No Dryer Heat

Dryer Repair
1

Our Whirlpool dryer no longer generates heat to dry clothes? Which part is no longer working as intended?

2

Is there any heat at all?

If there is no heat:

  1. Make sure one of the circuit breakers is not tripped
  2. Make sure dryer gets 220 volts at the wall socket
  3. Unplug the dryer and check the main terminal block for damage (this is where the power cord is attached)
  4. Check the thermal fuse for continuity with an ohmmeter (fuse is number 7 on this diagram)
  5. Check the heating element for continuity (heater is number 17 on the same diagram)
  6. Check thermal cut-off for continuity (number 9 on the same diagram)

Let me know what you find.

3

One of the circuit breakers had been tripped. I switched it back on. Ran the dryer for 15 minutes. Still no heat. I checked the wall socket - that’s okay. Perhaps the thermal fuse is dead?

4

Warren, you’ve checked the first two items on the list. Now I would check the rest. I listed those items in order for a reason. You always want to start from the beginning, from the power source, and move on down. Thermal fuse could be bad, but check the terminal block first. It’s the next link in the chain.

5

I have discovered that there is a fan that needs to be removed to get to the thermal fuse (I think). How do I get the fan assembly off so I can get to the thermal fuse. Thank you.

6

Warren,

Are you trying to access the fuse from the front of the dryer or from the back? The fuse should be easily accessible from the back. Unplug the dryer and remove the back panel. It’s right on the blower housing.

Let me know how it goes…

7

Warren, I’ll post your email here:

I found the thermal fuse. I’m not sure what I’m trying to find. There seems to be no break in the connection. There are two wire connectors going into the white housing. There is a shiny black material (looks like hard plastic) between the two connectors. I don’t see any indication that the connectivity is broken. Could it be broken within the white casing?
Warren

Warren,

You can’t really check the fuse visually. Gotta use an ohmmeter (see link in my first reply). Since you can’t see inside the fuse, you can’t tell whether the wire is broken or not. Using an ohmmeter you can accurately check the fuse for continuity. Using the same meter, you can also check the heater and the thermal cut-off. You can purchase a meter from your local radioshack (or any electrical supply) or you can purchase one from us using the link above.

8

Hello,
I’m replacing coils on a whirpool dryer, and I was wondering if it’s easier to access these from the front or back…do you have a diagram…LGN2000LWO

Hi Gene, hoping you could help me again.

I’m having no heating issues. The dryer works great and there’s no heat. I’ve replaced the coils, ignitor and thermal sensor…what now???

9

Hi Leesa

To get access to all the parts inside the dryer, remove two screws at the lint screen slot and using a putty knife, push and pry the clip on each side in front of the top panel to release the holding clips. Lift up the top panel until it rests on the hinges. Unplug the quick disconnect plug for the door switch. Remove a screw from each side of the front panel. Pull the front panel up and toward yourself to release it from the retainer clips. Looking under the drum you’ll find the idler pulley with the belt. Draw a picture of the belt that goes through the idler pulley onto the motor pulley so you will know how to assemble it back. Remove the belt and pull out the drum. Now you have access to all parts inside the dryer.

Good luck.
Gene.

10

By far the easiest way to replace the heater coil is from the back. Make sure your heating coil is bad before you buy and replace. I replaced several parts before I found the one that I truly needed. Unless you are positive your heating coil is bad - I suggest you go down to Radio Shack or electrical supply store and buy a ohmmeter. These cost $20-$30. You can check the connectivity for most everything including the heating coil.

11

Before you attempt to change the coils make sure the dryer is un plugged from the wall outlet,if you have a six in one screwdriver the only other tool you will need is a putty knife,remove the lint filter,you will see two phillips screws,remove those,use the putty knife to pry the two clips holding down the cover,the two clips are about an inch or two from the corners,lift the lid up all the way until it rest on the back of the wall so it is out of your way,remove the tip from your screwdriver to reveal the 5/16 end–this is usually the bigger end–use this to remove the two 5/16 head screws from each corner inside the front panel,disconnect the wires from the door switch,bring the front panel towards you and pull up,put the front pannel a safe distance away from you,make sure you have a drop light,a drop light is better to work with than a flashlight,make a note of how the belt and pulley is situated before you remove the belt off the motor pulley,remove the tub and use your phillips screwdriver to remove the two phillips screws that hold the bracket over the coils,remove each coil and replace the new ones,re assemble,good luck.

12

Hi APP Team,

I followed all your 6 steps and tried to determine which part(s) might go bad in my Whirlpool Dryer model no LEC8858EQ0, no heat but run !

Here are the results:

Step 1 passed
Step 2 passed
Step 3 passed
Step 4 - Thermal fuse seemed to be good as the ohmmeter showed 0 (all way to the right)
Step 5 - checked the heating element continuity: it showed 0 if the two test points were touched on the two
terminals, BUT it sometime showed lots of resistance (or infinite resistance) if you touched the two test points on the coils ! How do you determine if the coils were brunt out ? or going-to-be-bad ?

Step 6 - check the thermal cut-off for continuity: the one (with two terminals) connected to heating element seemed to be goog as it showed 0 resistance. The other one part has two pairs of terminals (mounted directly under the Thermal fuse), one pair showed 0 resistance, the other pair showed 75% of resistance (with wires connected to different terminals), at this point I’m not sure if this part is good or bad.

Thanks in advance!

Dennis

13

Dennis,

Did you remove wires from parts in question prior to test them?

Did you check for 240V at the power outlet?

Gene.

14

Hi Gene,

I did NOT any wire from parts. I just unscrewed the screws and dismounted the thermal fuse, the heating element and the thermal cut-off, then used the ohmmeter to measure the continuity.

I did check the main power outlet, it showed about 220 ~ 240V with power cord plugged.

Do you think my heating element’s coils were still good or bad ?

Regards,

Dennis

15

Just wanted to re-state it. I did NOT remove any wire from parts.

Note that the top part with # 3399848 on the mounting plate (I think it is part of thermal cut-off kit) showed inifinte resistance (is it Bad?) when measured on the two terminals. The bottom part with part# 3390291 (I also think it is part of thermal cut-off kit) showed 0 resistance (is it Good ?)

The internal bias thermostat with part# 3387134 (next to the blower) has two pairs of terminals, one pair showed 0 resistance (is it Good ?), the other pair showed near infinite resistance (Bad ? or is this supposed to be ?)

Thanks in advance again,

Dennis

16

Dennis,

Wires MUST be removed prior to continuity test. Retest all parts without wires being connected and post the results.

For further references here are the break down diagrams for the Whirlpool dryer Model LEC8858EQ0

Gene.

17

Hi Gene,

Thanks for the reply.

Here are the results:

I removed all the wires from the following 3 parts:

  • 3399848: top part of thermal cut-off
  • 3390291: bottom part of thermal cut-off, also ca is called thermostat, High Limit
  • 3387134: thermostat, Internal Bias

The 3399848 did NOT have continuity on two terminals, it showed near infinity resistance. (BAD!?)
The 3390291 did have continuity on two terminals as it showed 0 resistance. (GOOD!?)
The 3387134 has two pairs of terminals, the outside-long pair of terminals does HAVE continuity as it showed 0 resistance (GOOD!?), the inner-short pair of terminals does NOT have continuity as it showed near infinity resistance (BAD!?)

I bought all three brand new parts yesterday, before connecting to wires, I measured all parts’ continuity,
the 3399848 showed 0 resistance (GOOD!), the 3390291 also showed 0 resistance (GOOD!), the 3387134,
the outside-long pair of terminals showed 0 resistance (GOOD!), the inner-short pair of terminals, however, STILL showed near infinity resistance (NO continuity, NO GOOD !?, or this is supposed to be!?)

Anyway, I installed these three new parts in place, and finally I GOT HEAT!!! look like that the 3399848 (top part of thermal cut-off) was BAD !, I put a load of wet clothes in the dryer, it did dry the clothes,
HOWEVER, IT DID NOT STOP ! AND CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING !!! I CHECKED THE Automatic Cycle Knob did NOT move AT ALL !!! STILL POINTED AT THE BEGINNING OF POINT!

Any idea/clue what part is bad causing this problem ???

Thanks again,

Dennis

18

Dennis, you did really good job!

About the timer - I need to know if it does advance on the timed cycle?

Gene.

19

Hi Gene,

The timer did NOT advance to the timed cycle; it did NOT move at all,
stayed at the same location! I have to MANUALLY stop it!

Which part(s) is bad ? or what to check on the Automatic Cycle timer ?

Regards,

Dennis

20

Hi Dennis,

Most likely the problem is a bad timer.

Gene.