F&P AD55 manual dryer - With very light load motor make noise but will not turn. If I open door to spin drum and quickly close door it sometimes will start turning. Help!!

Could be a defective door latch

the motor could be weak or the little pulley the belt goes around could be bad

you have a bad motor,if you open the door,hold the door switch in with one hand and spin the drum with the other and have someone else push the start button on and if by helping it to spin it starts usually the motor is bad but i did find on the maytag neptune style dryer that the belt cut into the belt pulley and was holding up the drum and the motor was buzzing like it was bad but like i say usually it's the motor.next time send the brand name and model number and i can help you out better.

or just a bad belt cheap but labor intensive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OVBi0LcrzQ

I have found that the switch activated by the door close or turns on the interior light when open on is likely the problem. You may notice that if the door is open and you push the start button, it will buzz. So if the door is closed and you get this buzz when pushing the start button, there is a problem with the door switch. The start button "thinks" the door is open, and therefore not start. The defective door switch needs to be replaced. At least highly likely.

The power button is usually called a "start" button. For as long as you hold it down, it provides power to the motor. When the motor gets up to speed, centrifugal force holds the switch closed for you. This is why a quick (short) opening of the door will not stop the dryer and a quick press of the start button will not start the dryer.
This, however, does not explain the noise...
The motor turns a belt which wraps (sort of) around a pulley which is on a spring (and also around the drum). The spring should hold tension on the belt, but the belt should not be so resistive (drum refuse to turn) to cause the tensioner to strike anything.
Can you turn the drum by hand?
The drum rides on two wheels. They should roll smoothly.
:o).

sounds like the maybe the drum roller or motor, here is a video. Hope it helps Tim:

http://www.appliancerepairlesson.com/2011/03/05/fisher-paykel-dryer-access-3/

Since your dryer is "new" it is under warranty. I will explain the possible reasons why it will not spin. Then you can decide whether to make the warranty call or not.

If your dryer doesn't tumble, check these:

Belt
Motor
Door switch
Belt Dryers have a drive belt that turns the clothes drum. If the belt breaks, the drum stops rotating. Then you need to replace the belt, and often the idler pulley, because the pulley tends to wear out at the same time.

Click here for a belt installation diagram.

Motor If the dryer motor only hums when you press the Start button, the motor may be burned out. Here's how to test the dryer motor:

• Remove the belt.
  
  
• Check for obstructions in the blower fan housing.
  
  
• Manually rotate the shaft of the motor.
  
  

If the motor is very stiff, or impossible to rotate manually, and the blower fan housing is clear, you need to replace the motor.

If the motor rotates freely, run the motor momentarily with the belt removed and the blower in place. If the motor runs fine with the belt removed, there may be a problem with the idler pulley or the clothes drum. Try to rotate the drum by hand. If it is very difficult to move, correct any problem with the rollers or pulley, and then reassemble the dryer and try it again.

If the motor hums but doesn't rotate on its own even with the belt removed--yet you can turn it freely by hand--you usually need to replace the motor or the motor start capacitor.

Door switch Your dryer can't operate at all if the door switch is defective. It's inside the dryer main housing near the door frame. Sometimes you need to raise or open the top or front of the dryer to reach the switch. If it's defective, you need to replace it.

Try this. Set the timer. Open the door, press and hold the light switch. Rotate the drum by hand then while still holding the light switch turn on the dryer. If it starts then clos the door while removing your finger quickly. If this problem persists it could be the starter on your motor.

hiya
does the machine make a buzzing noise? or heat up?

if it makes a buzzing noise and heats up it will more than likely be the motor surpressor, all this does is gives the motor a kick start to set it off tumbling with a wet load. theres a quick way you can check if it is this at fault, make sure the drum is empty and set timer as you would normally, open the door and spin the drum as hard as you can then shut the door quickly (whilst drum is still turning if you can), the dryer should now run normally until it stops again.

hope this helps


please dont forget to rate the helpfulness of this reply, thanks kj