[psalm150v5]

My dryer recently stopped shutting off automatically. Last night it gave off a strong smell of burning plastic. I unplugged it. Today it wouldn't turn on. A 10 gauge wire that runs from the on button to the block the power cord attaches to had burned all the way through.

I also found a wire going from the circuit board to the moisture sensor that was loose. I guess this is why it wouldn't shut off automatically.

Could the loose wire have caused a short that burned the other wire? I can replace the burned wire, but will it just burn again if I don't find the problem? If the loose wire wouldn't have caused the other wire to burn, what would cause it? The vent is clear, by the way.

[denman]

The loose wire should not have caused a 10 gauge wire to burn out

The question is, where did it burn out?
If it is burned out at either end, then my guess is you had a poor connection there.
The connection becomes a resistance point (same as a heating element) and eventually burns out.
If this is the case do the best you can to clean up the connection point, a small file and some fine emery cloth should do the job.

Also check the routing of the wire to make sure it was not up against a hot surface re: heater

Today was your lucky day!!
You were home otherwise could have been an arc and spark, lint catches fire, house catches fire and you would be out in the cold.
This is one of the reasons plastic vent tubes are not recommended.

[psalm150v5]

You're right. The wire burned on the end where it connected to the power cord. The connection was tight. It was on a screw between two nuts. However, this dryer is about 21 years old, so it may have corroded. I also moved into a house with basement laundry a year and a half ago, so there's a little moisture issue sometimes. There was no heat source on the wire. There were two other wires on the same screw. One is from the power cord. They are not damaged. I'll clean the whole thing with some emery cloth, like you suggested. I'm going to comletely replace the burned wire.

I keep the lint cleaned out of it as good as possible in case such a thing should happen. I'm a firefighter, so I'm a little paranoid about those things. I also use a metal vent tube. Unfortunately, it's in the basement, so it has to vent at about 6 feet up. I keep a close eye on the vent for this reason. Clean clothes good, but fire bad.

Thanks for your help.