You Can Do It Yourself Electric Clothes Dryer Repair Made Easy

Whirlpool makes the following brands: Kenmore (model numbers beginning with 110.), Kirkland, Roper, Estate, and various other little known brands. You can always tell a Whirlpool product because they have the lint filter through the top of the dryer. (One exception has the lint filter in the door. Check the Model Number, the small Kenmore stack set washer dryer made by Whirlpool has a filter inside mounted on the back of the dryer).

Follow all safety precautions.  These are the simple components that need to be operational in order for the dryer to operate. I can tell you that many service calls over years resulted in a problem the owner could easily have resolved.

1^st Power. You have to make sure that the power is turned on to the dryer. You need to check the circuit breaker and make sure that the breaker is turned on. Sometimes the breaker will shut off. The breaker is designed to protect the circuit from shorts or overuse and will shut itself off. Sometimes the breaker is weak or nearing failure and so it shuts itself off due to resistance. My experience is that from time to time the breaker is not on. The dryer will not run.

To reset a breaker, turn it off making sure that it is pushed all the way to the off position. The dryer breaker is a double throw switch. It may have two knobs or two knobs tied together with a connector of some sort. This is because the 220 Volt circuit needs to have two links to the power in the box, one link to each side of the panel box.

Then turn it on all the way, making certain that the switches are both pushed all the way to the on position. If the breaker turns itself off immediately, it will click and drop back from the full on position, then you have a short. Do not try to turn the breaker on again.

2^nd Timer. The timer on the dryer must be turned to a selection on the drying cycle. For testing purposes, it is common for repair to set the timer to 30 minutes on the timed cycle. Turn the timer clockwise and listen to the action. Do you hear clicks and it appears that the timer knob is actuating the timer? If not, pull the knob off and inspect it. Sometimes the knob is broken and will not turn the timer mechanism. Normally the timer knob is reinforced with a metal clip, check to see if the metal clip has fallen off or if there is a crack in the plastic where the timer connects to the mechanism. This is a great problem to discover because it fixes your dryer for about 15 dollars.

3^rd Start Switch. The start switch is the switch that is activated to start the dryer. Most commonly, the switch is activated by pressing a button or turning a knob. If your dryer starts by turning a knob, pull the knob off and inspect it carefully. A broken dryer start knob is a great discovery because the knob can be replaced inexpensively and without a service call.

4^th Door Switch. Closing the door activates a door switch by depressing a lever. Make sure the lever is operational by pressing it with your finger, it should feel spring loaded and you should be able to hear a clicking sound as you depress the lever. If the lever is loose or missing, is not spring loaded, or does not make a click, the problem is with the door switch or activator. They need to be replaced.

Observe all safety recommendations. Never work on an appliance until it has been disconnected from the power by unplugging it. Shutting the circuit breaker off is not enough, since a bad circuit breaker could allow electricity through to the appliance or you may have turned the wrong breaker off. Mistakes happen all the time and circuit breakers are labeled incorrectly all the time.

To be safe, unplug the dryer before working on it. This applies to electric dryers only. Gas dryers must have the gas supply turned off as well.