Older Maytag, Whirlpool, and Kenmore dryers
Unplug the dryer before you take a panel off. Gas models stay on their shutoff as well. The 2017 pages did not split gas from electric. The plate does. It says the voltage, or it says gas.
The drum sits, the motor still runs
On these belt-drive dryers the motor also turns the blower. A broken belt lets the motor keep moving air while the drum does nothing. The belt drops into the bottom of the cabinet. Finding it there is the check. Whirlpool and Kenmore route that belt around the drum, the motor pulley, and a spring idler. Many older Maytag dryers use a belt and rollers too, and they keep the lint screen in the top of the cabinet. Whirlpool and Kenmore of the same years usually put the screen in the door. The screen location tells you which cabinet you have before you buy a belt.
The drum turns and the air stays cold
Start outside. The vent cap on the wall should flap open while the dryer runs and fall shut when it stops. A cap stuck closed, or a hose with a sag full of lint, is why a full cycle leaves the clothes damp. On a lot of Whirlpool and Kenmore electric dryers, that blocked exhaust also opens a one-shot thermal fuse on the blower housing. The fuse does not reset. A new fuse on a vent you have not cleared opens again.
Gas is a different no-heat. The igniter has to glow, and a flame should follow. An igniter that never glows shares its circuit with the thermal fuse and the cycling thermostats. An igniter that glows and never lights is the gas valve circuit, not the vent. Do not jumper the valve. Leave the plug out, leave the gas shutoff where you found it, and send the model line.
A squeal for the first minute
Whirlpool and Kenmore drums of this era ride on plastic glides at the front lip, or on rollers farther back, depending on the cabinet. A squeal that fades once the drum is warm is those glides, the rollers, or the idler pulley. Older Maytag drums of the top-screen type use rollers. Say whether the noise is at the front lip or deeper in the cabinet, and which badge is on the plate, not only on the console.
| What it does | Look here | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Motor and blower run, drum sits | Belt and idler | Belt lying in the bottom of the cabinet |
| Drum turns, no heat, electric | Vent, then the fuse on the blower housing | Outside cap opens when the dryer starts |
| Igniter glows, no flame | Gas valve circuit | Stop. Email the model. Do not jumper the valve |
| Squeal, then quiet | Glides, rollers, idler | Noise at the front lip or deeper in |
The email is [email protected]. Say gas or electric in the first line.