Dryer repair

Having a dryer is much more convenient then an old clothing line. However when they brake it can get very annoying. Most of the driers consist of a motor, which contains pulleys and belts, which ultimately help to turn the dryer drum. The air is heated and circulated drying your laundry in the process.

Prior to having a professional dryer repair person come out and check out your broken appliance you can:

1. First, check if it is plugged in.
2. Then, check the switch and the door. If the door is not closed all the way it will not work.
3. If it works but the air is not hot, you may have a problem with the heating element, thermostat sensors, or coils which should be replaced.
4. Also check for a blown thermal fuse. This particular fuse usually is attached to the exhaust duct inside of the back cover panel. You may need to replace it.
5. If the motor works but the dryer does not turn, the dryer belt, which turns the drum, may be broken.
6. If you decided to give it a go on your own, always make sure that the dryer is unplugged when performing any type of dryer repair.

If you are not tech savvy, call a reputable appliance repair company, like ours, to help you figure out the best way to get your dryer working once again with as little grief as possible.

Home dryer repair

Dryers are common tools used in every household. There are many types of dryers available like hair dryer, hand dryer, clothes dryer, cereal dryer, grain dryer, etc. Their utilities are different and so they are popular with a wide range of people. Dryers have motors, heating elements, thermostats, and switches. They also have a fan, a timer, and if they are quite expensive they may also have a sensor that responds to moisture in the clothes and turns off the machine when no more moisture is sensed. And they may have an ultraviolet light that has a bleaching effect on the drying clothes. One must have adequate knowledge of the mechanisms of the dryer to know when to get a dryer repair done.

Electric dryers run on 230 volts, for the most part. Those that work on 115 volts have less drying capacity. Typically, the coiled heating elements draw up to 6,000 watts and 22 amperes. They need their own electric circuit, like the kitchen range. The 230 volts are for the drying system; the motor runs on 115 volts and so do any lights. If you work on a dryer, you must disconnect it — 230 volts are deadly. Dryers of this type differ from gas dryers, which burn natural gas and have pilot lights or electronic ignition circuits for lighting the gas burner. The electrical components of gas dryers consist of a motor, a timer, and the ignition system, if one exists.

Electric dryers, which cost much less than gas initially, have higher operating costs where electric rates have increased, but they are the choice of most buyers. The two most common troubles of a dryer are a worn-out belt and a burned-out heating coil or coils. Timers wear out; so do switches and wiring, because of the intense heat. Thermostats also have the same life span as in other appliances. But the electric dryer does simpler duty than other large appliances, and it usually causes little or no trouble throughout its lifespan, which is up to 20 years. Access to the timer and switches is probably from the top, or from the back panel on the top. Access to the motor and all other components is either from the front and rear, or from the rear, entirely.

A glance will tell. If there are no bolted members in the front, access is from the rear. That, of course, means heavy pushing if the dryer is between other appliances or pieces of furniture or walls. Heating coils may be the open type, installed in a metal box of some sort, with the two leads attached to posts outside. You can open the metal container to examine the coils for breaks. Sometimes you'll have to unbolt the lead posts to open the container. If the breaks are near a post, you can stretch enough of the coil to connect it to the post. If the break is away from the post, you can repair it with a sleeve designed for the purpose, or buy a new coil. That's the best procedure, since they aren't expensive. If the coil is sealed and defective and the break isn't at the end in the open, there is only one choice — buy a new one.

Coil replacements are sold as kits and should include new insulated posts. Wires outside the coils may burn or become so corroded that they must be replaced. Replacement cables must match the old ones exactly. You don't want one with too little or too much capacity and you need the same insulation characteristics. A sealed coil with a break you can't see will have to be tested for continuity. Any testing device that demonstrates continuity or lack of it, including a bulb and prod tester, will do. But you must always disconnect one end of the circuit you're testing. When you disconnect one of these insulated posts, you run the risk of breaking it. So be prepared to replace the unit and coil. Some recent dryers have cal rod units. These are the type of burners you find on an electric range. They too can burn out.

The drive system is a belt-driven pulley on the drum which is attached to a reduction pulley on a spring, then to the motor and its pulley. The motor runs at a speed of 1,725 rpm, which must be reduced to the drum speed of 50 to 60 rpm. There are usually two belts, both of which wear out and need replacement, and the pulley bearings are also subject to wear and replacement. You will discover when you attempt to replace a worn belt that there are a number of minor pitfalls in the way. The reduction pulley (or idler pulley as it may also be called) has a sprinter to keep belt tension up. In order to rethread the belt over the reduction pulley, you must force the spring to allow it. There is even a special tool to hold the spring in correct tension while you thread the belt onto the pulleys, but you can accomplish the same thing with a piece of wire or rope. Sometimes the belt has slipped off.

Examine the belt carefully and simply put it back if it isn't cracked or shiny or otherwise worn. The reduction pulley may have gotten itself out of alignment and caused the belt to get off the track. Check that visually, and spin the pulley, when you have replaced the belt. The reduction pulley has an alignment nut, or in some cases you merely bend the pulley into the correct alignment. One less common drive system uses a single belt. If you are not scrupulous about lint removal, it can build up mounds in various places around the tub and prevent freedom of movement. This in turn can cause the motor to labor excessively. It can cause other problems as well. Lint removal is a must. What one can do, to get an overall diagnosis of the problem, is to consult a dryer repair technician.

The motor is rarely the cause of trouble. It doesn't work as hard as other appliance motors, so it should not be your first concern when something goes wrong. What can go wrong with the motor is the starter circuit, which may or may not have a starter capacitor. If it does, the capacitor is usually mounted in a metal box on the motor and is something you can replace. The starting system is more likely to be a separate winding inside the coil of the motor, and it is something only a professional can handle if it burns out. But you can always remove the motor and take it to a shop for service. Brushes, bearings, and commutator can require the usual service, but that isn't likely in a dryer motor. You can get these easily enough from any appliance repair store.

Mechanical troubles, in addition to the pulleys and belts, are more apt to center in the turning tub and its pulley drive. If too much lint accumulates, it can combine with grease. This hardens and prevents easy movement. Lint traps don't necessarily prevent accumulations around the tub. The only way these hidden lint formations can be removed is by removing panels and cleaning them out, especially the rear panel with its access to the pulleys and drum. But fans also can get clogged and bent, preventing proper movement. Eventually such lint formations will interfere with the motor. The tub or drum is supported in front by rollers and in the rear with bearings and shaft. Bearing noise in a tub (sometimes a squeak) is a sign of wear or merely a lack of grease. "Lifetime" grease fittings do not always specify whose lifetime. Don't allow a squeak or other noise in a turning tub to go unnoticed. These are nylon bearings and don't usually require outside lubrication.

But they can wear out and the oil supply fails (usually in the reverse order). It shouldn't be necessary to take the tub out, though it depends on what has to be done. First, remove the panel that conceals the bearing — the one that squeaks or bumps — which is probably the top panel and also the back one. These panels sometimes are held by metal screws at the back which, when removed, free both back and top panels. Sometimes the top panel comes off merely by pushing up on it. Fastening panels on dryers, washers, etc., is an occult art; initiation into it usually is by scraped knuckles and broken fingernails. There is often no telling what holds these panels in place. Designers believe that the sight of a metal screw, nut, or bolt, will traumatize a typical housewife, hence the elaborate concealment industry.

With the panels removed, you can turn the tub and tell quickly where noise or binding occurs. If you discover lint buildup, you could solve some problems by removing it. Lint buildup can occur at the exhaust pump or fan, at any moving joint, or simply and especially at the rollers that support the tub in the front. Its removal is most urgent at moving joints, and at the fan or exhaust pump. The simplest complaint about a tub or drum is that it doesn't move. That is caused usually by a pulley that needs its setscrew tightened. Rarely, you might also find a belt so worn that it is loosened beyond the capacity of the idler pulley and spring to tighten it. You can see this problem, and you can see a broken belt. On some dryers, replacing a belt is not easy, or as easy as it should be. This would be the case with those dryers in which there is a long belt that goes from the motor to the outside of the drum itself, with the drum pulley in effect part of the drum. If alignment is a problem with this type, it is correctable by moving the motor mount adjustment. But if a drum bearing is worn, the drum and drum shaft must be taken out for belt and bearing replacement.

Dryer belt replacement, however, is fairly easy, requiring only that you relax spring pressure from the idler pulley and its arm, and then thread the new belt on, turning as you do. If one belt has to come off before replacing the other, it is well to remember the steps so you can retrace them. Usually it's no big deal. If tub or drum problems center on bearings, you can also replace them. Dryer bearings are usually held in place by metal screws that attach their housing to the frame. Always lubricate them before you replace them. If replacement becomes necessary, a lot of disassembly will follow. None of it is especially difficult to do, but it is tedious — therefore expensive if you have it done professionally. You'll have to remove the shaft which supports the tub (bearings are at each end of the shaft). The shaft will probably have snap rings of some sort that must be fished out with a screwdriver or pliers (sometimes two screwdrivers or one screwdriver and pliers).

The shaft will come out of the bearings from the rear, and that is the way it must be replaced. Some shafts are short and threaded and bolt to the frame or a supporting member. There is no standardization in these matters, but the large, turning tub obviously must be supported. Because it turns with a fair amount of weight, it must also have bearing support (as well as its front roller support — at its sides or bottom). A little cursory examination will show you quickly where a tub's turning problems are — just turn and listen, or push up and sideways on the tub. Note that a thump usually means a roller flattened at one point, rather than a bearing failure. The turning mechanism and the supporting mechanism are both simple enough, but they are related and if one gets out of whack, the other will follow.

Since the supporting mechanism is nothing more than a shaft, two rollers at the bottom of the tub (or sides), two sleeve bearings and their oiling felts or whatever tactic is used, with some kind of retainers to take up any play or slack in the support system — with most of the support in the rear of the tub — dryer inspection and dryer repair are not all that difficult. And sometimes you can even support the tub in front when you work on it, so you don't have to take the tub out. The only complications are when you have motor, pulley, and belt troubles along with the support mechanism troubles (bearings, rollers, etc.). Electrical troubles involve switch, wiring, and timer. These are simplified versions of washing machine troubles. The door switch, like a refrigerator toggle that pushes in and out, may sometimes need replacement. A sign of that need is when you turn on the dryer and nothing happens.

Timer wear usually shows up when the timer will stop in the middle of the drying process or will work in one spot but not another. The timer is a simplified version of the washing machine (or dishwasher) timer. Motor switches involve some complexities as always, including a centrifugal switch between the motor and the heater. Switches are located at the door, at the motor, and at the timer. Some dryers may have other switch locations. The door switch can be taken out by loosening two screws, and then replaced if a continuity test shows it to be defective. The other switches involve continuity testing of a more specialized nature. The timer switch and motor switch obviously are interconnected, so both of them must be checked for continuity if the dryer won't run and you've checked the door switch — the easy one to test.

Some dryers will run when the heating element won't work; most dryers won't turn on the heater if the motor won't run. That's to avoid burning up the clothes or overheating them with the fan not running. A thermostat operating a switch will turn off the heat when the motor stops running, or when temperature rises beyond the specified degrees. That can happen when the vent system becomes clogged with lint or for various other reasons. Testing these switches can be done but it's a tricky business, and if you narrow down the possibilities to the timer or the motor, you should be able to see or feel the timer problem—burned contacts, or the motor switch contacts.

Thus far we have been discussing dryers in general. Let's get a more specialized picture now; a group of common Montgomery Ward electric and gas dryers. Electric heater elements on these dryers are rated at 5,000 watts, 236 volts. Motors are 1/2 horsepower in both gas and electric models.  Timers on these dryers are a' 'push-to-start" switch type, which provides electricity to the starting circuit, including the motor. Unless you push the switch, the dryer won't start. This type of timer, common throughout the industry, is driven by a small synchronous motor and reduction gear assembly. It rotates at one revolution per hour. By pushing in the switch, the timer cam follower pushes both the heat circuit and motor circuit closed, so that power goes to both circuits. In the cool - down period, the cam follower is pulled away sufficiently to turn off the heat but to supply power to the motor so that tumbling and air circulation continue. Finally, the cam follower completes the circuit and turns off electricity to the motor.

Despite the seeming fragility of such a device, the cam, its follower, and its contacts are among the most common ways of operating electrical circuits that do different tasks under the same roof. In fact, the cam/ contact device, with the synchronous motor to turn the cam, is a fairly sturdy citizen among electrical members. Wear occurs at the contacts themselves, at the cam follower, at the reduction gears of the motor, and at the motor, and the wire leads can come undone. If the switch doesn't push the contacts together, no movement of the dryer will take place. If it pushes only one set together, the motor will run but the heater won't in an electric dryer. If the timer motor won't run, the dryer may start, once you push the timer switch, but it won’t complete the cycle or do anything along the way.

A dryer's electrical problems do not begin and end with the timer and its contacts, as we already know. Troubleshooting a dryer that won't work at all does usually begin at the timer switch, once past the door switch, the fuse box, and the plug and cord. That's troubleshooting an electric dryer that simply won't come on. But if the motor turns on, and you can hear the timer's synchronous motor moving (though some of them are so quiet that only a tester or visual inspection can determine movement), and no heat comes on, don't think first of the timer. Examine the heating circuit. Remember - before doing any examination of any circuit, you should pull out the plug.

We have already noted that if the push switch doesn't push both sets of contacts together, but does push one of them, that one will be the motor. That means the heater won't come on. Let's assume that the main switch is working. The next port of call in troubleshooting lack of heat should be the heating element. This is an open coil type that is threaded through ceramic insulators mounted on the heater housing. Electricity (230 volts) enters at terminals on the upper part of the heater housing. The heater housing is attached to the rear panel of the dryer with 14 screws. An inlet opening directs the inlet airflow over the heating element, then to the fan.

Heating element terminals and a safety thermostat are mounted at the top rear of the housing. To get at the heating element for inspection necessitates removing the 14 housing screws. Check the heating element for loose terminal wire, burned terminal wire, or broken (separated) heating element. If, as we noted above, the broken heating element wire is near the terminal post, you can stretch the unbroken part of it sufficiently to attach it to the post and avoid having to buy a new heater element. If the heating element is broken somewhere among the ceramic insulators, you have two choices — to replace the element or repair the break with a sleeve. It is important to look carefully at the heating coils; they can be broken at a point that is hard to see but can be spotted by careful. So don't hesitate to finger the coil throughout its length. If the coil is unbroken and the terminals appear to be in good shape, without corrosion, the next place to look — perhaps even before you check out the coil — is the heat selector switch.

But, generally speaking, switches last longer than heating coils. The heat selector switch is either a rotary (turning) switch or a pushbutton. If it refuses to turn on the heat in any position (rotary) or any pushbutton choice, the odds are that the switch needs replacement. Of course, the movement of electricity is always from the main timer switch around to the various components, but we're assuming that the main timer switch is not defective and that all the wiring contacts are solidly made. The heat selector switch is a four- or five-position switch (no matter whether knob or pushbuttons) to the left of the timer dial. Its removal is from the rear. Motor problems begin with the motor switch. On these Montgomery Ward motors, there are externally mounted capacitors and switches.

The switch, capacitor, and overload protection circuit all can be replaced if defective, meaning you don't have to replace the entire motor as in some cases. If the motor needs to be taken out for any reason, you first have to release the belt or belts. The motor is mounted on a base and has adjusting bolts. These bolts shouldn't be turned, excepting when the motor is put back and appears to require adjustment. Motor removal requires that the dryer cylinder (the drum) be removed first. Dryer cylinder removal requires removal of the rear cylinder shaft, belt, and other components directly attached to it. It's a big job, so avoid it if possible by making certain that any motor involvement is actually inside the motor, not, as is the usual case, in the switches and wiring. These 1/2-horse-power motors are extremely sturdy.

The overload protector may respond to overheating in the motor and turn it off as the result of lint buildup which can block the motor vents. Thorough inside cleaning of the dryer can correct that, but the motor also needs cleaning out and may require ingenuity to get all the lint out of it.

The electric ignition system of a gas dryer has four basic parts — a combined pressure regulator and gas valve in the same case, a flame-sensor switch, and a safety relay mounted with the flame-sensor switch, and an ignition point system driven by a motor. These components control the flame and pressure of the gas burner; the flame switch has a rod and tube sensing element. Heat on the rod and tube forces it to move, and the movement opens the flame switch contacts. As they open, an arc jumps across the contacts.

A small motor, such as you find in electric shavers, drives the igniter points, one of which it pushes open, and this creates a hot blue spark which ignites the gas. These electrical components obviously wear and may cause the contacts to burn out or to weld together. The small motor may fail. Gas component failures of various sorts can also occur, but they are beyond the scope of this discussion. Any electrical component can be replaced. Solid-state controls on dryers (and washers and other home appliances) don't change the basic components, but they do change the way the switches work. They add a layer of complexity. Electronic controls, using light-emitting diodes (LED's) and touch sensors, are fairly foolproof, but the connections and links to other components may not be, and that is where the troubleshooting starts. You always start with wiring, and the switches — thermostats, relays, etc. — which the electronic controls are wired to and serve to activate. Solid-state controls must be replaced when they cease to function. You can't repair them. But you can definitely ask at a dryer repair shop or a technician regarding the same.

When in doubt you can always call our appliance repair LA based company. We at All America smart appliance Repair Company are here to serve you better by giving quality services for all your repair service needs. Dryer repairs top the list of the most repairs we give in a year. In an around Los Angeles households can  be assured that we are here to serve you  better at all times, round the clock, all year round. Just give us a call, visit our office or drop in an email and we will call you back instantly. If your dryer is giving you trouble, don’t fret over it. You can get the immediate attention of any of our expert technicians and your dryer needs would be taken care of in a jiffy. Never delay to call when your dryer is showing symptoms of not working properly. Deal with it immediately. You can never fully know what is wrong, is it with the motors, controls or any other parts.

So the smart thing to do would be to call in a repair technician and get a first hand diagnosis of what is making the dryer work so bad or it being malfunctioning. The root cause must be some faulty work of any of the integral part. The dryer is one electronic appliance that you want to preserve for a longer period of time.