57 GE dryer fix - temp switch

[delco1946]

I took the timer dial apart and cleaned the contacts. Everything seems to spin freely. I reached out to a local person about rebuilding the electric timer motor itself, who declined. I’m assuming this is a matter of gummed up inner workings so I guess I will attempt to deconstruct/ degrease and then relubricate. If anyone has done this successfully please let me know if you have tips. Fingers crossed.

Also which way is the dial supposed to turn? I’ve been assuming clockwise.

Meanwhile I compounded the paint job ( as if it were a car) to take out some bad oxidation and discoloring. It still has scratches and is far from perfect but I may just leave that for now. I’m unsure as to how much “character” I want.

 

[combo52]

1957 GE dryer electrical problems

Does the timer motor still have continuity does it get slightly warm after it’s been on for 10 minutes.

If it still gets warm, it may just be gummed up as you mentioned, I drill a tiny hole into the gear area and just squirt some penetrating oil, and usually that will free up sticky old grease And will make them run again. If the motor windings are open, you really need to find another timer motor. Unless you want to try rewinding it.

I’m not sure which way the timer turns you can tell by looking at the dial obviously it turns from 30 minutes to zero for example it doesn’t matter which way you turn it when you’re setting it ,

Those old timers tend to have contact problems for the heat circuit. They weren’t real good timers whenever I’ve restored an old GE dryer or any other 240 V dryer. I add a heat relay so that no current is going through the timer Contacts and the thermostats and the motor centrifugal switch. These are all high failure items on old electric dryers. If you want to use the machine much, it’s wise to put in a power relay.

Hope that helps, happy New Year’s.

 

[delco1946]

John - I measured about 1000 ohms resistance, so neither open or shorted. I hadn’t left it powered on for long ( wasn’t sure if polarity mattered but attempted to connect black to hot and white to neutral).

Regarding the dial, wow I feel dumb now lol. Great point. Clockwise is indeed correct ( wasn’t sure if anti clockwise would hurt the motor itself).

I get what you’re saying about changing where/ how the current passes thru the switches. I was wondering at how such a delicate switching mechanism handles the current associated with heaters in a 240 volt system. However I would not know where to begin to fabricate a new power relay system. Do you have example parts/schematics etc that you can point me to as an example? Many thanks.

 

[delco1946]

I thought I’d post some pictures as I never found anything like this online anywhere. I took my timer motor apart rather accidentally by spraying brake cleaner thru the perforation on the back. I bet canned air would be the same thing but it “popped” the back off with out unnecessary prying that might damage the case. The internal gears are all metal save one which appears to be plastic they slide up on the shafts, so be careful if you turn over the motor as gears can slip off once lubricated, especially the first two.

I gently pried off the thin metal cover on the other side, which houses a circular metal piece that spins, and in my case, barely moved. It was so gummed up at the center shaft, which travels through the entire assembly to the gears. I sprayed brake cleaner on all the gears to clean them, and then sprayed some on the shaft that goes through the entire assembly, spinning the circular metal piece and gently moving it up and down along the access while spraying with brake cleaner so that it may travel along the shaft. It took 10 to 20 minutes of spraying, letting it sit and working it for to feel like it finally would spin smoothly. I then flushed with carb cleaner mostly to remove/ replace brake cleaner and repeated the process, as carb cleaner is gentler and less aggressive and damaging, especially to plastic parts (albeit much less effective). I the. Let sit and dry over night. PSA - do not apply heat or electricity that could intern cause heat to brake cleaner as you risk creating phosgene, which is deadly toxic.

The next day, I applied a very lightweight lubricant and reassembled it now works .

 

[repairguy]

Great news!

 

[delco1946]

It’s alive!

Everything works altho based on my temp’ing I suspect my attempt to improve the timer’s electrical contacts failed which based on resistance readings was rather touchy to the heaters. The options seem to be either bending the metal tabs ( worried I might accidentally crack the wafer board) or building up the actual contact area somehow (solder?).

Only other annoyance is it’s noisier than ideal, probably due to rubber rollers sitting in one position for 40 years getting misshapen by the drum. Even my hodge podged door switch seems to coordinate.

 

[delco1946]

Painting help please

Dryer is up and running. Last task is to repair the paint damage on the display panel because the white stripe across the top has powdered off. Rinsed off easily and touched up the silver lettering. I got white latex paint and thinned it with water and applied it (let it pool evenly across the surface).

I’m not pleased with how it turned out and despite thinning it, light doesn’t really pass thru. Has anyone done something similar? The first attempt is still fresh so I think I’ll so it and just try and scrape it off. Is there a luminescent paint I should be using or what? Spray paint could be applied thinner but this isn’t a bright white color and sprays don’t have much color choices (which is why I want with latex).

 

[delco1946]

Done!

Not totally in love with my white paint job, looks fine sans light but when lit up you can see imperfections. But I’ve tried both thinned latex and spray paint. The thinned latex almost looked better but I’m too tired to keep scrubbing it all off. It would need a sign painting professional I think.

 

[repairguy]

Looks great! Congrats