8 replies to this topic

[InGoditrst]

Hi Samurai,

First, let me say how much I appreciate your website. :D I quickly went from not knowing how to access the inside of the dryer to knowing names of the parts.  At least the seemingly most important parts.

Anyway, my dryer heats for about 5 minutes or so and then; no heat. :( I removed the top and front panel in order to view the inside assembly.  As I quickly discovered, I can't check for ingition functionality because if I start the dryer, the tub turns. This is a bit of a problem since the front panel is the support for the tub. :shock:

So, what should I do to find the problem? :? Do you think it is probably the solenoid coils?

[InGoditrst]

Oh, Model number is MDG336RES1.;)

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Hey, thanks for the compliments about Fixitnow.com-- glad you found it helpful! :D

When a gas dryer burner is short cycling, like yours is, 96.465% of the time the problem turns out to be the vent. Run the dryer with the vent completely disconnected from it. No cheating! More troubleshooting help on this page.

[InGoditrst]

The first thing I thought was the vent. So I disconnected it completely from the dryer and it still only heats for a few minutes. I also went through the page you posted. In fact the entire website. Printed it and took it to the garage. And studdied the parts. I guess I'm at a stupor because I really don't know what to do next.

Will a multimeter help me determine the bad part? I can go get one. But I don't really know what to check. Should the dryer be disconnected from the outlet while using a multimeter? Sorry for all the questions. 

Thanks

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Ahh, Grasshopper, it fills my heart with pride to see one of my students diligently doing their homework. Well done!

The problem is either the gas valve coils or the cycling thermostat.

Easiest way to tell which is the problem is to clip a jumper wire across the terminals of the cycling thermostat. Unplug the dryer before attaching the jumper. Use a jumper that has alligator clips on each end, get 'em from Radio Shack, make sure it's the same thickness or thicker than the wires attached to the thermostat. Then plug the dryer back in and run it. If the heat stays on, the problem is the cycling thermostat. If the burner behaves the same way, then replace the gas valve coils. Get the parts through the links above.

[InGoditrst]

Thank you so much. I'm thinking that since I have the dryer apart, and it is 9 years old, maybe, I should go ahead and replace the coils anyway. I can't really test the thermostat while the front panel (tub support) is off. I don't want to put it all back together to find I have to take it apart again. Should I try to replace the belt while I'm at it or do I run the risk of getting myself intoi some real trouble? 

Thank you so much for your help. You've helped me save a ton of moola and I'd like to send you a few bucks. I have only $200 to make it for 2 weeks so I can't promise a lot but I would like to send something.  Where can I send a few bucks?

Sincerely,

Angela

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

[user=60]InGoditrst[/user] wrote:

Thank you so much. I'm thinking that since I have the dryer apart, and it is 9 years old, maybe, I should go ahead and replace the coils anyway.

The coils are easy to change and prone to problems so go ahead and replace them. As long as you have it apart, you might as well replace the belt on a 9 year old dryer.

I can't really test the thermostat while the front panel (tub support) is off.

Don't worry about it. Chances are pretty good that the new coils will whip it good.

Thank you so much for your help. You've helped me save a ton of moola and I'd like to send you a few bucks. I have only $200 to make it for 2 weeks so I can't promise a lot but I would like to send something. Where can I send a few bucks?

Glad to help! :D I do have a Beer Fund that folks make love-offerings to if the Spirit so moves them-- the money is actually used to pay web-related expenses. But you can also help out while helping yourself just by buying the parts you need from my parts partner.

[InGoditrst]

Hello Exalted Grand Master of Appliantology,

 

Well the coils worked beautifully.  Thank you so much. I was so proud of myself. Of course I couldn’t have done it without you:D!!

 

You may have thought I'd forgotten about you, but I didn't. I just needed to wait a few days before making the donation. It's not much but the deed has been done;).

 

Thanks again for all your help and I'll keep you in mind if I need any other repair advice and hopefully I'll be able to give a bigger donation by then.

 

Sincerely,

Angela

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

*And the crowd goes crazy* Thanks for letting us know how it turned out! It's always good to know the final outcome.

And mucho domos for the brewksis! :guzzle: