This is a follow-up to my earlier post where a jar lid fell down into the lint trap housing and was hitting the blower motor blades. I removed the lid and cleaned out all the lint I could from everywhere and the next load I did, the dryer (on Auto Dry) stopped before the cycle was finished. It would restart immediately but continued shutting off. I switched it to timed dry and the load finished. The dyer has 3 modes: Auto Dry, Timed Dry (0-70 minutes), and Air Dry (no heat) 0-30 minutes.


Using Timed Dry worked fine for a few weeks, then the dryer started shutting off early on that mode too. It always restarts immediately, and the amount of time it runs before stopping is sort of random. I don't hear any strange sounds when it is running.


Today I did some more intensive testing to see if there was any pattern, using all 3 modes. I started Air Dry on 30 minutes and every time it would stop I would immediately restart it. It ran 4 min, 10 min, 4 min, then it ran to the end of the cycle when the buzzer sounded (16 minutes). Just before the cycle ended I turned the dial back to 30 minutes and it ran the whole 30 minutes til the end of the cycle.


Then I tested Auto-Dry on low heat, starting with the "more dry" setting and restarting immediately when it stopped. It ran 15 min, 14 min, 3 min, and 22 min. It stopped on the asterisk so I skipped the dial just past the asterisk and restarted and it ran to the end of the cycle (36 minutes ). I turned the dial back to "more dry" again and started over and it ran 27 min, 2 min, 14 min, 1 min, and 2 min. I noticed when it stopped at the end of 14 min, 1 min, and 2 min it was at the asterisk again so I skipped it to slightly past the asterisk and it ran to the end of the cycle (40 min).


Finally I tested Timed Dry starting at 70 minutes and restarting immediately every time it stopped. It ran 13 min, 1 min, and 18 min. I had to leave it for 20 minutes or so, and restarted it when I got back. I ran min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, and 30 seconds. A couple of times in this last period when it stopped I heard a mechanical timer sound coming from the dial.


So that's my tale of woe. When I Googled "Dryer stops mid-cycle" the most common suggestion was that the motor was overheating but I am doubtful that is it because a) it started right after I did the other repair and put it back together, suggesting I may have unknowingly damaged something during the repair; b) it always restarts immediately while the "overheating motor" articles said it would not restart til the motor cooled down; c) the motor sounds the same as always.


The blower motor appears fine and I can feel air being blown out the vent. The vent is immediately behind the dryer so the vent hose is only about 6 inches straight from the dryer to the wall with no bends.


Any suggestions on what could cause these symptoms?