How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP3134638 / 279457 Heating Element Connecting Wire

After repairing cheap and cheaply made parts rated five stars on a popular billionaire’s website a few months ago and having the same symptoms happen again. I bought OEM parts from AppliancePartsPros.com. All good again. The last OEM parts lasted 15 years. I realize that the difference in price between quality and junk is worth but a fraction of my time wasted on a repair that failed. Never again. 

I first ordered the heating coil because I thought that's what I needed. When taking it apart I found out I had a burnt wire and needed to replace the thermal cut-off kit Once I received the parts it was just watching the video and putting it together. It was so easy and I received the parts in record time. I ordered the parts on July 4th and didn't expect them until the next week. Had them in 2 days. I always use AppliancePartsPros.com, they are reliable and helpful, and I have never had a problem. Had it done in record time, since I'm a 70-year-old woman. 

Researched that it was probably the heating element. I’m not a pro-diy but would have cost too much to have a professional repair; would have bought a new machine. Gave it a shot. Ordered the element and any other thermal-related items that seemed like could cause the issue. $180.00 and some learning curve from watching YouTube. Have a fixed dryer and an appreciative wife! Thanks. 

Watched a video. Repaired it. Very happy. Easy, the hardest part was waiting for it. Luckily clothes dryer went during summer, so hung clothes outside. 

Removed bottom panel then the heating element housing that has thermostat cutoff and thermostat high-end limiter cutoff mounted to it. Replaced both thermostats and reinstalled element housing. Then reconnected wiring and lower panel. 

Awesome job APP. Our dryer was not heating on Wednesday. I did some research and ordered 6 parts in all on Thursday and requested overnight shipping. The heating element arrived on Friday which ended up being the part I needed. (I did have a repair man come out to diagnose it so I would know what was wrong with it.) When given a quote of $350 and a lead time of 2-3 days I decided to fix it myself using the $123.00 part having already watched some videos. It took me some time because I wasn't sure how everything was connected, but I did it. Also, I did find less expensive after market parts but the reviews were mixed. I went with the manufacturer part for piece of mind especially on an appliance that is used daily and a part that might be a potential fire hazard IMO. 

I replaced the wire and wire connector. Nothing to it once I got the back off the dryer. Your normally quick delivery was slow this time. Something about a three day long blizzard stopping all traffic seems to have interfered. Appreciate getting exactly the right part. 

I replaced the heating element and one sensor. The top and the back panel had to be removed. The heating element was located on the left side where the air blows into the drum. That vent pipe just came off exposing the metal tube that holds the element and sensors. They are all slide-off connections with one screw holding them to the body. Once the screw was removed the connection wires slid off with some budging. That released the tube which had more screws. After the tube was opened, the element which was seated on a snap-in plait, just came off along with the sensors. All I had to do was snap the new element into place along with one sensor and put everything back together. I am a fix-it Mom/Grandmother so it was relatively simple. Just remember to put everything back the way you found it. *One of the sensors I ordered didn't match the original part. The original had an electric plug on it on top of the sensor. Thus 3 connections instead of 2. As a result, I didn't replace that part. It runs just fine now. Beats paying $800 plus for a new dryer. 

Sears diagnosed it as a faulty heating element. They wanted $300 for the repair and the part was on indefinite backorder. AppliancePartsPros got the part to me in one day. I cancelled the Sears follow up service call and the backordered part and replaced the dryer heating element with the AppliancePartsPros' parts using videos on YouTube to guide me through the process. The AppliancePartsPros' videos were great but my dryer is so old its part configuration was slightly different from those shown on AppliancePartsPros. We got it done for $50, including overnight shipping and of course our own "free" labor. 

Replaced the heating wire.