[JamieRichardson]

Our dryer stopped working today. When you hold in the button to start the motor acts like it is under powered and is not able to start the dryer spin. My first thing to do was to completely tare down the dryer. Even took the tub out so I could get at the moter. Eventually I got the motor to spin again, so I assembled it all back together and attempted to finish drying the load of clothes. The dryer startedup as usually. Later on it must of shut itself off. I hold in the start button and the motor sounds the same as it did before and will not start. If I reach in and give the tub some assistance it will start up and spin like it should. Eventually, maybe 10-15 minutes it may or may not shut off. It appears that if I help get it started it will start. The belt and all wheels that the belt was on appear to operate fine and the tub appears to spin freely OK with any binding. Any thoughts on what all this might be? Is it the motor? That's what I think, but do not no a lot about appliance, but am able to rip in and be dangerous. Not for sure if there are any other relays/sensors that might be causing this. If I know it is the motor I might attempt to get one and throw it in myself. Cheaper than buying a new dryer and/or having some charge me their labor.

thanks,
jamie

[bettyboop]

Does the motor make a growning or buzzing when you try to start it? Sounds to me like the motor bearings ran out of oil and are heating up and seizing, then cooling off and starting again only to sieze up agian. If so you need a new motor ask for Sheila, she can put in touch with a new motor Bettyboop

[cwpierce]

Could this be faulty starter capacitors on or near the motor?

Wes

[JamieRichardson]

It sounds like more like a growning sound. Last night I took it all apart again to verify that the belt was not slipping. With just the motor expose (no belts/tub) I could not get the motor to start up. Even with my assistance. It does appear to spin freely though. After about 5-10 seconds or so of trying to assist it while pressing the start button, I get the smell of burning electronics.

As far as the start capicitor goes...I read somethings on this and to me that is what this thing originally sounded like. After my assistance it would start and stay running. Now I cannot even get it to start, so that leads me to believe the motor is out. Would it still spin freely if the brgs where out of oil. What causes the oil to leak out. This dryer is only 7 years old.

thanks for the help.

[eric shubert]

All motors come with smoke inside them new. throught years of working some motors get over worked. Some just up and quit. maybe the bearings dryed out, or there was to much lint around the motor and it coouldn't keep cool, but if the smoke come out of the motor ITS SMOKED. keep dryer cleared out lint and the motors will last longer

[bettyboop]

If you've been taking your dryer apart and throughly cleaning out the lint build up
on the motor, lint chute every 2-3 years then I'd say motor should be ok, accept
if the your vent hose thru-wall is clogged and heat builds up and motor gets hot and oil boils out of bearings, then that could have happened, If the motor runs cool it could last 10-20 years. The start capister is like a light bulb, if it is bad,nothing happens, not even a click. so it must be good. If your motor is bad or going bad it will have a awfull smell like burnt pumpkin or rosin. Bettyboop

[cwpierce]

I still believe this to be a problem with the capacitors. If bearings were the issue you would feel a tremendous amount of resistance when trying to turn the motor shaft by hand.

Appliance motors require a large amount of inrush current to start turning. Caps are temporary storage devices that help provide this additional inrush current necessary to start turning. Once turning, the caps smooth out the ac line, filtering electrical spikes before they reach and damage the motor windings.

Continuing to attempt to run the motor without the help of the caps will cause it to stall, overheat and possibly melt some of the windings in the motor. This is likely the odor and smoke you speak of. I believe you have ruined the motor by continuing to play with it and probably will need to replace it and the caps. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck and let us know what it turns out to be I am curious!


Wes

[cwpierce]

Caps are not like light bulbs at all. They are not an on or off device. Vary rarely will a capacitor develop an electrical open and kill the circuit. Most of the time when they fail, they fail due to internal shorting out of the terminals. When this occurs the exact symptoms described will happen.

When the cap shorts out the motor no longer gets any startup assistance. This will cause stalling, which sounds like buzzing, overheating and if allowed to continue, the heat in the motor coils will become so intense that it vaporizes the enamel off of the fine magnet coils and a short will happen. This will cause needed current required to run to rise and will cause temperature to further rise finally catching on fire if not halted. Smoking indicates close proximity to fire conditions. I would not attempt to run this unit further until you have replaced the motor and caps.

To summarize: Caps fail most often by shorting out and not by opening their contacts as a bulb does when it blows.

Wes

[bettyboop]

CW Pierce:
Somewhere there probably is a dryer motor with a cap on it, however I have only seen them on washers, and I have worked on a few thousand washers & dryers.
and when they go out on a washer motor, such as a GE,whirlpool,kenmore, and on and on. the cap just quits! You put in a new one, and it runs for years and years, nothing magic about it, they just wear out. telling this man he might have a bad cap is a waste of time. A motor with bad start windings or bearings needs replacement no biggie.Bettyboop

[bettyboop]

CW;
I SAID A CAP IS LIKE A LITE BULB IF IT'S BAD NOTHING HAPPENS, ie BAD (DEAD CAP-DEAD LITE BULB) NEITHER WILL OPERATE, UNDERSTAND WHAT I SAID BETTYBOOP