1968 Versatronic Dryer Issues

[jons1077]

Hey guys,

Unfortunately I come writing with bad news. I have been using my 1968 Versatronic GE dryer as a daily driver for a couple of months now. I tend to switch it out with the Westinghouse to give them each some time in the spotlight.

Last night I had to pull the GE out until further notice. This old dryer has been running like a champ for over a year now. It is an excellent machine to say the least. However, last night, with only a twist of the timer knob, the dryer shorted out.

I am not sure where the short occured. I popped the top and checked the wiring above the drum but could not see any obvious damage there. I'm wondering if it was the timer itself that shorted out. There was definitely an odor of burned electrics inside the drum.

I plan on looking much further into this today. I will have to pretty much disassemble it now. I'm guessing it must be a timer issue since I did not even get a chance to start it before it shorted and popped the breaker.

Was hoping some of you here with this kind of experience might have some insight on what to look for. I'm so sad this happened. It is such a beautiful machine and does such a great job. I really want to fix it and get it back into service.

Thanks!

Jon

(I attached a picture of the dryer panel so you guys know what I'm talking about.)

 

[coldspot66]

Did you get a burning plastic smell? Check for burnt/discolored terminals at the timer and/or burnt bakelite shell of the timer.

 

[jons1077]

Hmm...

Strange...

I checked behind the panel, timer, wiring...also the main connection to the power cord, motor, etc. I could not really find anything abnormal. Wondering if this is just some strange happening.

Jon

 

[a440]

Dang!
Your heating element didn't crack? If the smell was in the drum, it could be your heating element.
Quick fix and still available.
Let us know what you find out.
Great looking dryer!
Brent

 

[jons1077]

I'll have to check that too...

The weird thing is I didn't even start the dryer. All it took was turning the dial and something shorted out. It truely baffles me.

 

[imperialmarkxii]

curious cat

Hey Jon,

Bummer about the dryer, especially since it's a GOOD one. Hopefully someone will be able to zero in and troubleshoot the problem for you w/out too much time & frustration.

The cat in the picture reminds me of mine, in that anything new or different, or OUT OF PLACE; he has to check out, ha ha!

-Russell

PS: Good Luck!!!

 

[pturo]

Did you check the breaker box at the fuse/breaker panel? Sometimes as a fail safe they trip, or if they are those old 220 shotgun shell fuses, they fry there first.

 

[yogitunes]

yes...check the fuses...i had a kenmore do that..was the fuse box...but the surge burnt out the electronic board...causing the wire harness to melt...had to replace both...

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Be sure to check your heating element(burnt wires cracked insulators). There is a terminal switch in the motor that could have a short in it or the motor could be shorted. Check your wiring harness also. You can rule out components such as the motor, heating elements, switches, etc. by disconnecting each one taping off the terminal leads of the wires and plugging the machine in to see if it trips the circuit breaker. You could also use a multimeter to check for resistance and continuity.

 

[pdub]

Jon,

Did you find the problem? At least you have the spare control panel to use for parts. Let me know if I can help.

Patrick

 

[cornutt]

I don't know if the GE is wired this way, but some dryers are wired so that power is suppplied to the heating element whenever the timer is in a non-'off' position. The thermostat is on the neutral side of the heater and actually cycles its current flow. So if the heating element or the wiring leading to it is shorted, it will blow as soon as the timer is turned.

 

[jons1077]

Cornutt,

What you described could very well be the issue. The smell of smoke was inside the drum for sure. I am certain these are original elements in this dryer as it appears no work was ever done to it.

So elements heat up even when the dryer is not started? I didn't think it did that but what do I know? I'll have to dive into it a little later and see what the elements look like.

The circuit panel in the house is modern...no old fuses. The short was heard in the dryer and I am using the Westinghouse dryer from the same outlet and it's doing fine. I can safely rule that possibility out.

I really do apprecite the helpful pointers from all of you. It'll get fixed one way or another even if it means all new wiring, etc.

Jon

 

[toggleswitch2]

~I don't know if the GE is wired this way, but some dryers are wired so that power is suppplied to the heating element whenever the timer is in a non-'off' position. The thermostat is on the neutral side of the heater and actually cycles its current flow. So if the heating element or the wiring leading to it is shorted, it will blow as soon as the timer is turned.

Actually with a 220v element in North America, there is no neutral; both sides are hot/live. So if I am reading this correctly a ground-fault ("short") of the heating element [or elsewhere] could cause power to flow, even though the timer and/or the the motor's centrifugal switch are opening one side of the circuit, in theory preventing power flow when the drum is not turning (especially with the timer switched "off")

The proper way here to control 220v circuits is to switch off BOTH sides (say with a double-pole switch) of the circuit just to prevent such eventuality from occuring. Don't think dryers do that.

Please clarify! Thanks!

 

[cornutt]

Toggles, I was thinking of my old Whirlpool (circa 1991) dryer. One time, I had a sneaker get its toe in between the back edge of the drum, and the stationary back plate. I happened to be walking by and heard an odd noise; the dryer was on, but the jam had locked the motor; it was just humming. When I opened the dryer to find out what was going on, I was stunned to see the heating element still hot without any air flow. It went off after I opened the door, though.

The only way I can figure that happened is that the timer keeps voltage applied to the heater whenever it is not off. I never looked carefully at the wiring diagram, but I assume it had a motor start relay which had contacts at the other end of the heater circuit, and as long as that relay remained engaged, the heater remained on (under control of the thermostat, one would hope).

 

[rwolf458]

1968 GE Versatronic Dryer

I have a 1968 GE Versatronic Dryer that stopped heating a week ago. I bought this dryer new in 1968 and have been using it as the family dryer ever since. It is the best dryer that I have ever used. I have replaced the heating coils twice and the belt three times. Now the motor runs and the drum spins but there is no heat. The heating elements are good. I have a burnt resistor on the circuit board but I don't have the circuit schematics so I don't know the value of the resistor. It is a 1 watt. Does anybody have the schematic for this dryer? Does anybody know there I can locate a working circuit board?

 

[combo52]

GE Dryer Not Heating

The burnt diode on the dryness board is not the cause of the no heat condition, Check out the heating circuit in the dryer and before you spend too much time on the dryer make sure the dryer still has 240 volts at the terminal block, even though the dryer still runs you may have lost one of the hot legs on the circuit feeding the dryer which will keep it from heating at all, the wiring label should be glued on the back of the dryer.

 

[combo52]

GE Dryer Not Heating

The burnt diode on the dryness board is not the cause of the no heat condition, Check out the heating circuit in the dryer and before you spend too much time on the dryer make sure the dryer still has 240 volts at the terminal block, even though the dryer still runs you may have lost one of the hot legs on the circuit feeding the dryer, the wiring label should be glued on the back of the dryer.