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Our dryer, as my wife put it, "crapped out" while I was gone camping. I came home and immediately checked the breaker. That was fine. So I went to the dryer to see what symptoms it had. When I pushed in the timer knob to try to turn it on there is a buzzing sound (like the motor is bound I guess?). Releasing the knob stops the buzzing. I found the manual for our dryer at http://www.servicematters.com/m...ary/docs/RS3200005R2.pdf but the troubleshooting section doesn't exactly match the symptoms that I see. Today she tells me that it actually started making a screeching noise before it stopped running. So my guess (and it's quite literally a guess) is that the motor is bound up or has burnt the bearings? How do I know for sure? I can manually turn the cylinder but it does turn stiffly. Could it be the overload protector has kicked in? Should I simply remove the motor and either get a new one or have this one rebuilt? Thoughts, advice, help?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 3/29/2009(UTC)
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I would go into the dryer and examine the drum and see if it is in any way binding. If after you disconnect the belt the drum turns freely, take it out and jumper the lid switch and see if the motor will come on when you start the dryer. Be sure to tape the door switch wires together or use the air fluff cycle.
This should tell you if the motor is the problem. The overload protection resets itself, so that is not an issue.
Good luck.
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Rank: Member
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Originally Posted by: sidfink43  I would go into the dryer and examine the drum and see if it is in any way binding. If after you disconnect the belt the drum turns freely, take it out and jumper the lid switch and see if the motor will come on when you start the dryer. Be sure to tape the door switch wires together or use the air fluff cycle.
This should tell you if the motor is the problem. The overload protection resets itself, so that is not an issue.
Good luck. Excellent advice! That sounds like what I was looking for in a troubleshooting method. I'll let you know how it goes. :)
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Rank: Member
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Okay. I've managed to disassemble the cabinet and remove the drum. What I found, and am 99% certain is the problem, is that three ankle socks got past the lint filter and were wedged into the exhaust impeller. Later on the wife told me the dryer was run without the filter on accident. Nice detail to know.
Anyway I've reassembled the dryer and it seems to be running fine. When I had the dryer put back together, before connecting it to the exhaust hose, I ran it and warm air was coming out the back exhaust port. So I figured I was done.
I put the first "post repair" load into it last night before heading to bed but it wasn't dry this morning. It wasn't soaking wet still but it was more than damp. I restarted the load and left it run for a half hour. Checked and the clothes are still damp and not very warm. So now I'm guessing something's happened with the heating element?
There's only three pairs of jeans and a couple shirts in that load so it shouldn't be the size of the load that's causing the problem. I've cleaned out all the lint that was in the exhaust path and base. I don't see any other obstructions. The motor turns very easily, the drum spins just fine. Am I being paranoid?
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 3/29/2009(UTC)
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Well, if the clothes are tumbling at the proper speed, the blower is operating at the right speed and the vent is unobstructed and the heating element is coming on to maintain the proper temperature, then the clothes must get dry. So if this is not happening one of these is the problem.
Since you had a jam, the first thing you want to ascertain is that the motor is operating at the proper speed with a full load of clothes. You can do this by observing the rate at which the drum turns and the airflow out the back (disconnect the outside vent) and at the same time put an oven thermometer in the vent to see what the temperature is. Also check the blower to make sure it is not slipping or was otherwise damaged. It is possible your motor was damaged and just will not turn at the proper speed, so there is not enough air flow to dry the clothes.
If these check out, I would replace the cycling thermostat. Since the element is heating some, it is unlikely to be a thermal fuse/safety thermostat.
Good luck, let us know what you find out.
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Rank: Member
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How do I know what the proper speed is? I've scanned through the service manual and don't see the RPM's listed. Guess I'll go back through it.
Same goes for the temperature. My daughter is drying a load of tees when I tried testing. The load was pretty wet but the best temp I got was 104F out the back exhaust vent (no hose). The temp setting was set to "High". What temp should it be?
Oh and there was good air flow out the back. Kept blowing the thermometer sensor out so I had to move the dryer more so I could lay on the floor and hold it in.
I'll try putting a mark on one of the drum's baffles so I can count the RPMs?
:confused:
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 3/29/2009(UTC)
Posts: 11,699
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The air flow should be strong, like the medium setting on a box fan, and the temp with no clothes should be at least 115 degrees and probably closer to 125 or more.
Good luck
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Rank: Member
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Well.... I think it's fixed. :D
Turns out that the outside vent hood was also clogged with lint. I didn't see it at first as it's behind our gas meter.
As soon as I pulled the dryer away and left it run things dried quickly. So I cleaned out the vent pipe and the vent hood. I'm sure it'll work swimmingly now.
Thank you for all your excellent help!
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 3/29/2009(UTC)
Posts: 11,699
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Great, glad you got it diagnosed, and thanks for updating the Forum
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