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My dryer (Kenmoore) has a heating element that is coming on when the door is open and when the dial is set to a position that would normally call for heat. I've swapped out the cycling thermostat (located near the blower exhaust) and now I've swapped out the Dryer Thermal Cut-off sensor (located near the top of the heating element body). It still comes on and I don't think that's right.

If it isn't the Thermal Cut-off sensor the only other things to try are the dial itself and the other thermostat located near the bottom of the heating element body. Is there a test I can perform to determine where the problem lay and what the fix might be?

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    There is a switch activated by the door that normally would not allow the heatet to operate. I would check out that switch.
    – Barry
    Commented Jul 9 at 0:27
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    There should be a simple on/off switch on the door, sometimes called a safety switch. You are changing stuff that prevents overheat situations, not stuff that stops stuff working with the door open. Read/google instructions/wiring diagram.
    – crip659
    Commented Jul 9 at 0:28
  • The switch stops the drum from turning ... so I'm assuming it's good. Bad assumption?
    – highbandwidth
    Commented Jul 9 at 1:19
  • The heating element does not get cool/stop being red as soon as you open the door. It takes a few minutes. If after five/ten minutes it is till heating/red hot with the door open, then there is a problem.
    – crip659
    Commented Jul 9 at 1:28
  • In this situation, the door is open, I plug in the dryer and turn the dial to a position that would normally call for heat. After a few seconds, the heating element kicks on with me staring at it with the door open (drum not turning). I'm not sure how long it would keep on generating heat if I just left it. It was on for at least a minute with the door open. If I turn the dial to an 'off' position, the heating element turns off.
    – highbandwidth
    Commented Jul 9 at 1:56

1 Answer 1

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Something is very clearly wired wrong inside the dryer. It could be a fix done by yourself or another person in the past that wasn't put back together correctly. It could be a broken switch in the timer that is allowing the heater to connect when it shouldn't.

Whatever it is, it shouldn't be happening. The dryer should not be used until it is properly fixed or replaced.

Fixing would require checking the wiring very carefully against the schematic for the dryer, and checking the timer outputs against the truth table in the schematic. (The appliances I have opened have had paper schematics with wiring diagrams and timer truth tables in the appliance somewhere, often in the area where the electric controls are located.)

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    Just to emphasize, there is a wiring fault, because two different safety features have failed: 1. When the drum is not turning, a relay should prevent the heater going on. 2. With the door open, a relay should keep both heater and drum off.
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Commented Jul 9 at 16:53

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