Amana Dryer Trips Circuit Breaker after 10 minutes

Dryer Repair
1

My Amana electric dryer trips the circuit breaker after 10-ish minutes of operation. If the ‘no heat’ option is used it seems to be okay.

I have cleaned the external vent thoroughly (it wasn’t really that dirty) and ran the dryer without any venting and it still trips the breaker after 5 or 10 minutes.

When the circuit breaker trips, it does not want to reset for about 30 seconds or so (just keeps tripping). The circuit breaker itself does feel slightly warm to the touch (not sure if that’s normal or not).

The dryer does provide heat while it’s running.

I have read several posts on the forum and am leaning toward a thermistor/thermistat as a possible cause (but that’s just a guess as I’m certainly no expert).

I have never taken a dryer apart but am confident that I can probably make a moderate repair if the part doesn’t require any special tools to remove/replace. Any diagrams/instructions on removing the cover and/or components would be helpful as well as any diagnosis of my problem.

Thanks..
-Bob

2

Reviewed a couple other websites and one said :

If the breaker trips immediately, it’s usually a problem with the washer. If it trips after normal operation, it’s usually a problem with the breaker or wiring to the washer.

So I bought a new circuit breaker and when I removed the old one, it had some noticeable burn/corrosion marks where the wire is screwed down. Installed the new circuit breaker and all is well …

Hope this helps someone else out there…

.. and do NOT try to replace a circuit breaker if you’re unsure of how to do it - it can be very dangerous…

-Bob