Kenneth watson
Jun 11, 2015, 10:05 AM
After running for a few minutes dryer shuts off let sit it will start up again and do the same thing
ma0641
Jun 11, 2015, 01:12 PM
Check your vent system, in the dryer and the wall vent, sounds like the high temp safety is kicking out. When the vent pipe cools, it can start again.
drtom4444
Jun 12, 2015, 08:32 PM
Most likely it is dirty and lint deposits have built up, as it always does, in all the air ducts which will cause the main safety to blow causing the problem you described. The thermal fuse is behind the drum and positioned so that you will have to take the dryer apart to get to it. There is usually more than one fuse. You need a multi-meter to find which safety has blown. You will have to take it all apart and clean the drier out thoroughly or it is all for nothing. Every air duct will have to be removed and scraped and washed out to remove baked on lint deposits which bakes on like a concrete lining. This will burn so the manufacturer has installed the safeties to keep from having a house fire. The safeties are oval-shaped with a round center part containing the safety with two plug-on terminals for the wires and when they burn open, from the dryer being dirty and overheating, nothing will work, or it will not heat. Using an ohm meter you put a lead on each terminal of the safety, with one wire unplugged, and if it is good you will have a reading of about zero; if it is bad it will read infinity. On your dryer you may also have to test some thermistors if it has them. They are sensors that are around in different places to test the temperature and you test them with a meter set to ohms and compare the reading to a chart. They are specific to the dryer, but if you read nothing or a short you will know it is bad. Probably, once you clean it the dryer will run find after the blown safeties are replaced, too. Driers were the number one cause of fires at one time, hence now we have safety fuses. Look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMP7BW1lLs4 to see how. Also look at these to get an idea about how to clean it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBiRw-KElC4 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFTZGgVisCI
Electric Clothes Dryers (http://www.electrical-forensics.com/Dryer/ElectricClothesDryers.html) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6wmD502-xE and: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBNDbyRm68M&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a73HTFkcB90&feature=relmfu
When you finish cleaning the drier it is best to also replace the belt, too, because you do not want to have to disassemble it all over again and if the belt is over two years old you should replace it, and you will have to grease all bearings with white lithium hi-temp grease. Here are some manuals:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Whirlpool%20Dryers.zip
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Frigidair-Whirlpool%20dryers.zip
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Maytag%20Dryers.zip