Clothes Dryer repair?

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pishta

pishta

I know I'm right....
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I got a GE dryer and its about 10 years old. The motor doesnt start up anymore, sort of just hums and then starts to stink. Its not the belt as it wont even start by itself with no belt on it. Its not seized as I can spin it with my hand. A replacement is anywhere from $30 for a used pull to $481 for a new one! Im thinking its the brush(s) but all I see is one plastic arm under tension that rides on a slip ring. Its sort of a Skeleton frame and there is very little to it. The arm is part of a contact block and there are a set of points in there that looked pretty black, I think its called an inertia switch? Just read that you might be able to file them.....Anyway, thought it may be a simple brush replacement, maybe not? you can see the burned points under the shiny points...This part seems to be unavailable unless you buy the freakin motor.....?
 

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when the arm on top is pushed down (perhaps when its mounted as its on some sort of tensioner) , the shiny point (pin 1) on top opens (from pin 7)and the burned point (pin 3)goes from contacting the top (pin 6 ) to contacting pin 4. I got the schematic but its late....
 
Have you tried your volt meter at the motor connection to see if it has power when switched on? If it does, at least you can rule out anything else. Also the stink is probably the heating element.
 
Ya, those used to be a BIG problem. In years past you could buy parts for 'em. Are you sure it's the switch, or are the start windings burned up?
 
They use all 220 volts to get a heavy wet load up and moving. Centrifugal switch then drops motor to 110. Contacts route other 110 to heat element.
There was a motor repair shop near me that would repair them at a reasonable charge. Those days are gone. Its not a bad thing really. In my experience... motor today, timer tomorrow. Then belt and tension idler, guide rollers, bearings, door latch, everything except a new cabinet. Cost of parts totals nearly as much as new machine. More if you factor in your time/labor.
A new electric dryer wont be much more energy efficient. A gas machine costs less to run. Can we expect 10 years service from todays products ? Good luck
 
I won't buy GE appliances anymore.

They have problems. The washers are under designed and the tub suspensions break easily, then they won't cover the repairs even if you buy the 'extended warranty'...

I have broken 3 GE washers since moving back here in 2008... I now have a Maytag...


The seal on my GE refrigerator door came loose before it was 3 years old and I had to replace it....


No more GE for me....
 
X2 on GE products.

Ice maker shot after one year.

Door control panel on fridge shorted out after 9 months.

Dish washer literally fell apart over the course of 9 years while I continually repaired it.

Microwave glitched and would catch food on fire every time no matter what the setting.

GE SUCKS!
 
Here's something to keep in mind about extended warranties when buying electronics:

Why do I need an extended warranty?

[ame]https://youtu.be/j6YEpXS_ugU[/ame]
 
That dryer motor has a 110 volt side for when you push the start switch it energizes the start windings the the cent. switch on the motor moves and allows the motor to go into run mode. When the motor goes to run it closes the second set of contacts 220 volt for the heating element. Those motors were and are very cost low cost to make and not worth fixing. The cost of the new motor seems awful high but most of the time they would want you to buy a new unit and 10 years is the new 20 years for most things. Buy the take out or use the difference and replace the unit.
 
How do i test windings? The 3 leads off the windings ohm out to each other at between 3 and 8 ohms. Im going to try and file that point. Its a gas dryer. And turns out the blower wheel is stuck on (stripped the 7/8 plastic nut and i know its a reverse thread) so i can just buy a used motor unless i can get that blower wheel off.
 
Thrift stores? Around here dryers occasionally show up there and on CL for WAY cheaper 'n you can fix a bunch of stuff. SOMETIMES they are a real buy, LOL, like someone changing from gas to electric or vice versa, moving, etc.
 
Had my washer repaired a few weeks ago and the mechanic suggested Speed Queen when I decide to replace. Apparently their primary business is commercial laundries, hospitals, hotels etc.
 
Whirlpool. Jes sayin.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go0_2_x9qzc"]Whirlpool Washer Carnage - YouTube[/ame]
 
Crap, I just bought a new GE washer. They are really expensive now. The maytag store is closed and I wanted to buy from a local guy. I hope this one lasts as long as my old maytag!
 
Im F'd: The run motor winding is Ohm'n out at 1 when it should be like 3.5-5.5, and the cage blower is stuck on so I cant the motor out, useless plastic nut just twisted the flats right off. Time to hit the Goodwill. I already got the stuff on the line......
 
That's what we use. We use the drier MAYBE once a month and that's it. Maybe a touch more if it rains a lot. We just caint afford all that 220.

In fact, Kitty just broke another clothesline today. I gotta get a new one in the morning. lol
 
WE have a Sears Kenmore gas drier that we bought new in 1981. It's powered by a 110 outlet.

The sucker is 34 years old, and still works fantastically. It was $289.00, new.

It's got 3 heat settings, and a timer, a igniter button, and a door switch that stops the drum, switches of the heat when the door is opened.

I replaced the belt in it once about 8 years ago, and replaced the pull handle in the lint screen. Total cost of repairs in 34 years: $26.00

Each time my wife looks at a new drier, and realizes the cost of replacement, she says, "we'll wait until we need one". Suits me just fine.
 
The capacitor question above is a good thing to look into. You have what is called a split-phase motor with start and run circuits. Without a properly operating start circuit, the motor will try to start on the run winding. Not enough torque to start it, even with the belt off. There should be an internal clixon switch that is a thermal protector. It will open if the motor gets too hot. Don't want to cycle that little switch too many times.

If it is a capacitor start/induction run motor, the capacitor is prolly bad. Their life expectancy is as low as 5 years, but usually more than 10 years. The low resistance you are seeing could be a shorted start capacitor(if you have one). They also fail open, but it shows as smoked or some of the internal stuff blows out through a little blow hole.

It's nice to see some of us still try to "save" an otherwise good whatever. Like an old Mopar! Good luck, let us know how you make out.
 
Frankie said:
WE have a Sears Kenmore gas drier that we bought new in 1981. It's powered by a 110 outlet.

The sucker is 34 years old, and still works fantastically. It was $289.00, new.

It's got 3 heat settings, and a timer, a igniter button, and a door switch that stops the drum, switches of the heat when the door is opened.

I replaced the belt in it once about 8 years ago, and replaced the pull handle in the lint screen. Total cost of repairs in 34 years: $26.00

Each time my wife looks at a new drier, and realizes the cost of replacement, she says, "we'll wait until we need one". Suits me just fine.
Click to expand...

Smart girl. ^^^^^^

So why'd she marry you? LOL
 
OK, the motor seems to be a brushless design as its just a skeleton frame and a bunch of windings. I filed the points and ohm'd out the winding and its toast. So I start looking for a motor, EZ enough to replace, pull the motor, unscrew the cage blower off the axle and replace motor, yadda yadda. WELL, it turns out the F'n blower is a plastic impeller formed on an aluminum threaded center thats screwed onto the shaft in a L hand thread. 7/8 socket should unscrew the impeller off a supported axle...ON HELL! the plastic just deforms and turns into a rounded nub. Upon further investigation, the impeller is captive held in a duct that is thermoset together so you cant get the friggin thing out anyway to hold with anything to unscrew it. So I said "F this" and took a roto-zip and cut the impeller off the shaft. all that was left was the plastic/AL center on the shaft and I was able to wiggle the duct off (that I drilled out the spot welds on to seperate...its a $96 dollar assembly in addition to the as high as $481 replacement motor from the dealer) so now I can grab that SOB with a pipe wrench and unscrew it...no dice! The plastic ended up seperating from the AL threaded center, even better I thought! Now Im grasping the knurled threaded insert with vice grips and trying to unscrew the thing (Righty-loosey in this case) Nope, that thing ended up turning the pulley on the other side that was chucked in the bench vice. I was not defeated: I took a grinder and ground down 2 opposite sides of the threaded insert and split it in half, sure enough it was L hand threaded as I thought but it was on so tight that it just wouldnt move with my setup. After all that, I find the impeller is not sold seperately any more and the only used one on Ebay was sold back in july. I slapped the thing back together and traded it in on a used Whirlpool for $160 delivered and installed. 90 day warranty and it cant be any harder to fix than this POS, planned obsolescence?
 
If my memory serves correct, Whirlpool is the one with heating element strung round and round the back behind the tub. A short little journal is bolted to the back of the tub and riding in a nylon saddle. Rearward travel of the drum is against a 1/4 diameter steel ball with tiny spring steel finger behind it.
I don't believe there is any machine on the planet that doesn't have its own point of failure. Good luck with it.
 
Its gas so no toaster heating element. Turns out its a Kenmore, my mistake. Ill tell you how this one turns out in 12 years...hopefully. Those Whirlpools were over $1000 a piece at the Sears outlet! Must the the Mercedes of dryers. And why are washers less expensive than dryers???
 
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