My dryer recently started turning off during its cycle (after 20-30ish minutes), including the (digital) control panel being completely unresponsive. After 30-60 minutes, it will work again normally and shut off.
The dryer is a Samsung DV350AEG/XAC 04.
I've read this is indicative of a motor failure, but I'm not clear on the reason or why this is causing the control panel to go dead also (as opposed to indicating an error code of some sort).
Here's the wiring diagram:
I've checked:
- Heater circuit overall resistance is ~9Ω (measured between (2) and (3))
- TH2 and TH3 cut-offs seem to be okay, at ~0Ω (measured between (1) and (2))
- Motor circuit overall resistance is ~2.08Ω (measured between (4) and (7) with door closed), however immediately after it malfunctioned I measured it at 2.4Ω
- TH1 cut-off seem to be okay, at ~0Ω (measured between (5) and (6))
- Door switch is functioning properly
- Voltage is fine (L1-L2 is ~240V, L1 or L2 to N or G are ~120V, and N to G is 0V)
I did find an shocking amount of lint in the bottom, but the motor itself certainly wasn't coated to the point I would think it would overheat. I cleaned all of this out (used compressed air for the motor windings) but it's still cutting out.
Is there anything else I should check?
Best Answer
Yes, Check the vent pipe all the way to the end where it exits the building. You will most likely find that it is stuffed with lint to the point of restricting the air flow from the dryer to the outdoors. Restricted air flow will cause the inside of the dryer to overheat and then some type of safety cutout or thermal breaker is opening up the power circuit. The 30 to 30 minutes you are seeing is likely the time it takes for things to cool back down enough for the thermal cutout to reset itself.
If the vent pipe is clear you should feel a nice brisk flow of warm damp air coming out the end of the dryer vent.
I had this problem when I moved into my house. Some 15 feet of vent pipe was totally stuffed and I had to do a major amount of unstuffing and running a rotary brush up the pipe on a flexible shaft. I also ended up adding a new larger style vent end flap on the pipe on the side of the house wall that integrated a removable plastic grille. Now I just have to look at that once every 3-4 months and get up there and clean it out.