7 replies to this topic

[Cactus Bob]

I have a ge dryer where everything works except there is no heat

I have not been there yet because it's 250 miles away and i will need to repair it on a weekend , so it will have to be a one time out and a low chance of getting it wrong

the world i live in is an all electric one here in phoenix Arizona . I have not had to work on a gas dryer in over 10 years
I think (99% sure) i know whats wrong , but it would be great to hear from someone who works on them regularly

this is what i was told it does : press start , drum spins , loud click , red glow , red glow goes out , no fire ever

what do you think ?

thanks in advance

PS :SER# td709162w

[RegUS_PatOff]

GE DPXH46G made by Frigidaire
Dryer has been working OK up till now at this location ?

Gas Valve Coils
http://www.repaircli...PartDetail/3449

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

I second the gas valve coil.

But make sure they haven't turned the gas off for some reason first - if it has been working and just quit working and nothing has changed with their gas supply most likely it's going to be the gas valve coil kit.

[Cactus Bob]

Some things never change , I half thought by now this common failure point would have been "something that used to happen"

I never understood the coil failure thing anyway . Why should something like a coil ever go bad
I repair antique radios and electronics , coils almost never go bad so to me a coil going open or shorted should just never happen , but i have changed a number of them over the years

i will get a coil kit and change it out this weekend and update this post with the results

thanks to everyone to have taken the time to read this post and the responders

[RegUS_PatOff]

... Why should something like a coil ever go bad

they get sluggish .. maybe mechanicallly ..
They may be safety designed for "exact" force, any low variance would not allow the Gas to flow ...

[Budget Appliance Repair]

No they don't get sluggish, they usually just go dead OPEN after then heat up when they start to go bad.

Most of the time when you are having problems with the coils breaking down/opening after they warm up they will usually do it within 5 or 10 minutes tops, 2-4 cycles of the flame usually, (If the coil hasn't failed completely open).

I've had some that have drove me nuts, coin-op in a rental unit, suspected coils were the problem from beginning but did my normal standard checks, including checking the cycling temps and after watching the temps cycle perfectly for 3 or 4 cycles and the flame was still working perfectly let it run for another 10 minutes and still didn't fail so I just cleaned the dryer and check everything else, (I really hate changing parts if I haven't actually seen them fail). Of coarse got a call back 2 days later and then coils acted up almost immediately, replaced them and all has been well.

Usually when one of the coils open/fails after running for a few minutes it will take 5 to 10 minutes before it will cool down enough to start working again. You can do a physical ohms check on the coils and they can be completely within specs, run the dryer till the flame fails to ignite, open it up real quick and do an ohms check on the coils again and you will usually find that one of the coils now will read OPEN. Wait 10 to 15 minutes or throw the coil in a freezer for 4-5 minutes and check it again and it will check good again.

The repeated thermal expansion from the coils heating up when in use and cooling down must eventually cause a broken wire internally in the coil somewhere then when it cools they can reconnect again, because the ones that I have tested like above will usually read a complete OPEN circuit when the coil finally fails to open the gas valve.

[Cactus Bob]

Case closed : coil kit cured the problem , thanks all

[certified tech group 51]

Fast fix, but, 250 miles ? Did ya get paid by the mile ?? Only at that distance, it had to be a relative..... Or a shorter blonde with a good personality and body that..... ............