Ask Me Help Desk - Kenmore Dryer not heating -wire connector discoloration

Hi,
I have a Kenmore Dryer not heating but spins and appears to be working fine.
I've visually check the heating element and don't see any breakage on the coil.
I do see wire connector discoloration on the two thermostat , (hi-limit tstat and operating tstat). I'm planning on replacing both. Do I need to redo the wire connectors as well?
I don't have an ohmeter and don't know how to use one, Is it worth buying one to check to make sure the 2 thermostats I'm replacing are the real culprit?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

As long as the wire isn't brittle, then just cut off the discolored part, strip accordingly and put a fresh connector on the end.

Before you buy parts, make sure you clean out all of the lint in the exaust system under the dryer. Sometimes it can accumulate under the drum, around the blower and squirrel cage causing inefficent heating.

Thanks Andy. I looked around the blower and housing and found a whole bunch of lint and trash in there. I also noticed that the blower wheel is not mounted on the motor. It somehow got crossthreaded and came loose because of big debree in the motor housing.
After seeing that I decided to spend $12 on a multimeter and checked the tstats that I was going to replace because of the bad terminals but to my surprise they actually check out good. So I'm going to replace the blower wheel first hoping that its what causing my dryer not to heat.

Removing the dryer lint should help it. I had the same problem with my dryer once, before I knew more about it, I unknowingly replaced a working element. The dryer still didn't work, it wasn't until I cleaned out the lint under the dryer that the dryer began to heat properly again.

Good luck!

Have you checked your vent yet. Maybe your vent is clogged up with lent or restricted in some way. I would check the vent if you have not done so already.

I am wiring a Hampton Bay Huntington III 52" Ceiling fan and would like to use separate switches for the fan and the light. The schematic only shows how to wire it for one swith tying both the blue and black wires together. No other onformation is available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael baker

Have you checked your vent yet. Maybe your vent is clogged up with lent or restricted in some way. I would check the vent if you have not done so allready.

Not sure which is the vent but I did check the big aluminum tubing connected to the dryer and wall and I did see a little lint in there. Most of the lint and trash(qtips, screws, pens.. etc) I was a bit surprise how all those things got in there. :)

This is my first dryer repair and I'm glad I'm fixing it because I learned a lot just by reading forums such as this. Although my wife is a little disappointed because she really wanted to get one of those fancy, "energy saver", expensive dryer and washer ( yes that's right.. a new washer too.. its not even broken and she already wants to buy a new one..! For heavens sake they cost $1500 for a pair! )
I'm just glad I'm able to fix it to save a lot of money!
Use that money to get a boat. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAMULAN

Not sure which is the vent but I did check the big aluminum tubing connected to the dryer and wall and I did see a little lint in there. Most of the lint and trash(qtips, screws, pens..etc) I was a bit surprise how all those things got in there. :)

This is my first dryer repair and I'm glad I'm fixing it because I learned alot just by reading forums such as this. Although my wife is a little disappointed because she really wanted to get one of those fancy, "energy saver", expensive dryer and washer ( yes thats right ..a new washer too..its not even broken and she already wants to buy a new one..!!! for heavens sake they cost $1500 fora pair!!)
I'm just glad I'm able to fix it to save a lot of money!
Use that money to get a boat. :)

Don't do it man! :)

If you do decide to replace the dryer, just get a plain old ordinary cheap dryer with a simple timer and so on... they are FAAAAR easier to fix when they break down.

Remember, just because it has a lot of bells and whistles, doesn't mean that something isn't going to break on it sooner or later, then you will be in here asking about what an "EL" code means or something like that, to which an answer is hard to find. Remember, a $1500 dryer and a $250 dryer perform the same task, the circulate hot air over wet clothes. One just looks flashyer, and will help you keep up with the Jones, it will also help you keep up with the Jones repair bills too.

Ive got a cheap $350 maytag, had it for 7 years now, never had a problem with it, I "delint" it every so often.

About your lint. Not only does lint accumulate in the aluminm tube behind the dryer, it also accumulates under the drum, where the blower wheel and thermostat, etc are located.
On my dryer, this chamber is accessed by removing the front over of the dryer, then it reveals itself. You will find a lot of lint in there, I betcha.

Even if your element does turn out to be faulty, you will want to clean all of the lint out of the dryer, give it a good "servicing", because it is the excess lint that has restricted air flow and may have led to premature element failure.

The dryer is turning on but there is no heat to dry the clothes also I set it at 70 minutes and it ran all night and didn't know this was taking place until the next morning
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Cindi