(877) 477-7278
Washer and Dryer parts delivered overnight...
Dryer Runs, but Does not Heat
This advice is for all ELECTRIC Dryers that have a "No Heat" problem.
Symptom: Dryer turns on, drum spins, but you have no heat.
Any of the following components are more than likely suspect as being bad:
Heating Element
Thermal Cut-Out
Hi-Limit Thermostat
All these components COMBINED, should cost less than $100. If you fix it yourself, you will avoid the additional cost for labor.
If the dryer isn't blowing ANY air at all, but the drum still turns, you may have a bad blower fan assembly inside the dryer. Or, the blower fan assembly may be clogged.
If your dryer performance has been failing (i.e., clothes taking longer to dry), it may be for a reason. You need to ask yourself when the last time you cleaned the dryer ventilation. If you can't remember, or if it has never been done, this can contribute to the dryer failing. All dryers need proper air flow in order to dry properly. If the ducting becomes clogged, the heating circuits will actually overheat and eventually fail. This usually results in the Thermal Cut-Out (TCO) blowing or the Heating Element failing or BOTH. When these components fail, they must be replaced. Remove the dryer hose from the back of the dryer and inspect it thoroughly from where it leaves the dryer to where it exits your home. It should be clear with no kinks or clogs. If your vent line runs under a crawl space make sure it is suspended above the ground and has no sags where lint could collect. RULE OF THUMB: The SHORTER and STRAIGHTER the vent duct, the BETTER. After you inspect the vent ducting, turn the dryer on and make sure you have forceful air flow coming form the dryer. This will prove that your blower fan is working properly or not. Since you stated that your dryer is not currently heating, the air will be cold, but you should still have some force behind it. If the air flow is weak, you need to clean the duct work INSIDE the dryer. It is important to keep a dryer checked routinely. I recommend once per season (that's 4 times per year). Dryers are the cause of many house fires. These fires are due to lint accumulations inside the unit catching on fire. A little preventive maintenance can prevent significant problems in the future.
Getting to the heating circuit to determine if the components are good or bad is the next step. If your dryer has the lint screen on the top of the unit, you will need to remove the back panel of the dryer to expose the heating circuits. If the dryer has the lint screen in the door, you will need to remove the lower kick panel under the door by using a putty knife to release the retaining clips. They will be located along the seam in the front about 2 inches in from each side. If this is a Kenmore Elite or Whirlpool Duet, the lower lick panel comes off by removing the screws under the bottom edge of the panel. (HINT: placing a block of wood under the front feet of the dryer can make access much easier). If your dryer has no lower kick panel, you have to remove the entire front panel on these models. This is accomplished by lifting the dryer top and removing the screws that hold the front panel in place.
NOTE: The heating circuit should be troubleshot with the dryer UNPLUGGED. Dangerous voltages are still present with the dryer turned off. Resistance readings are as follows:
Heating Element (located inside heater box) – remove the two leads from the ceramic terminals on the heating element and take a reading across the terminal points. It should read 9 - 13 ohms.
Thermal Cut-Out (TCO) (mounted to the heater box.) - unplug wires and take reading across connector tabs. Reading should be 0 ohms.
Hi-Limit Thermostat (mounted to the heater box, closest to the heating element leads) - unplug wires and take reading across connector tabs. Reading should be 0 ohms.
If any of the above readings are abnormal, replace the component. NOTE: If the TCO or Hi-Limit Thermostat is defective it is highly recommended by most manufacturers to replace BOTH components at the same time. They are often sold as a set. Without doing so, these components can cause potentially fail again.
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you need further assistance, please go to my profile at: http://www.fixya.com/users/jsrock516 and use the "Ask Me" feature for a quicker repsonse to your questions/comments.
Symptom: Dryer turns on, drum spins, but you have no heat.
Any of the following components are more than likely suspect as being bad:
Heating Element
Thermal Cut-Out
Hi-Limit Thermostat
All these components COMBINED, should cost less than $100. If you fix it yourself, you will avoid the additional cost for labor.
If the dryer isn't blowing ANY air at all, but the drum still turns, you may have a bad blower fan assembly inside the dryer. Or, the blower fan assembly may be clogged.
If your dryer performance has been failing (i.e., clothes taking longer to dry), it may be for a reason. You need to ask yourself when the last time you cleaned the dryer ventilation. If you can't remember, or if it has never been done, this can contribute to the dryer failing. All dryers need proper air flow in order to dry properly. If the ducting becomes clogged, the heating circuits will actually overheat and eventually fail. This usually results in the Thermal Cut-Out (TCO) blowing or the Heating Element failing or BOTH. When these components fail, they must be replaced. Remove the dryer hose from the back of the dryer and inspect it thoroughly from where it leaves the dryer to where it exits your home. It should be clear with no kinks or clogs. If your vent line runs under a crawl space make sure it is suspended above the ground and has no sags where lint could collect. RULE OF THUMB: The SHORTER and STRAIGHTER the vent duct, the BETTER. After you inspect the vent ducting, turn the dryer on and make sure you have forceful air flow coming form the dryer. This will prove that your blower fan is working properly or not. Since you stated that your dryer is not currently heating, the air will be cold, but you should still have some force behind it. If the air flow is weak, you need to clean the duct work INSIDE the dryer. It is important to keep a dryer checked routinely. I recommend once per season (that's 4 times per year). Dryers are the cause of many house fires. These fires are due to lint accumulations inside the unit catching on fire. A little preventive maintenance can prevent significant problems in the future.
Getting to the heating circuit to determine if the components are good or bad is the next step. If your dryer has the lint screen on the top of the unit, you will need to remove the back panel of the dryer to expose the heating circuits. If the dryer has the lint screen in the door, you will need to remove the lower kick panel under the door by using a putty knife to release the retaining clips. They will be located along the seam in the front about 2 inches in from each side. If this is a Kenmore Elite or Whirlpool Duet, the lower lick panel comes off by removing the screws under the bottom edge of the panel. (HINT: placing a block of wood under the front feet of the dryer can make access much easier). If your dryer has no lower kick panel, you have to remove the entire front panel on these models. This is accomplished by lifting the dryer top and removing the screws that hold the front panel in place.
NOTE: The heating circuit should be troubleshot with the dryer UNPLUGGED. Dangerous voltages are still present with the dryer turned off. Resistance readings are as follows:
Heating Element (located inside heater box) – remove the two leads from the ceramic terminals on the heating element and take a reading across the terminal points. It should read 9 - 13 ohms.
Thermal Cut-Out (TCO) (mounted to the heater box.) - unplug wires and take reading across connector tabs. Reading should be 0 ohms.
Hi-Limit Thermostat (mounted to the heater box, closest to the heating element leads) - unplug wires and take reading across connector tabs. Reading should be 0 ohms.
If any of the above readings are abnormal, replace the component. NOTE: If the TCO or Hi-Limit Thermostat is defective it is highly recommended by most manufacturers to replace BOTH components at the same time. They are often sold as a set. Without doing so, these components can cause potentially fail again.
I hope this information is helpful to you. If you need further assistance, please go to my profile at: http://www.fixya.com/users/jsrock516 and use the "Ask Me" feature for a quicker repsonse to your questions/comments.
Comment by jsrock516, posted on Jun 23, 2008
NOTE: One item I failed to mention - Double check the input power for your dryer FIRST. You should have 220VAC at the receptacle and terminal block. The dryer will STILL tumble and the timer will still function with a portion of the input power missing as these circuits only require 110VAC. The heating circuits, however, require 220VAC to function. If one leg of the receptacle voltage is missing the dryer may exhibit "No Heat" like symptoms. This could also be an indication of a burned or failed power cord. Continuity checks performed with the dryer UNPLUGGED should indicate a short between the prong end of the cord and the respective lugs at the terminal block.
Yes
No
Comment #1
posted on Oct 28, 2009
My dryer runs fine but like everyone else ... "no heat".. a friend of mine repairs dryers and said it is the timer... i just do not understand how the timer can make a dryer give no heat... wouldn't that be the heating element or thermostat.. anyways if anyone could verify this and explain i would greatly appreciate it!!!!
Comment #2
posted on Jul 04, 2009
Hi,
Today my Frigidaire dryer quit drying. It's only a couple of years old! I was perplexed. I came to this site and did some reading and sure enough; I went and checked my breaker box. One was tripped. I reset it and the heat was working after I reset it. It was after all this that my wife mentioned a power surge that dimmed the lights the day before which made us wonder if that tripped the breaker?! Anyway, nice site and thanks for the tips.
Rex
Monroe, WI
Today my Frigidaire dryer quit drying. It's only a couple of years old! I was perplexed. I came to this site and did some reading and sure enough; I went and checked my breaker box. One was tripped. I reset it and the heat was working after I reset it. It was after all this that my wife mentioned a power surge that dimmed the lights the day before which made us wonder if that tripped the breaker?! Anyway, nice site and thanks for the tips.
Rex
Monroe, WI
Comment #3
posted on Jun 21, 2009
Getting a no heat problem on our Haier HDY5-1, pulled the back off, believe I identified the parts referred to - the TCOs showed very low resistance - like around 0.1Ohms, the heater element however was about 43Ohms. I note that the above suggests that 9-13 is to be expected, but as the element wasn't showing several k or M or open circuit or short, seeing as it is actually only a few Ohms high, I'm wondering if that might be typical for this dryer...?
Comment #4
posted on Jun 17, 2009
I have a Hotpoint DLB2450RAL and I was having no heat, but drum was turning. I took it apart and the heater element was open. I figured OK thats the problem. I replaced it, but the no heat problem persisted. I started following the wiring with the aid of the schematic that is inside the back of the tilt panel where the timer and and heat selection switch is. I found that the contacts for the heat that go through the timer were not making contact. If I held sideways pressure on the timer while it was running, it would make heat. Will get a new timer tomorrow. The tips on this page, even though they didn't really apply to my problem, still helped me troubleshoot... as I was able to eliminate the common causes that are listed here.
Comment #7
posted on May 02, 2009
We recently installed a new dryer and everything worked but it did not heat. We notified the store and a serviceman came out and noted that the voltage wasn't quite right on one prong on the pig tail but blew that off as the problem and went on to other things that could be wrong. To make a long story short, he could not fix it and they brought us a new dryer that they had to ship in. They put the same pig tail on it. When we plugged it in and started it up today - same problem - everything worked but no heat. We were at a loss as they said these were very good dryers - no problems with them. So, instead of calling him back again, we decided to try to figure it out ourselves. We suspected the pig tail as what are the chances of two new dryers (which had great reviews) having the same problem. However, we still did not understand why everything worked except the heat. After finding this web site - BINGO!!! I knew it was the pig tail and sure enough, we purchased a new pig tail and it worked like a charm!!! THE ORIGINAL PIG TAIL WAS FAULTY. I hope that repairman locates and reads your column along with others that have this same problem!! Thanks a million!!! We couldn't be happier and more grateful for you and this website!!!
Comment #10
posted on Jan 16, 2009
thanks so much for your sound advice. My dryer wasnt heating up and i checked your additional note at the bottom and sure enough my dryer wasnt getting the proper volts thus causing it to not heat up even though it tumbled. I replaced its breaker and the dryer works like a dream again. Thanks for saving me time and money
Comment #11
posted on Dec 30, 2008
Hello jsrock516,
I've followed your posting step by step. Readings were as folllows
Coil - 10.6 OHMS
High Limit Thermostat - 00.6 OHMS
TCO - 00 OHMS
Ive also tested the recepticle and plug and seem to be getting good 220 readings. At this point I'm stuck, I've cleaned the dryer throuroughly and put it all back together with the same end result...spins, but no heat. I really appreciate your posting, I've learned quite a bit, but I'm not quite sure where to check next. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Mike
I've followed your posting step by step. Readings were as folllows
Coil - 10.6 OHMS
High Limit Thermostat - 00.6 OHMS
TCO - 00 OHMS
Ive also tested the recepticle and plug and seem to be getting good 220 readings. At this point I'm stuck, I've cleaned the dryer throuroughly and put it all back together with the same end result...spins, but no heat. I really appreciate your posting, I've learned quite a bit, but I'm not quite sure where to check next. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Mike
Can you Help with these Dryers problems?
Kenmore 62602 Electric Dryer
i turn the dryer on and then hold the button down so i can...
Kenmore 62602 Electric Dryer
model 110.66912692 will not start....can hear timer, but...
Kenmore 62602 Electric Dryer
Kenmore 90 series gas dryer won't start. Model...
Kenmore 62602 Electric Dryer
gas dryer runs but does not get hot
Kenmore 62602 Electric Dryer
gas dryer and won't heat up worked just fine and boom no...
Ask our Experts
Top Washer & Dryer Repair
