Kenmore Dryer 110 97282100 cuts off mid-cycle

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MattinCA

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This is a follow-up to my earlier post where a jar lid fell down into the lint trap housing and was hitting the blower motor blades. I removed the lid and cleaned out all the lint I could from everywhere and the next load I did, the dryer (on Auto Dry) stopped before the cycle was finished. It would restart immediately but continued shutting off. I switched it to timed dry and the load finished. The dyer has 3 modes: Auto Dry, Timed Dry (0-70 minutes), and Air Dry (no heat) 0-30 minutes.


Using Timed Dry worked fine for a few weeks, then the dryer started shutting off early on that mode too. It always restarts immediately, and the amount of time it runs before stopping is sort of random. I don't hear any strange sounds when it is running.


Today I did some more intensive testing to see if there was any pattern, using all 3 modes. I started Air Dry on 30 minutes and every time it would stop I would immediately restart it. It ran 4 min, 10 min, 4 min, then it ran to the end of the cycle when the buzzer sounded (16 minutes). Just before the cycle ended I turned the dial back to 30 minutes and it ran the whole 30 minutes til the end of the cycle.


Then I tested Auto-Dry on low heat, starting with the "more dry" setting and restarting immediately when it stopped. It ran 15 min, 14 min, 3 min, and 22 min. It stopped on the asterisk so I skipped the dial just past the asterisk and restarted and it ran to the end of the cycle (36 minutes ). I turned the dial back to "more dry" again and started over and it ran 27 min, 2 min, 14 min, 1 min, and 2 min. I noticed when it stopped at the end of 14 min, 1 min, and 2 min it was at the asterisk again so I skipped it to slightly past the asterisk and it ran to the end of the cycle (40 min).


Finally I tested Timed Dry starting at 70 minutes and restarting immediately every time it stopped. It ran 13 min, 1 min, and 18 min. I had to leave it for 20 minutes or so, and restarted it when I got back. I ran min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, and 30 seconds. A couple of times in this last period when it stopped I heard a mechanical timer sound coming from the dial.


So that's my tale of woe. When I Googled "Dryer stops mid-cycle" the most common suggestion was that the motor was overheating but I am doubtful that is it because a) it started right after I did the other repair and put it back together, suggesting I may have unknowingly damaged something during the repair; b) it always restarts immediately while the "overheating motor" articles said it would not restart til the motor cooled down; c) the motor sounds the same as always.


The blower motor appears fine and I can feel air being blown out the vent. The vent is immediately behind the dryer so the vent hose is only about 6 inches straight from the dryer to the wall with no bends.


Any suggestions on what could cause these symptoms? Thank you.Dryer.gif
 
It could be the high limit cut out. I would suggest taking apart the exhaust system and remove all the debris.
 
Thanks. When I removed the lid from the lint trap I removed every bit of lint I could find from the dryer and vent. Also, it stopped frequently mid-cycle using Air-Dry mode with no heat. Would that still be consistent with the high limit cutout?
 
You didn't say what the TIME knob position was in all of those test runs. If the timer KNOB is stopping mid cycle, then I'd suggest that the timer assembly is the culprit. I had one once that the slider arm had lost it's tension and would break the circuit intermittently. I 'sprung' the slider a bit and that seemed to fix it, but went ahead and ordered a.replacement and installed it when it came in.
 
I tested Timed Dry starting at 70 minutes and restarting immediately every time it stopped. It ran 13 min, 1 min, and 18 min. I had to leave it for 20 minutes or so, and restarted it when I got back. It ran 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, and 30 seconds.

So the knob started at 70 minutes, then it stopped at 57 min, then 56 min, then 38 min, then 36 min, then 34 min, then 32, then between 32 and 31 min. Of course it doesn't have those markings, but those are the times when it stopped.

Does that indicate anything relative to whether it is the timer assembly or something else? I can't help thinking that the problem is related to or caused by the work I did cleaning the lint trap and blower motor area.
 

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