How to Repair an Electric Dryer

The inner workings of a standard electric clothes dryer are simpler than they might seem. Basically, a motor turns your clothes in circles inside a metal drum, while a heating coil heats up that drum. Obviously, if the heating coil goes out, what you've got is a bunch of wet clothes spinning in a circle. Replacing a heating element isn't complicated, once you access the old one. That part can be complicated because methods of access vary widely among models. This outline shows one common way to access and replace your dryer's heating element -- from behind the dryer -- but you should consult your owner's manual to make sure you don't have to go through the top or front to get to it.

Things You'll Need

• Universal screwdriver with various available bits
• Pliers
• New heating element for your dryer

Instructions

1. Unplug your dryer. Pull it out from the wall.

2. Locate the metal access panel in back, which will be a flat square or rectangular piece of sheet metal attached to the back by screws. Remove the screws and take off the access panel.

3. Locate the heating element box within the opening where you took out the access panel. The size and shape can vary among models, but generally it will be a rectangular or cylindrical casing about a foot long and half as wide, secured to the inside of the dryer with several screws.

4. Remove the screws and carefully begin taking out the box, until you can see the electrical wires going into one end. Unclip the wires from the metal slots they're attached to, and take the box out completely. On the other side will be heating coils.

5. Conduct an Internet search with the make and model of your dryer and the phrase ``heating element.'' Browse photos of heating elements for sale and choose one that exactly matches the one you've removed from the dryer.

6. Once you have the new heating element, install it in the same way the old one was installed, reconnecting the wire clips and screwing the element casing box back into the dryer. Put the access panel back on in the same way it was secured before. Plug in the dryer and test the heat.

Tips & Warnings

• Some heating elements aren't in rectangular boxes, but are coils strung in a circle behind the drum. They may require removal of the drum to replace them, depending on the model. Consult your owner's manual. Whether you have to order an entire new heating element casing or just the coil will depend on your model of dryer.

• Never work on any electrical appliance that's plugged in.

References

• How to replace a dryer's heating element.