I have a Kenmore Gas Dryer, Model 417.92142101. About a week ago it would only turn on by holding down the on switch. After research and testing I found that the dryer motor centrifugal switch had gone bad and thus when trying to turn it on the motor was only getting enough electricity to operate when the on switch was held on. With this model we couldn't just replace the centrifugal switch so we replaced the entire motor.

After replacing the motor I ran the dryer (without gas connected) in my repair shop. I verified that the door switch operated properly, meaning that the dryer would turn off when the door was opened. The dryer only turned on as expected, meaning that I had to set the timer and then engage the on switch.

I then put the dryer back on top of the washer where it was located before. I connected the gas and plugged it in while the timer was set to the off position. Then I set the timer and the dryer turned on without engaging the on switch. Additionally when I opened the door the dryer would not turn off. I thus assumed that somehow the door switch had gone bad so I took the dryer down again, moved it back to my repair shop and proceeded to test the door switch. On this model the door switch has three wire connections. According to the wiring diagram one (the blue one) is common, the NO side (the grey one) goes to the drum light and the NC side (the black one) goes to the motor. I connected one of my ohm meter probes to common and the other to the NC (motor) side of the switch and verified there was continuity when the switch was engaged (meaning door closed). I then verified there was no continuity when the switch was not engaged (meaning door open). I then connected one of my ohm meter probes to common and the other to the NO (drum light) side of the switch and verified there was continuity when the switch was not engaged (meaning door open) and no continuity when the switch was engaged (meaning door closed). That's how it should work, i.e. the motor should turn and the drum light should be off when the door is closed and the opposite when the door is open.

After checking the door switch I checked the on switch and it had continuity as expected as well. I then plugged in the dryer in my repair shop (not connected to gas) and verified that it turned on as expected, meaning that I had to set the timer and then engage the on switch to get the dryer to turn on and that the dryer turned off when I opened the door. Everything worked and I checked it once more (just because I'm OCD) before I moved it back into the house.

Immediately after putting the dryer back on top of the washer, plugging it in and connecting the gas I tried to operate it. Again, as soon as I set the timer the dryer turned on without me engaging the on switch. Again, when I opened the door the dryer would not turn off. It would only turn off when I set the timer to the off position.

At this point my only two differences, that I'm aware of, are the connection to the gas and the fact that the dryer is on top of the washer. I got out my level and verified that while on top of the washer that the dryer is just as level as it was on the floor in my repair shop. I then disconnected the gas line and attempted to turn the dryer on again and found the same issue, i.e. it turned on immediately after setting the timer and would not turn off with the door open.

So I took the dryer down again, back to the repair shop, opened it up again, tested the door switch and on switch again and found that everything had continuity as it should have. I then verified that while in my repair shop that it turned on as expected and turned off when the door was opened.

I moved it back into the house, put it back on top of the washer and tested it again. It had the same problem, i.e. turning on when setting the timer and not turning off when opening the door.

At this point I decided I'd let it run for a while just to see if it would actually heat up and complete a cycle. The dryer did heat up but it shut itself off after about 15 minutes, which I'm assuming is due to overheating the motor.

So, any suggestions on what might be wrong here or how I can further troubleshoot? I've never seen anything like this before and I'm generally pretty handy with appliance repair. And before you say "just move it into the repair shop since it works there", please realize that I don't want to run a gas line into my repair shop just to dry my clothes.

Thanks!

Cory