Brother @Rhubarb Tau posted a fun one for us in the Tech forums. The initial problem was that the machine wouldn't run a cycle. In Rhubarb's words:

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Console would allow cycle and options to be selected, pressing start button for 3 sec. double-beeped to confirm cycle start, but drum doesn't move and motor relay doesn't close

Strangely, there were no errors stored in the control's memory. Our tech simply had to do some more investigating, and what he found was strange...

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Found unit would start normally within several seconds of plugging in, but not after 10 sec. or so after powerup. Letting unit run (starting immediately after powerup), it stopped the drum within ~10sec, believe console lights went dark, and after a few minutes of sitting idle it started throwing an F3E3 (Inlet Thermistor Open/Shorted) error. Measuring the inlet thermistor connection at the ACU showed a completely open-circuit.

Now that is weird. Why would Whirlpool program this machine such that it refuses to run at all when the inlet thermistor circuit is open is beyond me. But now the question becomes: what's the matter with the thermistor circuit?

There's one more crucial piece of information Rhubarb got from the customer that points us in the right direction:

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The customer had a friend try to troubleshoot the dryer when it stopped heating. It turned out to be a bad circuit breaker. After they replaced the breaker, they were left with this weird behavior where it wouldn't start a cycle or close the motor relay.

Uh oh -- it should always raise alarm bells when you hear that the customer (or their friend!) has worked anywhere near the machine. You never know what they could fiddle with.

And sure enough, once our tech opened up the dryer, here's what he found:

Don't see the problem yet? Here's a closer look:

Looks like the customer's friend did more than just replace a breaker -- he clearly did some exploring in the dryer. And unfortunately, it seems he missed the actual connector when plugging the thermistor harness back in, "plugging" it into the plastic housing instead. That's definitely going to cause an open in the thermistor circuit!

Moral of the story: always beware of "customerization!"

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