[RobBroekhuis]

The dryer is a pretty straightforward 1996 Maytag. It had started making very bad noises recently, so today I took it apart to find the source. Turns out noises are coming from two sources - one of the drum rollers, and the fan impeller. The worst noise comes from the impeller, and I can't figure out what's wrong with it - I'm surprised that the plastic impeller can spin freely on the shaft (without the shaft moving), but I can't find any evidence that anything is broken - is the impeller supposed to have a part that engages with the flats on the shaft and forces it to turn at the same speed?

It may be a moot point, because I managed to introduce a new problem. I wanted to see the impeller spin, so I plugged the dryer in (with the control dial set to an "off" position) and was surprised to hear the buzzer come on for a few seconds, followed by an electrical short. No idea why it would have tried to energize anything, but that's beside the point now. The part where the electrical damage appears to have occurred is on the thermal fuse (one of the terminals was blackened and damaged), but the fuse is still intact. Unfortunately, the dryer is now totally dead. I searched around and found no other places where electrical connections are compromised. Any good place to start troubleshooting this?

[denman]

I'm surprised that the plastic impeller can spin freely on the shaft (without the shaft moving), but I can't find any evidence that anything is broken
Something is definitely broken as the shaft should turn if the blower wheel turns.

is the impeller supposed to have a part that engages with the flats on the shaft and forces it to turn at the same speed?
You did not include a model number so I cannot say, some use a flat on the shaft others screw on.


How do you know that the thermal fuse is OK?
Did you remove the leads from it and measure it with a meter?
There is no visual evidence when these fuses blow.

[RobBroekhuis]

Thanks for your reply. The model number is LD7314 or LD8304 or LD8414 (I'm looking at the manual written for those three models). The shaft has flats; the impeller is held on by a lock-ring, but is not threaded. The plastic ring of the impeller that fits around the shaft is divided into four segments, so that it could be compressed down around the shaft - I guess I could try a hose clamp, although that would introduce an imbalance.

Yes, I did check for continuity across the thermal fuse, and it appears to be fine (then I shorted the leads around the thermal fuse just to be sure, and still had no sign of life from the dryer).

[denman]

I cannot find any info on the given Model Numbers.
Please find the Model Number on the unit, the below may help you find it.
Model Number Locator

Below are the parts for an LDE8304 which may be close to yours. Includes a wiring layout.
Replacement parts for MAYTAG LDE8304ACE | AppliancePartsPros.com

Usually the blower wheel has a flat area and the clamp just holds the wheel onto the shaft. I would replace the clamp and the wheel.

If your unit is like the LDE8403
It has two thermal fuses in line with the motor, Item 10 in Section 6 and Item 6 in Section 5.
Other components to check would be the door switch, the terminal block wiring, push to start switch and the timer contacts [ Y-BK43 (L1) to GY24 (motor)]

Also check that the power in is good
L1 to L2 should be 240 volts
L1 to Neutral and L2 to Neutral should both be 120 volts.
The L1 to Neutral is the motor side.

[RobBroekhuis]

Doh!
I had neglected to check the house breaker switch - your suggestions helped me get that far...
So now the unit is working sort of - except that it turns on when I push the start button, regardless of the setting on the timer dial. The dial does correctly distinguish between modes with and without heat, and makes its faint clicking sound when not set to an "off" position - but somehow its ability to disengage the dryer function is gone. I have to break the door switch to turn it off. Looking at the site referenced in the previous post, the timer is a pricey part - if that needs replacing I'm probably looking at purchasing a new dryer, given the age of this one. Is there any hope of resolving the problem without purchasing that part? I checked the terminal connections on the timer, and they all look OK.

[denman]

Sounds like the timer contacts welded together.
They will probably be the same as I listed in my earlier post if your machine is close to the LDE8304.

You could remove the timer from the unit, set the timer to off, open the contacts then clean them with fine emery cloth or a point file if you can get it in there.

Be careful not to bend the contact arms.

[RobBroekhuis]

Thanks a million - your advice has been right on. I managed to free the contact, and the dryer is now back to its old condition - with a new blower wheel assembly on order.
Rob