Electric dryer won't start

Dryer Repair
1

Door switch works. Thermostat above heating element is closed (continuity test).
Suspect the thermostat in front near dryer duct. It has four terminals. One pair are closed but the other pair show resistance ~ 3 Ohms. My thermostat has 120 V written on it while the new one that I tried replacing it with had 240 on it. All the other numbers were the same. It didn’t fix the problem and I don’t know if this voltage difference is significant.

Not sure where all the thermostats are. Are there others that I could test or is there a fuse?

I see something in my circuit diagram that says motor protector. It looks like I need to remove the drum to get at it.
I tried replacing the timer, but that did not fix the problem.

2

Here are your parts with a wiring diagram
Replacement parts for MAYTAG PYET244AYW Dryer - Ele | AppliancePartsPros.com

First check power going to the machine with a meter.
L1 to L2 should be 240 volts
L1 to Neutral and L2 to Neutral, both should be 120 volts.

[COLOR=“Blue”]Door switch works. Thermostat above heating element is closed (continuity test).[/COLOR]
There should be two devices on the heater assembly. The smaller one is the thermal fuse, see Item 5 in Section 4.

[COLOR=“Blue”]Suspect the thermostat in front near dryer duct. It has four terminals. One pair are closed but the other pair show resistance ~ 3 Ohms. It didn’t fix the problem[/COLOR]
This is the cycling thermostat and has nothing to do with starting the motor.
One set of connections on it are the contacts, should be 0 ohms at room temperature. The other set of connections are an internal heater (used to provide lower dry temperatures), it should be 30,000 ohms not 3. Could it be that you were using the X10K meter scale which then would be 30,000 ohms.
[COLOR=“Blue”]
My thermostat has 120 V written on it while the new one that I tried replacing it with had 240 on it. All the other numbers were the same.and I don’t know if this voltage difference is significant.[/COLOR]
Not sure what the different voltages means. In any case it should not effect starting.

[COLOR=“Blue”]Not sure where all the thermostats are. Are there others that I could test or is there a fuse?[/COLOR]
A thermal fuse on the heater, a hi-limit thermostat on the heater and a cycling thermostat on the blower
[COLOR=“Blue”]
I see something in my circuit diagram that says motor protector. It looks like I need to remove the drum to get at it.[/COLOR]
This is built into the motor and is not a separate device.

[COLOR=“Blue”]I tried replacing the timer, but that did not fix the problem.[/COLOR]

Here is the circuit path for starting the motor:
NEUTRAL , THERMAL FUSE , DOOR SWITCH C/NO , MOTOR 1C , motor’s MOTOR PROTECTOR , motor’s RUN and AUX windings , motor’s centrifugal switch 2B and A to 2B , timer contact S , PUSH TO START switch , timer contacts L/M , L1

Once the motor starts the centrifugal switch closes, B2 to 7. This disconnects the AUX (start) winding and the motor gets power through L/M timer contacts

3

Thanks for your detailed explanation. I have a better understanding of the circuit diagram. I found the thermal fuse. I could barely reach it to test it but it showed no continuity after I disconnected the wires. I had to remove the heating element to remove the fuse bracket and the fuse. I read that the replacement of this fuse actually involves replacing the high limit thermostat as well, something I stumbled upon by magnifying the instruction sheet shown in the picture on the internet. Hence the part comes only as a kit.
Another thing I found strange, I measured 120 volts between L1 and neutral and between L2 and neutral, but I didn’t get 240 between L1 and L2??
It’s Saturday and I won’t be able to buy the replacement fuse until Monday. I am optimistic that this will fix the problem. Thanks again for the advice.

4

You may want to look over this post before replacing the fuse
http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/dryer-repair/67618-dryer-will-not-start.html