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greatjmw  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:06:36 PM(UTC)
greatjmw

Rank: Member

Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/18/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1

I purchased a GE Profile Harmony washer/dryer set from a used appliance vendor in Oct, 2010. It came with a 30-day warranty, so of course the dryer waited for the 5th week after purchase to break down.

Symptoms:
1) The dryer appears to be heating, because when I run it for a while, then open the door, I get a clammy heat sensation, but it seems as if the heat isn’t being blown into the dryer, because no matter how long I run it, nothing dries.
2) This particular dryer has 2 motors. I used to hear one come on, then the second a minute or so later. Now I just hear the first one come on & it doesn’t sound like the 2nd one ever comes on, or if it does, it’s only briefly.
3) It gives absolutely no error codes in service mode.

Saga: The guy who sold the dryer to me did come diagnose the problem. At one point during the service call he discovered the automatic overload protector had been tripped & asked what I’d been drying when it died, assuming I was drying a large comforter. I had been drying lightweight stuff, so that wasn’t it. He tried resetting & it just tripped again, so there was clearly more to the problem. Ultimately, he emerged from my laundry room & said I’d need a new blower motor & that he’d repair the dryer free of charge if I got the $150 part. I’m a single mom, so it took me a month or so to have $150 for that part, and now that I’ve ordered it (GE P/N WE17X10008 "Motor Assy-Blower"), the man won’t return my calls. I've got the service manual & am perfectly willing to tear this apart & install it myself, but I’m worried that the only thing I saw the repairman working on was on the right-hand side of my dryer where the driver motor is. I never saw him test the blower motor, but it’s possible he did that without my seeing him. Or it’s possible he just knew that’s what the problem was by eliminating anything related to the driver motor. At any rate, once I install this $150 blower motor, I can’t return it if I’ve ordered the wrong motor, so I’m hoping someone in this forum will know enough about this model dryer & its foibles to be able to tell me whether to go ahead & install the blower motor or just give up on the dryer!! Thanks for any advice.
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sidfink43  
#2 Posted : Friday, January 21, 2011 1:44:54 PM(UTC)
sidfink43

Rank: Advanced Member

Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 3/29/2009(UTC)
Posts: 11,699

Let me give you some really good advice and urge you to take it, even though it is probably not the advice you want to hear.

It does sound like your blower motor is not working, but it is not possible to be certain that the blower motor itself is the problem and it is not likely. It may be the motor, or it may be the wiring or it may be the electronics, which in this model are a mess. Unless the gentleman who came out to work on your machine from the store is experienced with GE Harmony dryers I doubt if he could conclusively make the diagnosis. You should have seen him mesure resistence at the windings or inverter.

I think he just took a logical, but not likely approach. This is a varible speed DC motor which is not good for a dryer. It requires an inverter which is not good. It is controlled by a thermistor, which is not good. It is also control by a board, which is not good.

I would return the motor and get your $150.00 back. Take the money and buy a good used basic dryer, preferably a Whirlpool. In our area you can get a like new one for that money. It will have only one motor, have no electronics, be very reliable, and easy and inexpensive to fix if you need to and you can do it yourself. You should buy from an individual seller, and a lot of them will deliver.

I know the GE looks good, and it is hard to have to give it up after buying it, but GE Harmony Dryers are not what you want to have. Even if you get it fixed, and chances of future problems are too high.

Good luck, and believe me, you will be a happier person with this machine out of your house.
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