Dryer Troubleshooting Electric Dryer won t Heat

If your electric dryer is spinning around but there is no heat to dry your clothing then this tip is for you.



There are typically three reasons why the electric dryer does not make heat.

1. the electric heating element has gone bad
2. the thermal cut-out switch has opened up (activated)
3. the high-limit thermostat has failed
4. 110v power only going to the dryer.

Before doing anything make sure that you check for 220v power at the back of the dryer. The motor and the control components can and do run on 110v power. The dryer can start and spin on 110v power but will have no heat symptoms. The electric heating element must have 220v power to make any heat.

None of the three parts are very expensive parts and all of them can be replaced for under a hundred bucks. When ordering parts for your dryer it is best just to order all of them to make sure that you do not have to pull the thing apart soon again just because you failed to replace an old part when you had it apart.

To get to where the heating parts are you will need to remove a panel of the dryer. To determine which panel, check to see where your lint screen is. If your screen is on the top of the dryer then you will access the heating components by removing the back panel.



If your dryer lint screen is in the door of the dryer then you have a bit more difficult time. The access can be obtained by removing the bottom panel in the front. This is held fast by either screws on the bottom or by retaining clips in the seams a couple of inches in from each side of the dryer. A putty knife is a good tool to release the clips with.

Make sure that you unplug the dryer before checking any of the heating components. For information as to where the different components are you can do a search for “appliance parts” and then enter you model number in one of the parts supply web sites. Most of them have “exploded” diagrams of the different machines so you can tell where the parts you are looking for are located. These sites also are where you would order the parts you need. Be sure to check a couple of different ones to be sure you are getting the lowest price. The prices can vary from site to site and no one is always the cheapest.

When checking to see which part is bad you will need an electric meter with a resistance scale. The heating element will give you a reading of 9-13 OHMS if the element is good. The thermal cut-out and the high-limit will each read 0 OHMS if they are good. If you get any readings other than that replace the component.



The heating element is located in the heater box. The high-limit will be mounted to the heater box closest to the element. The thermal cut-out is mounted a bit further away and is a safety just in case the high-limit fails.

As I stated before it is advisable to replace all these parts at once for the best results.

After replacing the parts reinstall all parts and then plug the dryer back in to check the operation. You should now be making heat to dry once again.

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