My dryer stopped heating all together. Repair guy said motor was dragging. I replaced motor, drive belt, drum support rollers, high limit
hermostat, blower housing thermostat, thermal cut off.
Dryer now heats but won’t regulate, just runs full hot until it cuts off. Doesn’t matter what setting I put the temperature at. The exhaust vent seems to be putting out plenty of air.
[quote=Dana-T;123556]My dryer stopped heating all together. Repair guy said motor was dragging. I replaced motor, drive belt, drum support rollers, high limit
hermostat, blower housing thermostat, thermal cut off.
Dryer now heats but won’t regulate, just runs full hot until it cuts off. Doesn’t matter what setting I put the temperature at. The exhaust vent seems to be putting out plenty of air.[/quote]
I see now there is a theramostat AP3134945 that I did not replace yet. This is a black plastic flat base that goes under the cycling thermostat. Would this be a possible reason??? or should I be looking at the temperature switch?
Here are your parts
Replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL LE6800XTW0 | AppliancePartsPros.com
Yes, this could cause your problem
It is actually mis-named, it is a heater not a thermostat.
When you select different temperatures, it receives different amounts of power. This adds heat to the cycling thermostat therefore causing the units main heater to cycle more often reducing the dryer temperature.
It should measure 7,000 ohms approximately.
Here is a service manual am not sure if it covers your model but your’s should be close.
See Page 25
https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/2cd44500d572193285256a45004fd9d6/4829abde74a34d7f85256ab000620794/$FILE/4322260.pdf
OK, I replaced this heater but problem persist. Dryer runs hot for about 10 minutes then shuts off for several minutes then restarts. Smells hot. Doesn’t matter if I use auto or timer control or what temp selection.
My dryer does not have a control board.
Could the temp selection switch be responsibile? I have replaced all thermostats, the heater switch (below the fan housing thermostat), cut off switches. Could one of the thermostats I replaced still be defective?
Also, I seem to be getting plenty of air flow out the exhaust pipe but don’t have any way to quantify it.
I have invested so much into parts and shipping now I hate to give up but am wondering when to fold.
[quote=denman;123830]Here are your parts
Replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL LE6800XTW0 | AppliancePartsPros.com
Yes, this could cause your problem
It is actually mis-named, it is a heater not a thermostat.
When you select different temperatures, it receives different amounts of power. This adds heat to the cycling thermostat therefore causing the units main heater to cycle more often reducing the dryer temperature.
It should measure 7,000 ohms approximately.
Here is a service manual am not sure if it covers your model but your’s should be close.
See Page 25
https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/2cd44500d572193285256a45004fd9d6/4829abde74a34d7f85256ab000620794/$FILE/4322260.pdf[/quote]
I doubt it would be the temp selector switch as the cycling thermostat should still control the temperature if the temp selector is bad.
It is possible that you have a grounded heating element.
This can cause the heater to run uncontrolled.
Pull it and check to be sure that the element is not touching the case.
One way to check it is to unplug the unit, pull both wires from the heater, then check the heater for resistance should be around 10 ohms. Then check each connector to the case, should be infinite.
Another possibility would be an air leak. You are actually sucking the hot air through the drum and pushing it out the exhaust. The cycling thermostat is on the blower so if there is a large air leak between the drum and the blower it will suck in room air and not see the actual hot air temperature causing the heater to run continuously.
Great, thanks for the suggestions. It may be possible that I didn’t get the drum seal back on right when I replaced the motor. The drum does make some banging noise when I first start it up but then evens out. I will also check the heater as suggested.
Dana
[quote=denman;125982]I doubt it would be the temp selector switch as the cycling thermostat should still control the temperature if the temp selector is bad.
It is possible that you have a grounded heating element.
This can cause the heater to run uncontrolled.
Pull it and check to be sure that the element is not touching the case.
One way to check it is to unplug the unit, pull both wires from the heater, then check the heater for resistance should be around 10 ohms. Then check each connector to the case, should be infinite.
Another possibility would be an air leak. You are actually sucking the hot air through the drum and pushing it out the exhaust. The cycling thermostat is on the blower so if there is a large air leak between the drum and the blower it will suck in room air and not see the actual hot air temperature causing the heater to run continuously.
[/quote]
I think I may have the motor wired incorrectly. What is happening is it will begin drying clothes fine but as the clothes become dryer and the temperature increases the whole dryer shuts off for a minute or two. I appears instead of shutting off the heater coil it is shutting down the motor. It will then restart and shut down again in a few minutes, getting shorter and shorter between cycles.
the motor I put in (AP3094245) had a slightly different wiring block. I have everything as indicated on the new instructions but really question if it is correct. I am not sure how to read the wiring diagram to verify the connections.
There is a thermal protection thermostat built into the motor, it sounds like this is what is tripping.
This will shut the unit off but you should have to restart it by pushing the start switch..
Unfortunately I cannot find a wiring diagram for this unit, hopefully someone else will jump in with some help. The below is just general info.
Here is a good site with some dryer repair help.
http://www.applianceaid.com/whirlpool-dryers.html
The way most units work is that when you push the start switch power is applied to the start and run windings in the motor. The motor has 2 centrifugal switches which close once the motor is close to operating speed.
One of the switches, switches in the heating coil. This ensures that the heater only runs when there is air flowing.
The other switch, switches out the start winding so that you run on only the run winding.
Note that if the start winding is not switched off the motor will overheat and trip it’s internal thermal protect.
I am not sure what would happen if the start winding and run winding wires were reversed. The motor would start but I am unsure if the start winding could keep the motor running on it’s own.
Another possibility might be excessive drag on the motor causing it to overheat. Try rotating the drum by hand in the correct direction, it should rotate fairly easily.
[quote=Dana-T;123556]My dryer stopped heating all together. Repair guy said motor was dragging. I replaced motor, drive belt, drum support rollers, high limit
hermostat, blower housing thermostat, thermal cut off.
Dryer now heats but won’t regulate, just runs full hot until it cuts off. Doesn’t matter what setting I put the temperature at. The exhaust vent seems to be putting out plenty of air.[/quote]
I’ve had many cases where it “seemed to be” only to find out that it really
wasn’t. If you are running plastic flexible vent, get rid of it and replace it
with aluminum. Check the vent hood, if its one that has a flap which
only opens a couple of inches then replace it with something else.
Next, you need to check the lint filter housing (or bulkhead).
This is number 1 on the pic below. You will need to remove the screws
holding it place so that you can separate it from the blower wheel
housing (number 11 on pic below). There’s a good chance the thing
is loaded with lint (especially at the bottom) give the inside of it a
good cleaning.
Next, since lots of parts have been replaced double check
to make sure that everything replaced has been wired properly.
Good luck
When the dryer stops it will re-start by itself within a few minutes. It seems as if it has shut down the motor instead of the heating element. I would imagine that in normal operation the cycling thermostat would turn the heating element on and off as needed. But this seems to be shutting down the motor instead. The cycle becomes shorter as the clothes become dryer which to me would seem consistant with the cycling of the heating coils. When I first start the dryer with wet clothes it will run for 10-15 min. just fine before this starts happening. This indicates to me the start and run wiring would be correct.
There is a wiring diagram on the back of the dryer but I don’t know how to read it in relation to the switch wiring on the motor.
[quote=denman;126485]There is a thermal protection thermostat built into the motor, it sounds like this is what is tripping.
This will shut the unit off but you should have to restart it by pushing the start switch..
Unfortunately I cannot find a wiring diagram for this unit, hopefully someone else will jump in with some help. The below is just general info.
Here is a good site with some dryer repair help.
http://www.applianceaid.com/whirlpool-dryers.html
The way most units work is that when you push the start switch power is applied to the start and run windings in the motor. The motor has 2 centrifugal switches which close once the motor is close to operating speed.
One of the switches, switches in the heating coil. This ensures that the heater only runs when there is air flowing.
The other switch, switches out the start winding so that you run on only the run winding.
Note that if the start winding is not switched off the motor will overheat and trip it’s internal thermal protect.
I am not sure what would happen if the start winding and run winding wires were reversed. The motor would start but I am unsure if the start winding could keep the motor running on it’s own.
Another possibility might be excessive drag on the motor causing it to overheat. Try rotating the drum by hand in the correct direction, it should rotate fairly easily.[/quote]
[quote=Dana-T;126618]
There is a wiring diagram on the back of the dryer but I don’t know how to read it in relation to the switch wiring on the motor.[/quote]
I Don’t have the diagram on a 6800 but on most
all of them from that period the motor switch wiring went like this.
1 red (from source)
2 red (to heater assm)
3 not used
4 blue
5 white
6 Black
OK, thanks much. I will check it out.
[quote=glen65;126648]I Don’t have the diagram on a 6800 but on most
all of them from that period the motor switch wiring went like this.
1 red (from source)
2 red (to heater assm)
3 not used
4 blue
5 white
6 Black[/quote]
Took another look at the parts listing.
It shows a Push To Start Relay checking other similar Whirlpool’s I now see that the motor will restart itself, if it’s internal thermal cutout trips as the relay latches in a start.
Just thought I should let you know.
Sorry for leading you astray.
OK, thanks for checking this. I did verify my motor wiring was correct so that is not the issue. Also, I put my hand on the motor after it had cut out and it did not seem excessively hot to me.
Again, the dryer works fine for 5-10 minutes, then the motor and everything stops for a minute or so, then restarts. The time between cutouts becomes increasingly shorter. I can put my hand over the back of the dryer where the heater coil is and this does not feel excessively hot either (very warm but I can keep my hand on it).
Is it possilbe the replacement motor that I bought on ******** is not good? (Jason Industries is the mfg).
Here is a wiring diagram for a Whirlpool LER7646AN2.
Please check it against the wiring diagram on the back of the machine.
Then let us know if it is the same.
It might be helpful to know how this sucker is wired.
Note that the heater circuit should have no effect on the motor unless the unit is overheating causing the motor to overheat, and by the sound of it this is not the case.
I am also starting to think that the motor is defective. Either the thermal protect is tripping at too low a temperature or you have a broken wire in the run winding that opens once the motor warms up a bit.
The circuit path for the motor is fairly simple Neutral , Door Switch , Timer Switch 4 , Centrifugal Switch , Motor , Push To Start Relay contacts , Timer contacts BU/Bk , L1
We know the Push To Start Relay is staying energized since the motor restarts by itself. If the contacts were opening the unit would not restart by itself.
It could be that it is Timer Switch Contacts 4 but it is very doubtful that this would drop out sooner as you run more cycles.
If the Timer contacts BU/BK were the problem then the Push To Start Relay would drop out and the unit would not restart by itself.
Using the above logic all that is left is the motor.
glen65 or anyone else who wants to jump in: Does this make sense?
I didn’t see an attachement with the wiring diagram.
Meanwhile, the supplier is going to send a replacement motor.
Is it possilbe the front bearing could be worn causing excessive drag? The drum seems to rotate pretty well but hard to tell. The dryer does make a couple light clunking noises when first stated but evens out quickly. Otherwise seems to be pumping out plenty of air out of the blower so seems to be up to speed.
[quote=denman;128320]Here is a wiring diagram for a Whirlpool LER7646AN2.
Please check it against the wiring diagram on the back of the machine.
Then let us know if it is the same.
It might be helpful to know how this sucker is wired.
Note that the heater circuit should have no effect on the motor unless the unit is overheating causing the motor to overheat, and by the sound of it this is not the case.
I am also starting to think that the motor is defective. Either the thermal protect is tripping at too low a temperature or you have a broken wire in the run winding that opens once the motor warms up a bit.
The circuit path for the motor is fairly simple Neutral , Door Switch , Timer Switch 4 , Centrifugal Switch , Motor , Push To Start Relay contacts , Timer contacts BU/Bk , L1
We know the Push To Start Relay is staying energized since the motor restarts by itself. If the contacts were opening the unit would not restart by itself.
It could be that it is Timer Switch Contacts 4 but it is very doubtful that this would drop out sooner as you run more cycles.
If the Timer contacts BU/BK were the problem then the Push To Start Relay would drop out and the unit would not restart by itself.
Using the above logic all that is left is the motor.
glen65 or anyone else who wants to jump in: Does this make sense?[/quote]
Here is the wiring diagram I forgot to add to my last post
http://www.servicematters.com/docs/wiring/Wiring%20Sheet%20-%203401723.pdf
To get a feel for how much drag is normal try rotating the drum on a couple other units.
I want to thank you for all your help solving this dryer problem. Your suggestion that the replacement motor I put in may be having an internal overload problem was it. I got a new replacement motor and now it works fine.
The only issue I have remaining is a slight knocking sound the drum makes when I first start it up aftern not using it for awhile. It quickly smooths out. I have looked inside the dryer (holding the door switch closed) when I start it but cannot notice anything. Next I plan to take off the lower panel and have my wife start it up to see what it looks like down there.
Anyway the heating and running is worked out. Your help has been greatly appreciated. I couldn’t afford a new dryer and after replacing so many parts I was determined to fix the darn thing. I never would have guessed the new motor was defective.
Dana
Congratulations on fixing it.
Your rumble at the start may be a rear support roller has gone soft.
It develops a flat spot from the drum sitting on it. Once the drum runs on it for a while it is reformed into a nice round and the rumble disappears.
[quote=Dana-T;133403]I want to thank you for all your help solving this dryer problem. Your suggestion that the replacement motor I put in may be having an internal overload problem was it. I got a new replacement motor and now it works fine.
[/quote]
Glad to see you manged to take care it. I cant say that’s problem
that one would run into very often with those.