Brand: Whirlpool Model Number: WGD8000BW0 Main Symptom: burning smell when running What happens & when: when we were drying clothes we smelled burning coming from the dryer, checked and cleaned the lint screen which was fine. Tried her again and she kept smelling so I shut her down and found a video on how to disassemble the dryer. When I got it apart I found the reason she was full of lint and looked like some it had started to flash fire. I cleaned it all out and found some wires and one connector that didn’t look great but not bad, some melting and discoloration I think I can see copper in one tiny area. I put the dryer back together and before I tried it checked the vent in the wall going to the roof. We moved into a rental not long ago - well I think I found the culprit the lint trap in the wall and all the way to the upwards portion of the vent was compacted full of lint about one nylon grocery bag worth of lint. I cleaned that out. Then I tried the dryer and it seems to be running fine so I would like to know if it’s worth fixing the wires and putting new rollers, belts, and an idler in to give it a few more years of life. When I ran it for about 10-15 minutes on medium heat after running it on air dry only it ran great, the burning smell did not go away but it was not getting worse and was generally much better after the deep clean.
I have some videos and can get more pictures if it will help.
I’m looking forward to hearing what folks say.
Thank you in advance!!
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This being worth repairing or not would really be a preference based answer with variables that can sway an individuals preference. It looks like the rollers come in a kit, but the belt and idler pulley would need to be purchased separately since the ones in the kit will not fit this model. The wires themselves would be another variable since this can be a question of replacing the entire harness, field repairing the harness as it is, and so on. Here are links to the parts for reference.
I took a look at the roller kit - I did not realize the belt and idler won’t work for my model and that I’d have to get those separately. Good catch and thank you, and Sigh…
The main harness is about $170, however, I don’t mind swapping that out either.
all things being considered this is an older and in my estimation probably a fairly well built appliance, could be worth saving.
are there any concerns with the heat that it went through before given all that that I should worry about? It worked when I put it back together…am I assuming a risk I shouldn’t?
all in I’m looking at $320-330 plus freight and tax…I could get a new dryer for that too, I think.
Any add’l thoughts or advice would be helpful. Do folks generally have great results when they fix a dryer like mine? Or is it a good money after bad situation?
The biggest concern I can think of is the potential of a wire grounding out. I have seen mixed results after conducting a repair like this. Since it is operating, it identifies that the controls are operating properly at this time, along with the other components that were not damaged based on visual inspection. However, this does not say that it may have a weak link that could cause further issues down the line. This is where the mixed results come in. I have seen some go through extensive repairs and last a long while, and others go through similar to find something was weakened enough to work for a little while.
If it were my dryer in my home, I would replace the rollers, pulley, and belt. However, I would likely also buffer the wires with a high heat insulation so that they would have a minimal chance of grounding out.
I ordered and installed the rollers, drum belt, and idler. I am still trying to find the right high heat wire insulation but I sorted/orgnsized the wires and made sure nothing was touching/interfering.
It started right up after a deep cleaning. I tried a small load and after a few minutes the red “check vent” light came and I shut it down, hung the clothes to air dry. I restarted the dryer for a couple minutes to see if the “check vent” light would come on again but it didn’t. Drier heat didn’t seem to kick on during this short run.
I think my next step is to get my vent professionally cleaned and find some high heat wire insulation.
There is a sound while running, I still feel like I’m hearing something I can’t pinpoint. It won’t me upload the video from my phone…
I’ve got automotive grade wire tape, will give it a shot.
Tried the dryer again this weekend. In less than 5 minutes the red check vent light came on.
Rechecked the vent in the wall and everything I can reach is clean, I’m going to try and use a leaf blower to push air up and see if I can get any sign as to what might be going on in there.
Dryer is back up and running. The vent was clogged, had a professional come out and clean it he said that it was years of buildup. Good warning to all to heed and have their vents cleaned about once a year. Mine goes straight up about 30 feet to the roof. What I could reach by hand was compacted but he said it was like that all the way up, must have never been cleaned before.
the dryer is running so far 10+ minutes and no smells or red check vent lights, knock on wood.
it is making a squeaking sound that I don’t recall it making before though, while spinning.
I took a 7 second video but for some reason I can’t get it to upload (incorrect file format). Is there an email address I could send it to?
thanks again for the belt info, that’ll be next it’ll give me another chance to open and inspect.
If it sounds like a mouse squeak, it is usually an issue with the idler pulley. An easy way to check is identifying if the pulley was able to rotate freely. It should be able to rotate fairly easily and for a good few seconds. If the pulley was stiff or stopped very quickly when trying to get it to spin by hand, it is faulty.
I just put a new idler pulley on there - got it from you guys. Should I try another, I was actually wondering the same thing it does kind of sound like a mouse squeak.
I shouldn’t have trashed the old one would have been good to compare results.
The best option for identifying if the idler is faulty would be to access it and try to rotate the pulley when the belt is removed. If it rotates freely for a few seconds, it’s unlikely to be an issue and then the idler can be checked to see if the mounting screw may have pinched it. This can cause excessive tension on the idler pulley and create a noise as well. However, if the idler pulley only rotates for a half a turn or a full turn and stops quickly, the idler pulley would likely be faulty. While uncommon, it is possible for the bearing of the pulley to not have the correct amount of dry lubricant added in during the bearing manufacturing process.
I recall thinking that the new pulley didn’t rotate that well, and that the original almost seemed better. I will try another.
the first time I installed it something seemed odd and I checked - the flange/washer on the back of the mounting bolt wasn’t seated properly in the mounting arm of the idler so I I had to remove and reinstall. I snugged it down good because there was a little wobble (front to back) in the pulley. I recall feeling that it didn’t seem to sit as securely as I would have liked. Maybe I should try loosening that bolt a little to see if there’s any change in the sound it’s making.
