Clothes Dryer suddenly stopped working????

Question

I have a very old dryer that has been working perfectly. No signs of anything fixing to go wrong and then all of the sudden it just stopped all together. I was drying clothes (no problem getting hot), the buzzer went off, I took the completely dry clothes out of the dryer, put the wet ones in, my daughter closed the door (rather hard) and now the dryer wont do anything at all. You would think the outlet had stopped working. I had a repair team come out and they tried to tell me that a dryer with no previous problems has a bad engine and its going to cost over $200 to fix. After thinking about this thru the evening I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me if it is possible my daughter some how broke the door sensor thing (little plastic things that click when you shut the door)? It looks to be all there and attached, but I never really payed attention to it before hand.
Any help would be wonderful as I dont have the money to buy a new dryer and have a large family size!!!!

Answer 1

The door switch if its broke is nothing more than a part for less than $10.00 I had to test a switch by the way they are plastic with some metal for contacts and a spring, this dryer I repaired I ordered the part straight from the Manufacturer. that is generally the first place to test a circuit based on an open circuit when the door is open and when the door is closed the dryer operates. IF you have a large Grey or Black plug that plugs into a large 4inch by 3 inch box thats a 220 Volt Dryer, a Gas Dryer has generally a flexible line from the dryer to a 1/2 inch pipe and a tee running into the wall. also on 220 Volt dryers as well gas make sure the filter screen is clean located in 2 places take a flashlight look down the screen slot to see if all the lint is removed, by sugguestion I 'll list sources that mainly a web site or a toll free number is in the owners manual or do a Yahoo search , BTW Kenmore a Sears item they are really good for their own parts and you can it ready as techs call it a WILL CALL order hardware stores I had delt with dont do WILL CALLS .

Sears you can order on line and pick it up pertty fast I bought a tool and picked it up after work thats why I like them .

JC Penny is out of the appliance business.

There is some web appliance parts depending where you are located if a Big city is close by some low and some high I bought vaccum cleaner OEM Bags on line and shipped in about a week Kirby that is.

BTW I took Electrical School, and I am a student in the Electronics feild and hold 2 FCC Licenses short of taking the ISCET exam and persuing an Electronics degree and belong to 2 Engineering Orgs IEEE & SBE visit my webpage at www.ab8ru.org by the way Bob Villa I see an interesting thing check his site www.bobvila.com appaerently has alot of info. there too I m going there after this post

Answer 2

Dryer Stopped Working

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Clothes Dryer suddenly stopped working????
I have a very old dryer that has been working perfectly. No signs of anything fixing to go wrong and then all of the sudden it just stopped all together. I was drying clothes (no problem getting hot), the buzzer went off, I took the completely dry clothes out of the dryer, put the wet ones in, my...

Answer 4

You are on the right track about the door sensor. A drier will not fail completely as described unless it has an interlock keeping it from running. Usually it's the heating element, or the motor, but rarely both will fail at the same time.

The door interlock switch is not difficult to replace, but it takes some mechanical skill and time. That's why the repairman wants to charge you $200. He will take about 2-4 manhours to replace your $2 switch. If you have mechanically inclined friend to help it can be done yourself, but it will take time and you won't have room in your laundry room to work. So take it to the garage or to a covered porch area.

Answer 5

$200.00 to replace the motor is not a bad price, if that is what is wrong with it. Most repair services are very honest, despite a few very bad apples. Still, from what you've described it could be the lid switch. It would be easy to check, you can just wire around switch. If it then runs, it is definitely the switch. This is an important safety feature, so you'll want to go ahead and replace it. If you want to try to buy the motor yourself, you're looking at over a hundred dollars and a moderately difficult repair.

Answer 6

Pull the plug, or shut off breaker, find wires to door switch, and tie together in a good solid connection, then try dryer, order new switch, it's a safety thing.

Answer 7

it sounds more like a door switch then a dead motor. first a burned out motor will most likely leave a tell tale "burned electrical" odor. why not get a second opinion from another repair company. yes, you can bypass the safety switch but only by someone who knows what they are doing. I have found craigs list a very good source of local help too -- this is a good job for a "handyman".

Answer 8

If your dryer is "very old" as you say and just suddenly stopped working, I would say it is very possible that the repair team is right on target.
Also, if your dryer is that old, i'd just take this opportunity to get a newer, more efficient machine.

Answer 9

IF THE MOTOR FRIED IT WON'T RUN... IF BELT BROKE YOU'D HEAR THE MOTOR RUNNING W/O A BELT. YOU CAN BUY A NEW ELECTRIC ONE FOR ABOUT $ 250.00, I JUST BOUGHT A NEW GAS DRYER FOR 377 + DELIVER & INSTALL & L/P CONVERSION $ 500.00 TOTAL... IF YOU'RE CLOSE TO HOUSTON I'LL GIVE YOU MY OLD ONE, IT RUNS, OR I HAVE A SPARE ELECTRIC IN GARAGE, IF YOU'D LIKE!

Answer 10

Dryer stop turnig around maybe to many cloths