DIY tumble dryer repairs advice - continued

Can I fix my own tumble dryer?: Some people can, and some people shouldn't even try. It depends on your competence, and understanding of electricity - especially DIY safety issues. Many tumble dryer breakdowns though are not serious, and can be repaired - if you just know what to do.

You must be aware that electricity can and does kill - even qualified engineers. Never work on an appliance that is not totally unplugged. DIY repair safety and tips The following tumble dryer repair help contains general advice only. It may help to solve some basic tumble dryer faults that don't require an engineer, or to give an idea of how serious a fault may actually be. Never work on a tumble dryer that is still plugged in! Using this advice is at your own risk.

Common tumble dryer faults (continued)

• Tumble dryer doesn't heat up
• Tumble dryer is noisy

 

Tumble dryer doesn't heat up

Common causes -
• The heating elements can fail (open circuit)
• There are cut-outs and stats that can trip out (open circuit)
• Modern tumble dryers also have sensors and pcb's running software that can fail although most should produce an error code
• Faulty connections and burned wires

A tumble dryer that isn't heating up at all needs checking with a continuity test meter. The most common cause is a heating element failure, or t.o.c's going open circuit. It depends on which make and model of tumble dryer you have as to how easy it is to get to the relevant parts. Some tumble dryers have heating elements that are easily accessible by removing the back panel, and can be tested for continuity or checked for obvious breakage. Others though have their heating elements inside, which aren't accessible without stripping the dryer down. Tumble dryer heating elements are always protected by thermal fuses which are usually simple devices with 2 wires connected. They can be tested for continuity with a test meter.

The problem is that if a stat (thermostat) or t.o.c. (thermal overload cut-out) has gone open circuit, it may may be for a reason. Overheating could have caused it. Blocked filters or even overloading can cause it. Sometimes they can go for no apparent reason. A blocked or severely kinked vent hose can also cause overheating.

WARNING:A T.O.C. or thermostat should never be by-passed. They are there to stop serious overheating and a dryer could catch fire if one was run for any length of time with one by-passed.

Some White Knight tumble dryers (and possibly others) have a red button on the back which can reset a cut out by pushing it in (it should click when pressed if it has tripped). Again, if this happens more than once there must be something causing it, which needs proper investigation by an engineer.

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Tumble dryer is noisy

Tumble dryers can make metallic scraping noises (common on cheap dryers) which usually means the metal drum is scraping on something metal inside. Hotpoint and Indesit tumble dryers were terrible for this, and brought out several modifications. The problem is hopefully solved by now but cheap dryers have flimsy casings which twist easily and there is too little clearance between the large revolving drum and the back panel. Make sure the dryer is level as this can allow the cabinet to twist. Ignoring loud scraping noises can result in parts wearing out and being cut through causing more expense.

Squeaking noises can be caused by tension pulleys which sometimes tension the drive belt in some models. They are small wheel-like plastic parts that are held against the drive belt with strong springs and run on a small shaft. The proper cure for this is to replace the pulleys and the shaft they run on or at least strip them, clean them and grease them. Unfortunately though these tension (or jockey) pulleys are not usually accessible without stripping the dryer down. Also note that many dryers don't even have them these days.

• Domestic appliance spares
• eSpares Ltd
• Dryer spare parts (Partsmaster. Good shopping cart and search facility)

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