help! my dryer is broke! do you know whats wrong with it?

Question

I really dont know whats going on with it, it was fine yerstarday. its not heating up, is kind of old but what makes a dryer stop heating. everything else is fine except for the heating its just throwing cold air.

Answer 1

If you want to waste an extra $75 then go ahead and call a service tech.

Fixing a dryer is one of the easiest home repair jobs you can do. All you need is a little courage. But what's the risk anyway? Your choices are to get a new one ($250), a used one ($100), get a tech to do it for you ($125) or successfully fix it yourself ($30). If you fail at fixing it yourself, then you'll be pitching for a new/used one anyway.

Here's all you have to do.

Pull the dryer away from the wall and UNPLUG it.
There should be a gang of 1/4 inch screws holding the back panel on. Remove them with a pair of pliers or appropriate socket. If you don't have a pair of pliers, get some from the discount bin at the hardware store ($1).

There will be another panel that 2 heavy wires go to. Remove it too.

The coil will be strung around insulated posts. Inspect the coil for a break. If you spot a break, then that is definitely the cause of your problem. Go to the yellow pages and look up appliance parts/service. Get a replacement coil and swap it for the old one. ($15 to $30)

If you do not spot a break, then you may need a volt-ohm meter. Don't worry. They can be purchased from Harbor Freght for $7 or WalMart for $15.
See if there are any wads of lint blocking the air flow and see if there are any high-temp buttons. If you find either, clean out the lint and/or reset the switch.
Otherwise get the meter, set it to AC volts and test the voltage at the wall socket. It should show 115 to 120 volts between the slots and the center hole and 240 volts between the outer slots. If not, you need to swap the circuit breaker. ($4)

If the voltage is OK, you should go back to the coil and test it with the meter. Set the meter to Ohms/Resistance and put the red/black test leads on the wires that go into the coil panel. If it reads a One, you may have a dead coil and it's a trip to the appliance parts store as described above. Look for a temp sensor that is wired inline with the coil. Replace it first.

If you have checked for the air-only button, the above has a 99.9% chance of fixing your problem.
It's really not that hard and you are not going to cause a fire or get killed. Just make sure the appliance is unplugged.

Answer 2

There is no magic answer to your dilema Rob.
The teaming millions have tossed in all of the possible causes to your problem. Most say it is the heater coil and that truely is the most likely failure. Other answers have covered the possible sources as the hightemp cut-off, bad circuit breaker, lint, etc.

scphelps has proposed a problem-solving method to help you diagnose and fix it on the least expensive route. All problem-solving methodologies are "paths through the forrest". Some work very efficiently and others are helter-skelter. The helter-skelter method often works, but it can result in wasted time and money. scphelp's plan is good and I second the motion that all you need is guts.

If you want to follow the suggestions from several in the gallery and call a service tech, knock yourself out. There's a sucker born every minute.

BTW, Truevalue hardware stores offer a heater coil for 6 bucks

Answer 3

If electric: There could be a bad thermal breaker or fusible link that is right near the heating coils. You'd need a meter to check them. The heating coils could have a break in them or have vibrated off their mounting. If the vent is clogged with lint, the coils will overheat and shut themselves off (reversible). You've go to clean these vents periodically anyway.

Really unlikely: One half of your circuit breaker could be shot. Only one leg would be live, and if it was on the same side as the motor and timer was wired, it'll turn on and spin around but not heat. Again, a meter would confirm the 240V status.

Answer 4

Its the heating coil. I had the same problem, but I found a great dryer at a garage sale for 20 bucks. Check out used appliance stores they can have some good deals, but check around so you don't get ripped off.

Answer 5

Mine stopped working and my husband unplugged the dryer and uncovered the coils, they were coated with dust bunnies, he used a air hose to clean them off. It's heating again. If you do not have a air hose use a can of compressed air like what you would use for cleaning your key board. If its to old you may need to break down and buy a new one. Good luck.

Answer 6

It could either be the thermostat or the heating element. Your best bet would be to have a trained professional look at it, that way you don't replace the wrong parts etc. I hope this helps you out.

Answer 7

This same thing happened to me last week. My husband looked at all the buttons, and lo and behold, a button called air dry had been pushed up and this prevented the dryer from drying with hot air. I hope this is your problem. Good luck.

Answer 8

Oh my god, I broke my dryer last month and everything in my household went to heck. We thought we were going to have to buy a new one! ek... But we just went out and got a diy book from the local library. Turns out we just needed to replace the belt which was actually very simple to do.

Answer 9

there is a thermostat located where the burner housing is in the back of the dryer .It is the size of a quarter with 2 screws attached to it. Replace it with identical model from the manufacturer parts outlet...OK?

Answer 10

The igniter is bad its a $30 dollar part, it located on the bottom of the dryer. Take that panel off on the bottom and get your model number and order a new one . its an easy fix.