# Whirlpool Estate electric dryer not heating up



## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

Well I checked some previous threads like this and did a few things to start.

#1 Checked connections at the breaker, both lines and ground are solid. Flipped breaker off & back on just for kicks, still doesn't heat up.

#2 Flipped breaker off and removed back cover. Set my meter to the 200 ohm mark and tested the top piece. (pic #3, it's above the heating element...maybe a heat sensor?) Anyways this one was reading anywhere from 25-50 all over the place.

#3 Removed the heating element and visually inspected it. Coils weren't damaged and all connections appeared to be solid. Tried to read this with my meter but wasn't exactly sure how to. Pic #4 shows the connections before I touched them and pic #5 shows a more direct shot after I removed them. Is the white & black wire the ground? If so when I took a reading between it and the one hot connector I got a reading of about 0.5 to 0.8 varying.

Based off this would you say the heat sensor (assuming that's the sensor above the heating element) is bad and therefore causing the element to not kick on?

As always, thanks for any help & feedback. :thumbup:


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

No mention of ever checking for incoming power to make sure you have 220 volts to the outlet.


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## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

Sorry, didn't check it initially. Just metered it and I'm getting 122v on the red line and 0 on the black.

EDIT - Hmm Ok, so I metered from the breaker to the bus bar and each terminal gave me 120v. Yet at the plug only red reads 120v, black to either red or neutral yields 0v. Would that mean I've got a short in the black wire between the breaker & my plug? The dryer is only 5ft from the panel so the run isn't very long at all. I inspected it and didn't see anything obvious...

UPDATE - I checked again this morning and I'm getting 120v at red & black at the plug. Not sure what I was doing wrong last night, must not of had the leads securely in the plug.


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## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

Since I verified I have full power to the dryer would the likely culprit be the thermostat that's giving me a 25-50ohm reading? From what I understand it should be near 0 if it's functioning properly.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

that top thing you are checking is a thermal fuse, there should be no resistance at all. I have no idea why you would be getting any kind of an ohms reading. I do not see any mention that you checked the thermostat( the black disc on the heating element terminal. Did you ohm the element itself, sometimes a visual is not good enough. First before you go any further, check for 240 volts at the terminal block of your dryer, not 120v from red or black to neutral but 240 volts across red and black.


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## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

Just tried red to black and I definitely don't have 240v. Depending on how I wiggle the leads it might jump from 20 to 50 to a little over 100v but it drops right back to 0v. I checked and all 3 wires going into the dryer receptacle are in solid.


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## fetzer85 (Dec 4, 2009)

Should I have 240v from one breaker lug to the other? Because I'm getting 0v there also.

EDIT: Ok I'm an idiot. There was no problem with the power supply to the dryer. I still had my ohm meter range on 200 when I was checking for 240v  Once I turned it up to 600 I was getting 240v at the breaker and at the receptacle. I don't use my multimeter much so that one's definitely on me. At that point I realized it was a problem with the dryer itself. I decided to inspect the heat coils again in more detail. I checked the easily visible ones by hand and found no issues. Then I took a long screwdriver and moved around the coils that are between the outer coils & the metal cover. Turns out the middle coil had a break in it. Now I just need to find a decent replacement for it. Thanks to those who chimed in. Through your help and me figuring out my own tool I was able to diagnose it.

UPDATE 5/22/13 - The replacement element came today, popped it in and she heats like new. :thumbsup:


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