Hello folks,

We have a 7 year old Kenmore HE4 electric dryer which stopped working this week. The control panel seems to work right up to the point where the motor begins. At that point a beep is heard instead of the motor kicking over. I have tried diagnosing the problem using the folded technician sheet stored in a sleeve inside the dryer sides.

In trying to find an answer I have:

1. Run the diagnostic test - all lights and beeps respond appropriately, including the door switch.
2. I have checked the machine control electronics - specifically checking the resistance between P1-3 and P1-4 on the board. My meter showed no resistance between those two contacts. The two contacts noted are specifically noted in the troubleshooting guide.
3. I have checked the motor connector resistance between the blue and white/orange wires, and then the blue and violet wires. Both showed resistances in the 2.5-2.6 ohm range, although it was easy to get varying resistances depending on how I pressed the contact with the meter probe tips.
4. I checked the pulley/belt switch - it showed a resistance when contact was made.
5. I also checked the resistance of the thermal fuse. You can't visually see if the fuse has broken, so I checked the resistance across the two terminals - it showed no resistance whatsoever... so I think this might be were the problem is.

I have ordered a new thermal fuse. It should arrive in a day or two and I'll report back as to whether this solved the problem or if it is something else. I 'hope' this is the fix... otherwise it might be the machine control electronics (based on no scientific data), mentioned later in the series of troubleshooting checks, or the motor, where I got differing resistances. It also may just be the wiring harness... which is the last item mentioned on the 'motor circuit' troubleshooting series of items... kind of 'if it isn't any of the pervious things it might be the wiring... '.

Frustrating.

Thanks for listening,

Hello folks,

I'm reporting back on the thermal fuse. That was the culprit. Replacement was simple - it is inside the front kick panel, behind the easily removed tin ducting. I think I now understand why it failed. One of our dog's mats has been chewed, and he pulls its edge stuffing out every so often. I washed and dried it along with his other 'linens' last two weekends ago and there was large amount of the stuff covering the lint filter vent. I'll bet the airflow was blocked enough that the heating element heated to too high a temp and that caused the fuse to fail.

So our laundry is back in business. Thanks for listening.

Awaiting the next appliance failure... :)