My girlfriend has mentioned that her gas dryer "pop's" frequently and last night I finally saw it for myself after removing the access door to the igniter/gas valve. After observing it for a few minutes, it would spark/arc/flash....whatever you want to call it. Typically it would happen immediately before the igniter began to glow, sometimes after it had already began to glow. I'm assuming that the igniter is shorting out and will try replacing it, but I thought I would throw it out there for anyone who might know better than I (which could be narrowed down to everyone).

Also, she told me that her dryer starts to smell like something is burning, so I looked and noticed that her vent bends around the side of the dryer and is covered by some panty hose because, apparently, the vent to the outside is blocked. I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is a pretty unsafe setup......extremely hokie at best.....and that is what's causing the smell, but again, feel free to chime in on that situation too.

So venting carbon monoxide back into the house is frowned upon I take it? :D

Thanks for the thumbs up....I'm going to order the parts and give it a whirl......if you don't hear from me in two days, send help! :cool: