replace every 5 to 10 years or so as needed?

Finally, what happens when you go to sell your house? If I were the home inspector and I saw that–and you better believe I’d look at something like a Jimmy Hoffa dryer vent reeeeal close–I’d tell the prospective buyer, my customer, to stipulate in the contract that the dryer vent be brought up to code. And then, since the house was built by Bozo-with-a-hammer, I’d start wondering what else wasn’t built to code and I’d go fishin’, documenting every little thing just to cover my sweet derriere.

You get my drift, home-boy? Awwite den, go fix that dryer vent.

Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Dryer Venting Guide

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Figure 1	Figure 2
Figure 3	Figure 4

Dryer Disassembly Link

SUDS Rating: Three Mugs

Ahh, yes, the humming dryer console. I know it well. First thing to do is get a couple King of Beers to have handy while you work on your King of Dryers. This repair is not quite two mugs on the SUDS appliance repair rating system.

The problem lies in one of two components: the timer or the push-to-start relay. Best way to tell which is the culprit is to check the continuity of the push-to-start relay (or switch) using your ohm meter and the dryer’s wiring diagram. If you need more detailed instructions on how to check out the push-to-start relay, get the repair manual for this dryer.

If the push-to-start relay checks out ok, then replace the timer. You’ll be good to go, buddy-row!

Dryer squeals at start.
Run a little: that’s ok.
Buy repair kit now!

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Footnote: if your dryer is really less than one year old then fuggetaboutit–you should call for authorized warranty service so you don’t void the warranty.