[harkplumb]

My Maytag dryer suddenly stopped drying clothes.

I turned on the machine and went outside to check for air flow from the vent and found it putting out a powerful blast of cold air.

I went back to the machine... turned it off and opened the small square access door on the front of the lower front of the machine. With my safety goggles on I shined a flash light into the front access door so I could view the gas valve mechanism and igniter.

I asked my wife to turn on the machine and saw no activity at the igniter at all. She turned off the machine and unplugged it from its power source. I then disconnected all the spade connectors that I could reach and then put them back on thinking that sometimes spade terminals can oxidize and cause a poor connection however this did not cure the problem.

Should I just first assume that the igniter is bad and replace it? How can I test the igniter to make sure it is bad?

Thanks for your help!

[parttime]

The igniter can be tested using a volt/ohm meter, do you have one and know how to use it?

[harkplumb]

I do have a volt meter. Do I just simply test it for continuity? Disconnect the power source, set the meter at RX1KQ then touch the leads to the igniter terminals and see if I get a reading? If I get a reading it means the igniter is good... if I don't get a reading the igniter is bad?
Am I thinking correctly?

[parttime]

Yep that's dead on, better to check and be sure instead of just replacing parts. Here's a short video if you need a little help.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i3bCKAWu50