How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP2620171 / WE11X10007 Heater Element Kit

Ordered new heating coils, plastic bearings and drive belt. Watched video on replacing heating coils, bearings and drive belt. Easy fix once the videos were viewed. 

Took the dryer apart, and after removing the drum I found a burned out coil in the inner heating element. It appeared that several coils had been pushed together from the factory, as that's where it burned. I ordered the replacement coil kit, and restrung the new coils per the instructions, which were excellent. I put it back together, and everything now works fine. Hardest part of this job is simply the time it takes to put in the new coils, but this is a lot cheaper than purchasing the complete heater assembly. 

Removed and cleaned the heating element back plate, and then replaced the heating element stringing kit . 

Opened the top and found a broken Drive Belt and broken Idler wheel. I looked at the online Videos at Appliance Parts Pro and ordered the parts. I also replaced the Front Drum Bearing since it was very thin in a few places from a previous problem. The repair was easy and straightforward.. The whole repair was done in under 2 hours. I had to clean out a lot of lint from Years of service. 

The job was challenging, I had never done this repair before. It went pretty well but some things were not covered in the instructions that could have made it go easier, for instance the way the drive belt is routed. A diagram of that would have been a big help as I was working blindly not knowing how the belt attached. I did finish the job, everything is working correctly. 

Step one: Replaced the timing controller--machine's behavior did not change. Step two: Replaced the Cycling Thermostat near the blower motor--machine's behavior did not change. Step three: Replaced/restrung heating element--this appears to have repaired the problem. This site has helpful videos for each of these replacement tasks. I started as a complete novice to this kind of repair work and now I pretty much understand the inner workings of the dryer and feel competent to replace other parts and modules as needed. Many YouTube videos are out there to guide a person venturing into a repair attempt. It just takes attention and patience. Each repair cycle took me between 1 and 2 hours and a separate ordering of a new part. I wish I had paid more attention to a YouTube video describing how to use a multimeter to diagnose the actual problem from the beginning :(. I am not familiar with the use of a multimeter and it's a skill I should acquire for these situations. 

I disassembled the dryer and found that one of the heater coils had failed and was touching the back of this was causing it to bypass the Start button, and why it was only getting "half-hot". I ordered the replacement heater coils, instead of the pre-assembled coils mounted to the back panel because I have made this repair before, and stringing the heater coils through the insulators is not that difficult. 

Searched online for a heating element (I suspected that was the problem). Happened on your site and then was very pleased with your response. Once I entered the model number, I was able to search for most parts I wanted very easily. After finding the heating coil I wanted (just the re-string kit), I was amazed to find a video specifically for this model, that shows exactly how to access and service the heating coil. After seeing how easy it was, I decided to replace the rear bearing also, since it is an older dryer. Since I had it all apart, I decided to replace the drive belt and a front drum slide which was worn. One thing that helped me remember the electrical connections was to take pictures with my cell phone before disconnecting anything. In summary, it was very easy to get the parts and information need to make the repair. You just need a little DIY attitude and basic mechanical skills. It cost only about $150, compared to $500 for a new one. (And they don't make em like they used to). I think I will try to use this site for any other appliances that quit. Really pleased with the videos. 

I disassembled the dryer to search for issues using the great troubleshooting videos. I found that the dryer exhaust pipe both inside the dryer and out were more than 50% obstructed with lint. I also found that the heating coil had a break in it. I ordered this coil restring kit since it would significantly less expensive than the full heating coil. You still have to remove the round heating coil tray to replace the insulators, so there is not much time savings in replacing the more expensive coil/tray. I also set an annual reminder to clean the lint out of the exhaust pipes! 

Installed a new element kit, upper drum support and the upper drum support slides.