Dryer Is Not Heating

All electric dryers have a heating element. The dryer blower pushes external air through the heating element. Hot air has a great capacity to absorb steam and dry the clothes. I will list some causes why the dryer won’t heat.

• The heating element’s wire is broken. ( Picture on the right).
• The overheat thermostat is cut off. It happens when the dryer’s duct is clogged ( The picture on the right).
• The limit thermostat is broken (seldom).
• The heating element’s connections are burned and broken.
• No 240V in the outlet. The dryer uses 120V (one phase) to drive its motor, so it will rotate. The heating element is fed by two phases of 120V to get 240V power. When one of them is faulty, the dryer won’t heat.
• Usually, the heating element’s electrical supply is cut when the belt pulley assembly is loose for any reason. A security switch near the pulley prevents heating when the dryer doesn’t rotate.
  A dangerous situation arises when the dryer blower is stuck. In this case, the belt is ok, so the security switch and the heating element are on, but the dryer doesn’t spin and will be overheated.

A similar fairly-dangerous situation happens when the broken heating element wire touches its metal shell. In this case, the element continues working in some models even when the overheat thermostat is shut off and the dryer is turned off. The heating element supply circuit works by the shell, bypassing the security thermostats.

This is why it is very important to unplug the broken unit to prevent fire.

Overall, the dryer won’t heat when the heating element is broken, the security thermostats are shut off, or the belt is loose. But you should be vigilant and unplug the broken unit.