Electric Dryer diagnostic help

We bought my daughter a used Kenmore washer and electric dryer when she graduated college and moved out on her own about 4 years ago. Last weekend I was there for a couple days and learned it will dry for a load or two and then it doesn't. She would reset breaker and then same.

I looked at the breaker and it isn't tripped, plus the dryer still spins and light comes on. With my expert diagnosis, NOT, I thought maybe it was the timer or a sensor and I did a couple loads with timed dry versus sensor drying. Those seemed to work. So when we left Saturday afternoon, I figured it would work for awhile until I had time to learn about diagnosing it.

Texted this morning to see how it went and she said Sunday while doing loads it did the same thing.

I googled, troubleshooting and it shows a guy going through the circuit and checking switches for power and the element for power, since this is intermittent on both cycles-sensor and timed, I figured I would ask for any help here?

Model 110.62822102
SER% MR1718355
Type: DWSR-ELE-2406028-CV54
120/240V 28A 60Hz

I'm 99% certain it is on a 30 amp circuit with two breaker linked together.

Thank you in advance for any help.
Rob

 

The only advice I can add is never buy used appliances . The way those are made now days , it’s a crap shoot even buying brand new . By the time you pay someone to figure out what is wrong and fix it , you are most likely into cost wise 50% of a brand new unit . Just not worth it IMHO ..

 

Rope+ 2 posts = solar clothes dryer.

 

Understand. It was $350 for the set, I think, so we got our money's worth. These are the old skool top load washer and front load dryer. Supposedly, they are old enough, probably at least 15 years by now, that they were made better then and not all electronic like the new stuff. They have spin dials and push buttons, and I think this is the first problem it has had.

Maybe cheaper to go buy another used one, as she isn't overflowing with excess cash. Just figured if I can figure it out, it would cost her less and I would learn something. Heck the heating element is under $40 so parts are pretty cheap.

 

Might be the high limit thermostat going bad in the dryer, cheap fix if it is.

 

One of the appliance guys my wife deals with says the models equipped with moisture sensors can be sensitive to overuse of dryer sheets. Yours may not be that new.

 

Need more info.

Is the cycle completing but the clothes not getting dried?

Is the cycle stopping?

Is the breaker tripping or was that just a “let’s treat it like a Microsoft product and turn it off and turn it back on again” troubleshooting step?

Simple appliances are simple. If the element is heating up, it’s not the element. If the drum is turning, it’s not the motor.

I’d start with making sure the lint filter is clean, and that the vent isn’t clogged. Work back from there.

 

Those being 15 years old is plus , they were build better than new stuff . I had a rental property that needed a new gas range , so I bought what looked like a nice one for what seemed like a great price .. $400. Bucks . 2 year later the oven ignition relay went out . I bought a new relay . $120. Plus for the part along . Then another year and a half later it went out again . This kinda of stuff is frustrating. It’s almost makes me believe it’s not worth fixing anything any more ... I sold the rental property to fix these problems

 

Thank you.

It didn't fail while I was there and the breaker doesn't trip.

From what I understand the cycle completes and when they pull the clothes out they are still wet, so she resets the breaker and then it works. Almost like the momentary loss of electricity, from resetting the breaker, cycles whatever is bad in the dryer, and then it works again. The lint filter was clean. I did not pull out the dryer and check the vent, but she has only lived there for about 10 months and at that time, it was clean and we put in a brand new vent hose.

 

Only dryer failure I have ever had was a bad thermal switch inside the drum. It was in the front right at the top of the drum. If that goes bad it will shut off the electric coils but the dryer still runs the rest of the cycle.

 

That sounds like the exact symptom. After that, did it work again, or once dead did it never heat again?

 

https://www.repairclinic.com/

I have had great success with this or other similar companies that assist with trouble shooting as well as suggesting the fix.

 

I spent $800 on a new gas range only to have the igniter repaired under warranty. About two days after the warranty expired, the igniter failed again. I trollied off to Lowe's and paid another $800 for a different brand of gas range. A couple of months later, the igniter failed. The warranty repair lasted until, you guessed it, right after the warranty expired. This is what I have in my kitchen now. The warranty expired in 1953, but no one ever needed it.

 

Mine failed intermittently for weeks. Sometimes the clothes were dry sometimes they weren't. It eventually completely failed. Don't over look the possible reason for the failure. THe switches protects against the temps in the drum getting too high. Dirty lint traps, years of shit built up in the airflow path of the drum and poor venting can all be causes for the switch to do what it is supposed to do.

 

What does the center top panel cover?

 

This, all day.

 

A griddle. The stove also came with a large burner and grate that fits in the same spot, probably for canning and the like.

 

Check the heat element.
Suckers go out in a blink of an eye.

I’ve replaced 2 already. 2 different dryers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I figured that wouldn’t be intermittent, but this is my first experience with dryer issues.

 

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk