KitchenAid dryer: bad control board?

[zipdang]

Our KitchenAid electric dryer model KEHS02RWH1 (a WP Duet clone) has developed a problem. The control panel powers on and lights up, but as soon as the start button is pressed the entire dryer goes dead. It is not tripping the breaker in the fuse panel so I’m wondering if perhaps the control board has gone bad. The dryer is about 8 years old and I’m attempting to determine if it is cost effective to repair it versus replacing it with a new machine.

Thoughts?

 

[murando531]

I'm not the most knowledgeable as far as the electronics on an appliance, but the control board is what it would sound like to me as well. As much as I love KitchenAid, even their later laundry machines, when it comes to dryers it would probably be better in the long run to buy a new one. If this were a washer or dishwasher, I'd tell you to do anything to repair it and keep it running for as long as possible, but dryers haven't really changed like those machines have in the past 20 years. The basic concept of a dryer has been the same for almost forever, because it only has to have good heat and good airflow to work well, and having features like auto-moisture sensors just makes them even better.

You'll probably pay around $200, sometimes over $300 for the control board, if that is what is causing the problem. A nice dryer will be anywhere from $600-$800, and the difference will most likely be paid off after a while from the savings of a more efficient dryer.

 

[combo52]

Fix or Replace a KA Dryer

You really have to find out what is wrong and how much it will cost to make this choice.

This problem could be a control panel issue a main power board or could be as simple as a bad door or belt switch. Is the problem consistent, will it stop when trying to start the dryer 20 times in a row in exactly the same time frame ?

Replacing the dryer with a new dryer will NEVER pay for itself, a new dryer will not save you a $1 a year in operating expense unless you do something like changing from an electric dryer to a natural gas heated dryer. Because dryer efficiency has not improved much if at all and because good dryers can easily last 30 years or more, it is almost always cheaper in the long to keep fixing them until they are pretty worn out. You can either pay $100-300 every 5-10 years on repairs or you can buy a new dryer for $600-1200 every 5-10 years, it does not take a calculator to figure witch is the more economical way to keep a working dryer in your home.

John L.

 

[thefixer]

This sounds like a loose connection. Power is available to operate the control board but as soon as you press start, the high current required for starting the motor and powering the heater causes the connection to fail. Could be at the wall socket or the power cord connection block at back of dryer. A faulty door switch or belt switch can prevent the dryer from starting but wouldn't kill power to the control board. Unplug dryer, remove small cover at rear for access to connection block. Look for loose connection or burned/melted wires there. Reseat all connections at control board. This may be beyond your capability but monitoring the voltage at the connection block while pressing start would tell you if the voltage is dropping due to faulty connection inside wall socket or further up the line to the AC panel.

 

[zipdang]

Thanks guys for all the info!

Once I realized it wasn't just a burned out drum light bulb and the whole machine was dead I suspected it had something to do with starting the dryer and that it was shorting out when it tried to restart itself during the extra care (wrinkle guard) phase after drying. That probably also rules out the actual start button since the machine will fail when it tries to self start. After leaving it alone for a day, then flipping the fuse panel breaker off overnight the machine seems to have reset itself, as now it starts up every time. Weird.

I'm using the machine and paying close attention to it. I'm not sure if the problem has sorted itself out or if it's temporarily working but will inevitably need a repair. It's an otherwise fine dryer and I have no desire to replace it. Was leaning towards a new MOL GE dryer but even replacing the expensive control board in the KitchenAid would be less expensive than a new dryer.