We have a 15 year old electric clothes dryer. Today ,on the last load it stopped working. When you hit the start button it just makes an odd humming sound, the drum isn't turning and it stops humming as soon as you release the button. Any ideas what the issue could be? I'm thinking the motor sounds like it's jammed. I figured I'd ask here and take a look at it before calling a repair service.
I took one in a rental apart once in an angry drunken fit trying to figure out where the hell my socks went. I found a pair of panties, but no socks.
In any case, if a drunk college student with a leatherman and no directions can take one apart and put it back together, it can't be too hard. Besides, at 15 years old, it might be time to replace it depending on the cost of a repair guy.
Try to jumper the door latch, and see if it works then. I had one that the switch stopped making contact. it sounds like the same symptoms.
There should be an access panel on one of the sides, pop it open shine a light in there and see if the belt is still on it.
Start with the simple stuff first.
I too completely disassembled mine when it wasn't heating anymore. Found a break in one of the heating coils. Which I didn't have to entirely disassemble to get to, just had to remove the front panel. I was curious though, and gave it a through cleaning with the shop vac while I had it torn apart.
dryers have very few parts compared to, say, a washer. Go for it. I'd say check the belt, check if there are any missing clothing pieces or dryer sheets jamming up the blower wheel (which would also stop the motor from turning). Quick question, when you started it before, was it starting with a temporary (like 1 or 2 second long) loud motor sound before settling into the normal noise? If so, it means you motor is hard starting and the bearings are probably dying. If so, your motor might now be frozen. I'd say this is more likely than a belt. under normal conditions, the motor keeps going when you take your finger off the start button. If the belt was broken, it would also keep going/heating/blowing, it just wouldn't dry for crap because stuff wouldn't be tumbling.
Another question- when your finger is on the start button, does it turn, or does the drum stay still?
Also, you say last load, how many loads did you do? they can overheat over multiple loads, especially if you haven't cleaned out the vent lately. There are also thermal fuses in some of them that blow when things get too hot to prevent fire. In gas dryers, it cuts the gas, in electric it cuts everything.
Let it cool and try again.
First thing I thought of was the belt was broken or slipped off. Door switch is another good thing to try. They are pretty simple devices.
At the risk of sounding like the captain of a small paddle-powered vessel... I've had a lot of luck with the Samurai Appliance Repair Man's site fixitnow.com. Tons of free advice and links to diagrams. If you don't have a local appliance shop you can trust, he's got links to some place that you can order parts from, but between advice on his site and the folks at the parts counter and my local mom & pop appliance store, I've been able to fix a number of broken parts on washers and dryers.
Our set is a "vintage" Kenmore, thankfully Sears still has the parts diagrams online. I got parts numbers there, then typed them into Amazon and ordered from them significantly cheaper than through Sears, and for OE parts not aftermarket.
I took it apart and cleaned everything I could by removing the back panel. Then I stuck a long suction hose down the lint trap to clean it out and got loads of crap. So, then I took the housing off the back to get at the blower fan and clean it good. After putting it back together it started and dried a load of towels but still didn't sound right. Removed the load and tried to start it and got the humming noise again. About the third or fourth attemt to restart and I smell electrical stuff and the button does nothing.The drum was turning and it was heating when I had the towels in it. I think the motor is toast and may be hard starting or almost seized . Would there be a thermal trip on a dryer motor? It'll make the humming noise three or four times,then nothing. I'll bet a new dryer doesn't cost a whole lot more than a service call and new motor.
My 1 1/2 year old dryer decided to do this.It would just hum and would not spin.I researched it on you tube,guy said it would have to be the motor that spins the drum.Against my better judgement I took the chance and bought a new motor.Thats what the problem was.The motor was $140.If it was an older dryer I dont know if I would have spent the money to fix it.I do know a dryer should last more than a year and a half
DeadSkunk wrote: I took it apart and cleaned everything I could by removing the back panel. Then I stuck a long suction hose down the lint trap to clean it out and got loads of crap. So, then I took the housing off the back to get at the blower fan and clean it good. After putting it back together it started and dried a load of towels but still didn't sound right. Removed the load and tried to start it and got the humming noise again. About the third or fourth attemt to restart and I smell electrical stuff and the button does nothing.The drum was turning and it was heating when I had the towels in it. I think the motor is toast and may be hard starting or almost seized . Would there be a thermal trip on a dryer motor? It'll make the humming noise three or four times,then nothing. I'll bet a new dryer doesn't cost a whole lot more than a service call and new motor.
You'd be surprised. my dad is a repair guy and he usually charges much less for dryer fixes (even a motor) than a new one costs, especially now that some of them are approaching challenge-breaking prices. Some repair places (usually the non-independent ones) have minimum charges, like up to $150 just to show up. You can ask when you first call before making an appointment and the honest ones will straight up tell you their pricing structure. A 15 year old kenmore could be anything (since they don't make their own products, but rebadge others) and motor prices vary considerably. GE is known to price gouge for replacement parts, whirlpool (and subsidiaries) less so, but what company is owned by what parent company switches over time, so about the only way to know is get a model number/part number and look it up.
Sounds like it might be motor time. Dryers are pretty simple to work on and usually cheap to fix.
Try these guys for parts.
www.repairclinic.com/
In reply to Toyman01:
I just spent an hour on repairclinic.com looking at video and part prices. I think I'll rip it apart in the morning. The drum seems to be dragging more than I would think is normal, so I'm assuming motor, but it could be bad rollers. we'll see.
there are also teflon skids at the front edge of the drum, check those, too
DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to Toyman01: I just spent an hour on repairclinic.com looking at video and part prices. I think I'll rip it apart in the morning. The drum seems to be dragging more than I would think is normal, so I'm assuming motor, but it could be bad rollers. we'll see.
A lot of them don't use just rollers anymore. There will be sliders instead. Usually 4 of them, or two sliders in the front and either two rollers or a center bearing in the back.
If it's dragging, you might just need to replace the sliders.
Usually the back panel and top will come off. Then you can slip the belt and lift out the drum. There probably aren't 20 screws holding the entire machine together.
I just had to replace the heating element in mine. While I was in there, I replaced the belt and sliders. It took 30 minutes and cost about $80. I should be good for another 10 years.
I love repairclinic because they have pictures of all the parts on a 1" grid. It's easy to make sure you are getting what you want. Some of the names the appliance industry use are bizarre.
Toyman01 wrote:DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to Toyman01: I just spent an hour on repairclinic.com looking at video and part prices. I think I'll rip it apart in the morning. The drum seems to be dragging more than I would think is normal, so I'm assuming motor, but it could be bad rollers. we'll see.Usually the back panel and top will come off. Then you can slip the belt and lift out the drum. There probably aren't 20 screws holding the entire machine together.
except for the ones that are serviceable from the front. a lot of them have the important bits in front.
From what I understood you check to see if the drum spins freely.The belt could slip off and jam or the rollers could be bad.If it spins ok it is probably the motor.Im no expert though,all my info came off the internet so it must be true.
In reply to Rufledt:
True, but then it would have an error message on the front display telling him the fluffelnutter wasn't deflangelnating anymore and to call a authorized service tech. 
Mine appears to be one where you remove the top and front. It's branded as an Inglis, but it sure looks like a Whirlpool in the video. It was purchased in Ontario at least 15 years ago. At that time the was a factory in Hamilton that manufactured white goods for almost every brand available. They were often identical between brands except for a few decals, knobs and trim. There'll be part numbers on the motor and rollers or slides just need to be sized appropriately, I would think. There were some old skate board wheels around here someplace. They ought to let the drum spin freely. 
Looks like Inglis was bought by Whirlpool in 87 and changed it's name to Whirlpool Canada in 2001.
bigdaddylee82 wrote: Our set is a "vintage" Kenmore, thankfully Sears still has the parts diagrams online. I got parts numbers there, then typed them into Amazon and ordered from them significantly cheaper than through Sears, and for OE parts not aftermarket. - Lee
I did just this exact thing for my Kenmore dryer a week ago. I received an OE heating element for about half of what most online retailers wanted.
Oh, and I found out that I need to vacuum out the inside of the thing a lot more often!
if it was packed with lint, check your vent. If you have an all metal vent (not the metal coil stuff or plastic coil stuff) you can clean your vent with a beefy leaf blower. Just removed the vent cover on the outside and expect a buttload of lint covering your lawn when you're done. if the inside was full of lint, that could explain it overheating and shutting down after a few loads, and also a part wearing out from excess heat. Here's a tip, when it's running, the top of the machine shouldn't be hot. Not even very warm. If it is, you don't have enough airflow. If you have the white plastic flexible vent, get rid of it. now. do solid metal or even flexible metal if you need to, but get rid of the plastic stuff. It shrinks with age and heat, reducing flow. It also plugs up with lint and can burn like a fuse. The metal coil stuff is restrictive too, but at least the metal won't burn.
also if your belt idler is a skid and not a pulley, replace it with a pulley. There are a couple ways whirlpool packaged everything so it may have never had a skid, but some did for a short period of time before they reverted back to pulleys.
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Rufledt: True, but then it would have an error message on the front display telling him the fluffelnutter wasn't deflangelnating anymore and to call a authorized service tech.
fluffelnutter not deflangelnating? That's serious, it'll cost 20% extra. 
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Rufledt: True, but then it would have an error message on the front display telling him the fluffelnutter wasn't deflangelnating anymore and to call a authorized service tech.
You know I think a dryer just needs to spin the clothes and blow hot air in the drum. Mine isnt that old so its much more complicated than it needs to be and harder to repair.I sure could live without the digital display
Mine is old, stupid and simple. So is the washer. As long as they sell parts, I'll keep fixing them. Simple is good when it comes to major appliances and cars. I did a clutch replacement on the washer last year so it should be good for a while as well.
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