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    • 27 April 2024 02:00 PM Until 03:00 PM
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      All Appliantology tech members are invited to join in this workshop on all things Appliantological. 
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Evidence of mouse inside control panel


6lackM3tal

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Was Gifted a slightly used, unworking Whirlpool electric dryer. It won't heat up. Replaced all of the common problems. (heating element, upper limit thermo, thermostat control, 2 different fuses, pigtail).

Only thing left would be the wiring and the controls. There is evidence of mice living inside the control panel, and one of them chewed thru insulation on one of the timer wires (white-blue). I was able to read continuity from the exposed wire to the terminal. I think I'm on the right track. Any advice? Looks like the only path from the chewed wire would be to ground. Is that enough to short the timer?

I don't know how to add individual images from Google photos so here's a link to my Google photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/coLz9wDQjMa4aL8M6

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Based on your picture, I can tell you have a dryer with a particularly failure prone timer. Very common for the heater contact in that timer to fail. If that’s the case, then it’s unrelated to your mouse problem.

Also you may be surprised, but a failure in the drive motor can also cause your dryer to run but not heat. So I wouldn’t assume that the timer will fix it for a certainty, or that you must have a wiring problem. Usually mice will chew through the insulation but not through the entire wire. As long as the bare portion isn’t touching anything metal, it doesn’t cause a problem

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Thanks for your prompt reply. What are some good trouble shooting methods to figure out if it's the motor? I found the timer on Amazon for $65 and it'll be here the 31st.

The light blue wires had no continuity from the timer to the fuse. But they had continuity from the fuse to the start switch. It's late and I can't remember if they were on the temperature selector switch

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With the motor running, you need to check for voltage coming through the Line 2 heater circuit in the motor. The motor has a switch that only allows the heater to work if the motor is running. But if you already ordered the timer, just replace it and see if that takes care of your problem. At this point it’s the most likely option

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Burnt contacts in the timer is a pretty common issue with that style of Whirlpool dryer. A quick way to determine if it's the timer is to start the dryer and then sort of tweak/push down on one side of the timer knob as it's running; this sometimes allows the burnt contacts to make contact and energize the heating element. I carry a point file in my toolbox to repair timer contacts. 

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7 minutes ago, EthanRanft said:

That works for you without repeat failures?

It depends how burnt/corroded the contacts are.. as long as there's enough material left to file down to a fresh surface it should work for quite a while. You will also want to slightly bend the required contact(s) after cleaning with the point file to ensure they're making proper contact  (usually bending only the outer one is required). This can also be used to temporarily get the dryer working until a new timer arrives, if you prefer. 

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