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!!
Error Code (if any):
Parts or tests already tried:
Photos / video link:
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…
