Customer Questions and Answers for Resistor by Whirlpool

Hello Lisa, You will first need to flip the breaker off and back on in case half of the breaker has opened. On this wiring configuration, if the thermal fuse opens, the dryer will not run. The components in the heating circuit are the timer, the thermal cutoff, the operating thermostat, the hi-limit thermostat, the heating element, the centrifugal switch in the motor assembly and the associated wiring. The starting point for troubleshooting should be the terminal block. Make sure there is 240Vac from one outside terminal to the other and there are no loose connections on the terminal block. To check for a loose wall outlet, look for burned spots on the prongs of the dryer plug that insert into the wall outlet. A burned spot is cause for changing the wall outlet and the dryer cord. If there are no problems found you will then check the heating element for 7.8 to 11.8 ohms of resistance and no short to ground. Then make sure there is continuity with no resistance across the thermal cutoff, the operating thermostat, and the hi-limit thermostat. If the thermal cutoff is found to be opened, replace the thermal cutout and the hi-limit thermostat, (since a bad hi-limit thermostat can cause the thermal cutoff to open). Also, very important to ensure a Full 4-inch diameter of the exhaust duct to outside atmosphere, short and straight as possible. Any flexible or semi-flexible ducting should be replaced with rigid 4-inch aluminum dryer exhaust duct, taping the sections together since the end of screws inside the ducting will catch lint and restrict airflow and cause a repeat issue. Should none of the previous checks reveal an issue, re-assemble the unit with access to the heating element maintained and remove the wire from the heating element to the motor, making sure it cannot contact the ground, re-establish power to the unit and start it in a heated dry cycle. Check for 120Vac on the4 heater terminal that the wire is removed from. IF no voltage is present and the wiring harness is intact, replace the timer assembly. If 120Vac is there but 120Vac is not present on the wire that has been removed from the heating element, replace the motor assembly as this indicates the centrifugal switch in the motor has failed.