[dgstiens]

For quite a while, my RCA electric dryer has taken a long time to dry clothes. I cleaned the vents and exhaust duct, which helped to some extent, but it has never been great. Now it is overheating.

I cleaned the vents and ducts again, to no avail. I opened up the dryer from the back and top and cleaned all of the lint out. I have also run the dryer disconnected from the exhaust duct and there appears to be good air flow, but it still overheats. The back of the dyer gets extremely hot. The top also gets hot near the back. While trouble shooting, I opened the door during a cycle and saw the heating element glowing red in the back. Don't know if that is normal.

After running for a while, the dryer shuts off. I assume this is a safety mechanism to prevent excessive overheating and fire.

There are no unusual noises coming from the dryer.

Unfortunately, the dryer came with the house when I bought it back in 1999, and a manual did not come with it.

For safety reasons, I will not run the dryer until the problem is fixed.

Any thoughts? I'm thinking the cycle thermostat, but I'm not sure where it is. To replace, are they all the same, or do I need an RCA specific part? Thanks for any help.