Tip & How-To about Dryers
If your clothes dryer is not turning the drum, then you have a big problem. If the clothes are not being tossed around so that the warm air can flow through them the drying just is not happening. There a re a couple of common problems that will cause the dryer drum not to turn.
If you are getting the hum from the motor but no action then you need to determine if the motor is running or if the motor is not running but trying too. To my ears I can tell the difference right away. The trying to turn hum is a much lower hum and not the whining hum of the motor spinning freely with no load on it. The best thing to do is to check the belt and see if the belt is around the motor pulley. If the belt is still on the pulley then the motor is not turning. Check the drum to see if you can turn it by hand. If it is stuck then figure out what is holding it from turning. If it spins then the motor is bad, replace the motor.
When checking the belt, if you find that it is not on the motor pulley, then you will need a new belt. When you get the new belt, check out the belt routing diagrams in my tips section for the diagram that fits your dryer.
If the drum will not turn, you probably will want to get a new belt and new guide wheels, rollers, slides, glides or whatever supports the drum. Check out my tip on dryer noise, for more information about that.
Main thing is to not assume that the motor hum is a bad motor. As you can see there are other possible causes for problems that can show the same symptoms.
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4312805-dryer_maintenance
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3866744-dryer_not_working_dryer_not_drying
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3907570-buy_appliance_parts_online
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3866345-dryer_troubleshooting_electric_dryer_won
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4496386-dryer_cord_wiring_dryer_3_wire_or_4_wire
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4416566-dryer_repair_squeaks_grinding_clicking
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4422207-dryer_repair_dryer_not_turning
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4460438-dryer_repair_dryer_will_not_start
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4398592-gas_dryer_not_working_gas_dryer_not
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