A DG409 won't shut off!

[volvoguy87]

I'm traveling through the midwest having all sorts of fun and right now I'm at a friend's house in Decatur, IL facing a bit of a problem. They have a Maytag center dial set (A108 and DG409). I am completely unfamiliar with the 09 series of center dials. The problem is that the dryer won't shut off on a moisture-sensing cycle. It shuts off just fine on a timed cycle, but the sensor cycle just keeps on running.

I am familiar with moisture sensing dryers shutting off too soon because of a waxy buildup on the sensors, but not shutting off is new to me. The dryer is a "Big Load" style not a Halo of Heat and the end of cycle chime is a buzzer, not a bell.

Anyone have any thoughts?
Dave

 

[goatfarmer]

Grounded?

Others will disagree, but I always make sure a Maytag electronic dryer has a seperate ground wire, going from the cabinet, to a water pipe, or a ground screw on an outlet.

 

[appliguy]

If I am not mistaken the D409- is not a moisture sensor drye

It uses what Maytag calls Auto Dry Contorl, which is basically a thermostat in the exhaust system measures the temp of the air leaving the dryer and when it gets to the preset temp the thrmostat turns off the heat and turns on the timer. Then when the temp falls below the preset temp the thermostat turns off the timer and turns back on the heating elemet. this process keeps going until the timer goes into cool down. David the best way to know for sure if this is an Auto Dry Control dryer is to look at the dial. If i am not mistaken the Auto Dry Control Dial has an Automatic Regular and Automatic Permanent Press Cycle. On both of these cycles you set the dial towards more or less dry depending on how dry you want the clothes. Also there will bhe a timed dry cycle. Another way to know for sure is to look at the baffles in the dryer, if the don't have a metal strip on them then it is an Auto Dry dryer. If it is an Auto Dry Control Dryer it sounds like maybe the cycling thermostatr may be bad......can anyone else deny or confirm this?????PAT COFFEY

 

[qsd-dan]

^^^ What Pat said.

I don't think the DG409 is a true electronic moisture sensing dryer. I have never worked on an auto dry control model, so I'll have to dig out the books and do some reading.

 

[volvoguy87]

Checked a few things.

There is a timed cycle as well as a timed air fluff cycle. There are 2 auto dry cycles, one regular and one perminant press. There are no sensor strips on the baffles.

Dave

 

[qsd-dan]

There are no sensor strips on the baffles.

Sensor strip on the 08 and newer models are right behind the filter housing. There is only one sensor and the strip is rather small. Probably the reason why HOH's are much more accurate at sensing moisture with 3 long length sensor strips in the direct path of the tumbling clothes.

 

[combo52]

MT NON ELECTRIONIC DRYER

This is temperature sensing auto dry system. It may have a bad thermostat or timer or even a broken wire from the thermostat. But most likely it has a bad vent system, make sure the vent is completely clean and assembled by the installation instructions. A long or blocked vent will cause the heater to cycle on the high limit thermostat and the operating thermostat will not cycle and the dryer will never shut off even though the clothes will eventually dry. MT was not smart enough to use a three wire hi limit thermostat so when they had a clogged vent they never shut off. The HOH DE407s did the same thing.

 

[volvoguy87]

More looking.

The vent run is short and is a fresh install. It's still clean. Where is the thermostat located and if I need to test it, is it testable or do I just replace it? If I need to replace it, what is the part number for it?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[volvoguy87]

I found the thermostats.

There are 2 and they are on the intake duct to the blower from the tumbler. They both have 3 wires and the wiring looks good. I can't tell which one is which, however, because the paper tag on each thermostat has fallen off and they were laying in the bottom of the cabinet. I'm looking on the Sears Parts Direct website's diagrams to identify which one is the cycling thermostat.

Dave

 

[super32]

this dryer should have 2 bottons to the right of the center dial? regular temp and delicate temp? The 2 t'stats, 1 is regular temp and the other is delicate. Unfortunatlly, i dont remember which one is which. If you find a parts look up, it should say.

Also i should ask, does the dryer seem to dry ok? heating ok? The reason i ask is, i have seen a few cases where, a customer will say, it wont shut off. Well come to find out, the gas coils start giving out and short cycling. It never gets hot enough to trigger the operating t'stat. This type of case usually happens to people that will put clothes in before bed or before work. They get up and/or come home to dry clothes but the dryer is still running.

Hope this helps.

 

[volvoguy87]

I ordered the 140 degree thermostat.

I'll install it tomorrow once it gets here. The dryer gets plenty hot. The gas is ignited without any issues and the owner says the dryer gets extra hot (leading me to blame the thermostat).

Dave

 

[combo52]

MT NON ELECTRONIC DRY SYSTEM

Dave both thermostats on the blower housing cycling thromostats, one is the low temp the other is the high temp. They are easy to test and if its the thermostat it would work on the other temperature. I would do a little more checking before spending money on possibly unneeded parts, you can always call if in drought.

 

[volvoguy87]

Thanks John

Please send me an email with your number, I neglected to save yours the last time we spoke.

I'm really more familiar with the HoH style,
Dave