Hello guys, I'm beating my head against the wall trying to figure this out. I'm not an expert on appliance repair, but I've never had a problem fixing them until now. Here is a break down of everything that has happened.
Symptom.... heating element would not heat up, clothes would not dry.
I checked for a clogged vent, started checking components and the 1st thing was the thermistor tested bad.
bought a new one, and still no heat.
re-tested and now the old one, as well as the new one tests good, my cheap multitester was faulty.
I found the thermal fuse to be bad.
Put in the new thermal fuse and it heated right up.... however it burned out again after less than two loads.
So here is where it gets sketchy. At some point, when I was testing the system, I gator clipped a jumper wire across the thermal fuse leads (the fuse was tested bad at this point) and started the dryer up just to make sure the thermal fuse was the only remaining problem before ordering a new one. the vibration of the dryer had allowed the clip to slide down and touch the frame of the dryer. It sparked and blew the breaker. I repositioned the clips and started the dryer again. This time, everything worked as it should... .the motor turned, and the heating element got hot.
Since I already had a new thermistor, and planned on keeping the dryer for a long time, I just went ahead and ordered a new thermal fuse, and thermostat to take care of all of the components that might go bad, and causing the thermal fuse to keep blowing. The heating element tested fine BTW.
I put the new thermal fuse in and the thermostat, and went to start it, and nothing. No motor movement at all. I can hear the relay click on, and I've verified a constant 120v wire and the starter wire does get 120v when the relay clicks, right down at the motor plug.
I pulled the motor, and the terminals were a bit brown from the short that happened earlier. Thinking that the switch/motor may be bad, I bought a used motor. I hooked up the motor last night, and still nothing. Last night I was thinking it can't really be the control board.... I can verify that the relay clicks and gives 120v all the way down to the motor.
One thing I did notice after looking at a wiring schematic, is that there is a "TH1 thermostat safety" in between the motor and white neutral going to the terminal block. Just taking a guess, but maybe that's it. I guess I will re-test all of the components, and make sure I find both thermostat safety fuses. I don't know what else to try, this is driving me nuts.
As I said before, I'm not very good at appliance repair, so maybe someone can suggest something I've overlooked.
Thanks,
-Mike
