[Chameleon]

Our white-westinghouse electric dryer, model # DE700EDD5, quit heating. My husband checked the wiring and found that one wire had melted and it broke off in his hand, so he rewired it. Now we are getting heat, but very little. This dryer is one we bought refurbished about 4 months ago from a reliable family owned business. Anybody have any ideas as to what this may be? Any help would be appreciated and thank you very much in advance. Also, we don't have an ohm (spelled right?) meter.

[Credendovidis]

Based on the data you provided, I guess the heater element is only heating up on half power.
If you have a multi meter you can measure if that is indeed the problem.
You have to do a little research here.

General check procedure heating element:

Make sure you FIRST disconnect the power cable from the wall socket , and put it on the ground in front of you.
Remove the rear panel and have a look as to what is going on.
The heater element normally has 2 connections.
One is neutral, the other is hot.
There are two ways of powering :
System 1 : half power is obtained by thermostat cycling of the power.
System 2 : half power is obtained by time switching via a relay.

First test : remove the wiring from the heater element and measure it's resistance (in Ohms) . Should be approx. 15-25 Ohm.

Switch the multi meter to AC high voltage NOW. Reconnect the heater element. Now you get the part where you have to be very careful :

ALWAYS HAVE SOMEBODY AROUND WHO CAN PULL THE POWER CORD FROM THE SOCKET : IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE !!! Instruct the person what to do : NOT to touch or pull you, but to pull the power cord from the socket in case of problems. Once the power is disconnected they can help you.

Plug in the power cord. Close the door (empty drum) and switch the dryer to full power and start the machine.

Is the drum rotating properly? Is the fan blowing air in one continuous flow?
Measure the voltage over the heater element : is it Voltage stable or cycling?
If the voltage is cycling, is the frequency stable?
What is the speed of switching in seconds? Test 2 minutes to make sure. Note down the results, or call the switching to your assistant and let him/her note down the passed seconds.

Repeat the measurement, but now with the heat setting on half power.
Note down the results once again.

Come back to the board and discuss your findings!

Success !

:)