How to Troubleshoot & Replace Whirlpool AP3094224 / 279769 Thermal Cut-Off Kit

I first removed the back cover to examine the unit. Looking for blockage in the dryer ventilation system. then on to looking for burnt components or loose connections, burnt or frayed wires,anything of the sort. Even with the power reconnected i couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Except that machine was getting proper air flow and the heating element was not getting hot like it should.When i reached a dead end I googled the problem thinking it was the heating element. I had people telling me that part usually goes out. With the power disconnected again i put an ohm meter to all the terminals. On the temp.sensors, the element and the thermostat.One of the sensors would not read anything.(Thermal cut-off switch) So i looked up the part using my model number then matched it with other distributors. Looking for the better deal, including time and shipping fees. I found that most places also sold the switches in pairs. (1 high temp and 1 low temp). I figured this would be actually the better deal. if one went bad it was possible the other was also soon to follow, considering the appliance was over 10 years old. With normal shipping, in a couple days i received the part. With the cover already off the instillation of both thermostats only took 10 minutes. The only headache to this was cleaning behind and under the dryer after it had not been moved in over 10 years!!! ***I am a home repair specialist with over 30 years experience. Pretty much if its a part of the home,inside or out, I can fix it, repair it or build it. Though i have been putting things together that people have taken apart and dont know what to do with, since i was a teenager. This jub was easy enough anyone who can follow simple diagnostic (just Googling instructions). Anyone could do this. This job was hitting the That Was Easy button. In my past I have replaced a water inlet valve and motor on a dishwasher, a water drain pump on a clothes washer. an that's about it. But because this was so easy I am adding such appliances to my jobs list. I am also very pleased with the service of Appliance Parts Pros. 

After turning off the breaker and then unplugging it, I opened the rear panel and reviewed the wiring diagram on the back of the control panel. (thank you Daddy for showing this girl how to read a circuit diagram!) Ohmed all parts along the heating system circuit and all were 0 ohms as they should be, except the heating coil which was infinity. Removed the coil and found it had snapped at one point near the middle. Performed a temporary fix by clearing the charred section of the coil and twisting the two ends together, tightening and cleaning until I got 10.6 ohms across the terminals for the coil. (should be 11.08 ohms per the specs) That got it working in the short term. (enough to at least dry the load that was already wet) Came here since I had such a great experience when my washing machine died a few years ago and the videos and comments here made diagnosing that issue a breeze! Found my model dryer and looked up other people's experiences with this dryer. With their comments in mind, I not only ordered a new heating coil, (plus a spare against future failure) but a new Cycling Thermostat, Thermal Cut-Off Kit, and Thermal Fuse... which accounts for the parts that are nearly 80% of failures of the heating system of this dryer model. Once the parts arrived, (super fast shipping... they were here in two days!) I spent an hour replacing all the parts with my new ones and vacuuming out the interior. I saved the old parts (except the temp-fixed coil) for future use should any of the new parts fail, since they were known good working parts when I took them out. 

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT or It's Always Fun 'til You Set the House on Fire: Recently, my dryer stopped working. I don't use it much for three seasons of the year, preferring to hang clothes outside to dry, but with winter coming, this is not a highly desirable option. I replaced the "push to start" switch and the thermal fuse and got it working again, only to have it heat up to near super-nova temperatures before the thermal fuse did its job, melting & stopping the dryer. I then replaced the thermal fuse and thermal cut-off thermostat and the hi-limit thermostat inside the back of the dryer. Fingers crossed--it seems to be working now. BUT WHAT CAUSED ALL THIS BOTHER? Closer investigation between Fix #1 and Fix #2 revealed a dryer sheet melted to the air vent inside the dryer's drum. I suspect a large load pushed this little booger up against the drum's interior vent, radically restricting air flow and causing the dryer to overheat. There was sticky residue on the air vent -- likely caused by years of accumulation of soap particles or dryer sheet chemicals -- and this sticky residue probably helped the dryer sheet adhere where it became an absolute danger and house-fire risk. I washed/scrubbed the residue off the air vent inside the drum. I also have now completely sworn off dryer sheets, ordering instead a set of Whitmor Dryer Balls which--if the hype is to be believed--will also speed drying time by keeping the clothes from glomming up. The alarming thing (and the reason I'm sharing) is apparently dryer sheets are known to do this. Please do yourself a favor and clean the air vent inside your dryer with a soft rag and mild detergent from time to time. And seriously consider ditching those chemical-laden dryer sheets! PS: I will say that the video that accompanies the "Thermal Cut-Off" kit was the first AppliancePartsPros.com video that disappointed me. My kit came with two pieces and the video only shows how to deal with one of 'em. I did figure it out, but it added about 15 minutes to the repair and I was nervous. :) 

Changed parts 

Unplug power unhook vent pipe and check for blockage take back off use meter to check thermal fuses and element found high limit open order thermal cut-off kit from appliance parts pro 2 days later had part and installed must have meter for repair 

I replaced the thermal cut-off sensors and the cutoff-Tml 

Everything goes well by replacing thes parts. Thank you guys! 

I have never replaced a thermostat on a dryer before, but I just followed the directions and it was a VERY easy repair. I watched the video and had the repair done within 15 minutes. I did have to repair the wire because the connection had fried (yeah it was that bad). I also had to replace the main thermostat too, but it was just as easy. Unplug the dryer, remove the back. Each piece had 2 wire connection and 2 screws holding it in place. Pop off the wires, remove the screws, pop the pieces in place. Screw them in, reattach wires. 

The repair was the easy part. If you have ever worked on anything from Sears, well enough said the screw that held the heater box onto the dryer is inserted from the front of the dryer and you have to basically disassemble the dryer front, which means removing the top, just to get to that screw. Lets say if it ever has to be done again the screw is now accessible from the back! The only other problem I had decided since the cost was minimal while I was in it I would replace the the upper and lower thermostat on the heater box while into the repair. The new upper thermostat is slightly different with the wire positions and I had to go back and re-watch the repair video to see where the wires I had marked front and back now went when it came to an upper and lower choice. Luckily I could see in the video one of the red wires had a white stripe. The new thermostat has a red line on it and under the assumption that meant the solid red wire went there. That is what I tried and it worked. 

I checked online to see if I could figure out what the problem might be....I was leaning in the direction of the heating element. I found AppliancePartsPro.com and, after watching the videos on how to do the repairs...decided to try it on my own. Since the prices for the parts were so much more reasonable on this site, I just ordered the element, the element wire, the thermal cut off kit, and the thermal breaker. The dryer is pretty old....so I thought it would behoove me to just replace all of those parts. You know what?? I DID replace them all...and the dryer works brilliantly!! Thanks to AppliancePartsPro.com!! I will DEFINITELY do business with them, again. As a matter of fact...my Mom's dryer is taking longer than usual to dry her clothes...so she's asked if I can fix hers. Guess where I'll be getting the parts?? I got the parts in just 2 days, too.