Electric dryer internal short

Frequently there's an obstruction in the vent duct from the dryer to the outside of the house. For the dryer to heat properly, the duct must be clean and clear of lint or any other substance. Your dryer has some internal ductwork. If it gets clogged, your dryer can't dry properly. In most dryers, to get to the internal ductwork to clear the clog, you have to substantially disassemble the dryer. A quick way to check for internal clogs is to remove the lint filter and use a flashlight to inspect the inside of the duct.

Hi

If the dryer is not drying the clothes then you would need to check for the following things—
Electric Dryer---
1. Inspect the fuses and circuit breakers they may have burned out or tripped. Usually, dryer will still tumble but not create heat if a fuse or a circuit breaker is not working.
2. Check for the amp reading at 240 V, it should have reading of 24, 21 and 3 amp (approx.) for 2 lines and neutral respectively.
3. Heating element may have turned or the connection to the element might be loose. Sometimes a shorted circuit element will keep on blowing the fuse or circuit breaker.
4. Motor wiring shorting to ground.

Hope this helps...

Daniel

Hi,

Make sure you check these to fix the problem.

• Check to see whether there's power getting to the dryer. Is it plugged in? Check for blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers--your dryer uses two fuses or circuit breakers. The dryer could tumble but not heat if only one of the two fuses is blown. If you have circuit breakers, one of the two circuit breakers can trip, even if the two for the dryer are connected.

• Often a dryer heating element burns out, but doesn't trip the circuit breaker or blow a fuse. The heating element is simply a long coil of special wire. You can check it for continuity with an ohm meter. No continuity means the element is bad and you need to replace it--electric heating elements aren't repairable.

• A common problem is for the main wiring connection from the house, at the dryer, to burn and break its connection. Because the dryer can still tumble with partial power, the connection may be only partially defective. You may need to replace both the power cord to the dryer and the terminal block inside the dryer that the wire is attached to.

Thank you

HELLO THERE
Electric dryers require the use of a 220 volt line. The dryer heating elements run off of 220 volts. An excessive draw of electricity, or a short in the wiring can blow a fuse or trip a breaker. This happens to protect sensitive components from damage, and to help prevent fires. Every other dryer component operates off of 110 volts, the timer, motor, etc. Usually when a fuse blows or a circuit trips, it's because there's to much draw on the power line.
It is very possible for one part of your dryer to work fine, and yet another to have a problem, such as a short circuit. A short circuit may be caused by the heating element, internal wiring, or the main power cord.
To troubleshoot this problem, unplug the dryer and check to see if the circuit breaker or fuse remains on when the dryer is unplugged. If they stay on, it's more than likely the problem is somewhere in the dryer.
If your fuse blows, or the circuit breaker trips when the dryer is unplugged, it's likely the problem is with the circuit breaker, fuse box, or house wiring; contact a professional electrician.

OK I hope this is very helpful for you
Best regards Michael

Typically, a standard electric dryer is 30A 240V unless it is natural gas. If the wire is #10awg then you can put a 30A circuit breaker on it. If the wire is #12awg then you DO NOT want to put a larger circuit breaker on it or it over heat the wiring in the wall. If it was a short in the wiring the circuit breaker would trip immediately even with out the dryer plugged in. If it was a grounding problem the circuit breaker would not trip at all, it would just electrify the dryer chasis. It sounds like it is an over current problem, drawing more than 20 amps through the circuit breaker, or like the dryer has an internal problem that is causing the circuit breaker to trip.

Heating element or motor. Usually heating element. Replace limit switch (inside dryer) during repair. Limit switch should shut off before breaker if working correctly.

After repair clean or replace plug/wire. Inspect or replace receptacle in wall.

In order to trip a circuit breaker, there is almost for sure, a dead short to ground. Takes quite a bit to trip a breaker. The smell is most likely something electrical burning. Stop resetting the breaker and have it checked out. Continous resetting and tripping can cause more damage. The breaker is doing it's job.

It's rather unusual for any internal failure to cause the dryer to just stop in cycle. Check the circuit breaker that supplies the dryer. It should be a double-pole breaker of at least 30 amps. Turn the breaker off and back on to ensure it is reset. Internal causes could be the motor, door switch, thermal safety switch, timer, or a broken wire.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR DRYER?

For a detailed Dryer illustration, click below.

Gas Whirlpool Style Version 1
Gas Whirlpool Style Version 2
Gas Maytag Style
Gas GE Style
Electric Whirlpool Style Version 1
Electric Whirlpool Style Version 2
Electric Maytag Style
Electric GE Style
Warning! To avoid personal injury or even death, always disconnect your appliance from its power source--that is, unplug it or break the connection at the circuit breaker or fuse box--before you do any troubleshooting or repair work on your appliance. Also, because some components may have sharp edges, use caution while working on your appliance.

Electric dryers aren't very complicated. Here are some common symptoms that you may experience with your dryer:

There's an error code on the digital display

It doesn't work at all
There's no heat
It won't tumble
Drying is too slow
It overheats
It seems to run forever
It's noisy
It won't start
The light doesn't work
It blows fuses or trips the circuit breaker
My clothes smell bad!
My clothes are marked or torn
DON'T FORGET TO RATE;

The problem may not be with your dryer but with the circuit breaker...

Locate the circuit breaker for the dryer. Run the dryer for awhile and with the back of your finger pressed against each of the two switches (it will be a double breaker), see if the breaker is getting warm or wait until the dryer quits then check the breaker for any noticeable increase in temperature. With properly rated breakers, they should not get warm. If getting warm, it is a sign the breaker is bad and should be replaced.