[mbgrdido]

I was helping my son repair his electric dryer which had stopped heating. We found the dryer vent pipe to be completely clogged with lint. We replaced the metal vent pipe completely and thought this would take care of it not heating but it didn't not. Could the clogged vent have caused the dryer to overheat, which in turn would cause a relay or fuse to blow? If so how to do you figure out which one it is?

Thanks to whoever can help.

[denman]

Here are your parts incldes a wiring diagram
Replacement parts for MAYTAG MDET236AYW | AppliancePartsPros.com

Here is a service manual and a tech sheet
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag...s/16026315.pdf
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag...s/16027536.pdf

If you just unplugged it when working on it, try shutting the breaker off/on a couple times slowly. Sometimes you can loose half the line without actually tripping the breaker. Still bets to check for 240 volts at the plug using a meter.

The fuse in this unit would shut off the motor so it is OK.

The next most like ly candidate is the heater, then a thermostat, then the timer and then the centrifugal switch.

I would suggest you purchase a meter. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
3. When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale's dynamic range.

There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it's use.