if the thermal fuse is bad, you will not get any heat. you may have a wire of at the moisture sensor. if so, when in auto cycle, the timer will rapidly advance to the cool down and then the wrinkle guard will cause it to turn on and off for a few hours. try it on timed dry to see if it runs for the allotted time. if it does that is probably the problem; otherwise, you have a rapidly advancing timer.