Dryer Taking Way Too Long to Dry Clothes

[benjamming]

Dryer takes forever (3 hours or more if a decently big load) to get clothes dry - way more than normal.

Whirlpool gas dryer model GGW9250PW3 bought new in 2007
replaced thermostat p/n 8573028 on Jun-2010 from AppliancePartsPros.com

No fault/error codes in diagnostic mode
Moisture sensor test: in diagnostic mode, open door - beeps & "69" is displayed (supposedly software version) which indicates a short in the moisture sensor system.
Moisture sensor (metal strips) is bridged with finger resulting in beep & "09" displayed (supposedly software version, but why different). So initial sensor test passed.
Removed moisture sensor from the wire harness and test for resistance (the piece with the two blue MOVs). This was tested across the two outermost contacts & also across each of the outermost contacts & the center terminal (ground connection) - infinite all 3 times. So, the sensor & wire harness checks good.
Checked the resistance of the mating connector - infinite. So, the digital wire harness checks good.

Thermal fuse is not open (continuity), so good.

High limit thermostat is not open (continuity), so good.

Ran test to check thermistor connections - close door, press Control On, Press End of Cycle Signal (Louder), Start. It didn't shut off after 60 seconds nor did E1 or E2 flash in the display. So, those are good.

Checked resistance of gas coil.
3-terminal pilot measured: terminals 1-2 was 1360 ohms (spec is 1365 +/- 25), terminals 1-3 was 577 ohms (spec is 560 +/- 25) so that one is good.
2-terminal pilot measured: terminals 4-5 was 1301 ohms (spec is 1220 +/- 50) so that one is high by at least 30 ohms.

Is measuring 30 ohms too high on a gas coil enough to cause the dryer to fail? If so, then that is an inexpensive fix as the coils p/n 279834 for both primary 2 terminal & 3 terminal pilot are in stock for $16.53 from A1-Appliance.

Thanks,

Ben

 

[turtlevette]

the exhaust is plugged.

 

[Drew99GT]

Yup; check the exhaust tubing and stick a flashlight into the outlet on the dryer. There will likely be a squirrels nest of lint stuck in there. If the dryer vent goes outside, check the outside cover; mine accumulates lint over time and the flapper valve gets stuck closed.

 

[Kestas]

Does the dryer flame on and produce heat at all?

 

[Mr Nice]

Batches of wet clothes must be dried separately.

 

[benjamming]

Dryer vent has been inspected & on the outside - clean, including flapper valve.

The dryer does flame on within 10-15 seconds but goes out after a few seconds.

 

[Kestas]

Sounds like a problem with the thermal sensor. Sometimes they just need a cleaning with 400 paper. The thin layer of oxide is enough to insulate the sensor and preclude proper function. It's located somewhere where the flame would be.

 

[benjamming]

Kestas,

Are you talking about the flame sensor, heater relay on the machine control electronics board, or maybe the thermistor itself?

 

[OneEyeJack]

Some dryers have a plug on the bottom front that can be removed to see if there's a flame on start up. Check it out.

 

[tgrudzin]

Try this. Put a temperature probe on the exhaust vent and see if it heats. Mine would heat to 130 upon start Then it would just drop and never get there again. It was the gas coils. Cheap and easy to replace. What was happening was the coils would energize upon start, but never after tha. You could hear the flame catch upon startup, but never after that Mine were 14 years ago. About the same price too. Good Luck, report back.

 

[Azeem]

Take the vent hose off the dryer and do a load of laundry:

if there's any difference then change the hose with a new one and try to make it as straight as you can-curves and kinks in the hose makes it easier for lint to accumulate and get the outside vent cleaned up-it might be stopped up


If there's no difference, check the air flow and hotness right where you unplugged the hose. lint could build up inside the dryer. Grounded heating element might be the culprit as Thermisters rarely go bad actually.

 

[goodtimes]

Use manual timed dry and pretend all that mumbo jumbo doesn't exist?

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
the exhaust is plugged.



Yep. Just open up the exhaust tubing and you'll find a lot of lint piled up in there.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Kuato
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
the exhaust is plugged.



Yep. Just open up the exhaust tubing and you'll find a lot of lint piled up in there.


I use my leaf blower to clean my vent hose..most of the time I use the electric one but if the Mrs. is on a rant about it I'll go get the 2 cycle gas one and fill up the house with blue smoke and then ask her" "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I use my leaf blower to clean my vent hose..most of the time I use the electric one but if the Mrs. is on a rant about it I'll go get the 2 cycle gas one and fill up the house with blue smoke and then ask her" "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"

Are you kidding me, have you ever heard of carbon-monoxide poisoning? It does not take a very long run of a motor to cause lethal levels of carbon-monoxide.

 

[larryinnewyork]

I have a 30 year old Maytag.
Once a year, I remove the vent hose and clean it.

I also remove the front panel of dryer and clean the squirrel fan.
The fan blades do load-up with lint.

Edit: I clean any areas where lint can collect.

 

[opus1]

Since the exhaust is clean, I'd suspect it's the solenoid coils, especially since one is reading off-spec. Mom's dryer had a problem a couple of years ago where it would start drying the cloths and the coil(s) would stop working, which meant that the flame wouldn't come back on and the clothes would be damp when the dryer stopped.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Originally Posted By: Doog
I use my leaf blower to clean my vent hose..most of the time I use the electric one but if the Mrs. is on a rant about it I'll go get the 2 cycle gas one and fill up the house with blue smoke and then ask her" "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"

Are you kidding me, have you ever heard of carbon-monoxide poisoning? It does not take a very long run of a motor to cause lethal levels of carbon-monoxide.


Have you tried checking your sarcasm meter for excessive lint?

 

[benjamming]

I did go in & adjust the Dryness Level from factory default of Lo to Hi. This didn't help anything.

I'm going to order the coils for $9.40 with free shipping from Amazon.

 

[SHOZ]

I just took my 30 year old dryer apart to clean out all the lint. The lint trap chute was full of stuff. Might want to take more that just the hose off.