Maytag Dryer died

[Repair-man]

 



Go round back where the cord attaches and  remove that cover plate. Measure voltage there only, also check the wires there for loose connections. Remember, there must be 240 volts between L1 nd L2

[Mr. Fix-It]

I would check for voltage at the start switch with the dryer plugged in and the timer in the on position. If you read 110 or so volts it's probably the motor . If you dont it's probably the timer.

[TXwannabe]

Both good suggestions - thank you both!

[RegUS_PatOff]

With the Timer set to Dry, and the Start Button at rest, there should be 120v on one side of the Start Button (tested to chassis, ground), then the Timer, both Thermal Fuses, the Motor, and the (internal) Motor Overload are connected together.

When you push the Start Button, that 120v should now be 0v (if the Door Switch is good).

[TXwannabe]

 

OK, guys! Kudos to you all! Repair-man, I checked the voltage on the back panel as you suggested, and found the issue! It turns out the bakelite (or whatever the dark brown plastic is these days) on one of the sockets of the surface receptacle had broken, and allowed the prong of the plug to break contact, so there was no problem with the dryer at all!!

Replaced the receptacle and all is good! Wife is happy, and you know that when Momma is happy, it's all good!

Thanks again to all of you! I love this board!

[JWWebster]

Wow glad you got it fixed.

[TXwannabe]

It was strange - when I checked the voltage at the receptacle, it was OK. I guess I had stuck the probe from the meter in the receptacle just right, but when I plugged the dryer back into the receptacle, then checked the voltage at the back of the dryer, I had zero.

I guess I'm lucky we didn't have a fire - a little surprised the breaker didn't trip.

[RegUS_PatOff]

The voltage can be OK at the Outlet, but if there's a bad/loose connection at the Dryer Terminal Strip, the Dryer won't have the voltage, and neither will your meter if measuring there.

A bad/loose/open connection won't cause the breaker to trip
(it's not a short nor over-load).

A fire could be caused by the
heat of the bad connection, even with normal loads.

[JWWebster]

Along time ago in a galaxy far far away my very first dryer I uncrated out the box and installed the pigtail I stripped out the nut on one of the hot legs. I delivered the dryer without any problem. Later that day the old timer told me he had just come from replacing the terminal and pigtail from my fubu. Luckily for me I had other skills which impressed the boss. That day I repo'd a 90 days same as cash big shot school principle who had forgotten to "mail" the check.