My immediate problem is that my electric dryer heats up to high and shuts down before getting to the cool-down part of the cycle. After the hot shut-down, the dryer smells and feels quite hot and it will not restart immediately, but will restart after the machine has cooled off. Possibly related, the performance of the dryer has been degrading over the past couple of years, requiring more and more time to dry a load of clothes. The vent and inside of the dryer have been thoroughly cleaned. The thermal fuse looks good and shows continuity. The high limit thermostat and the cycling thermostat also show continuity. The dryer functions normally (apparently) in the no-heat mode. Does this sound like a cycling thermostat failure?
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Does this sound like a cycling thermostat failure?[/COLOR]
Yes it could be. But normally I would expect it to blow a thermal fuse.
It could be that a seal in the units air flow path is shot.
It can then suck in cold aitr and that will cause the thermostat to see a colder temperature and it will run the dryer hot.
Had one not that long ago where the seal at the motor/blower was degraded.
It was then blowing hot air back onto the motor causing it to overheat.
This does sound very similar to your problem as once the motor overheats you have to wait for the motor to cool down so it’s internal thermal protect will reset before you can restart the unit.
I disassembled the dryer to get a look at the blower/motor seal, and was surprised to see that the plastic portion of the blower that the seal rides on has a square cross section (with radiused corners, but still). The felt seal did not look particularly blown-out, or worn. I did note, however, that the seal on the back of the drum was fairly worn. The paint rignt next to where the drum seal rides is discolored brownish, as if it has been sort of toasted. I am at a loss as to whether to proceed with replacing just the cycling thermostat or trying to replace the drum seal at the same time. This is a 16 year old dryer that sees pretty heavy use, and I wonder how much more life is left in it.
Indications are that the cycling thermostat is working properly. I am going to replace the rear felt drum seal and see what that gains me. I can see where the condition of the current seal would allow a significant air leak into the system.
Replacing the rear drum seal took care of the problem. The dryer is running normally once again. Thanks for the response!
You are welcome
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And thanks for getting back to us. Now when others search for a similar problem they will see what actually worked instead of just suggestions about what could be the cause.