maytag a704 & de606

[cougnut]

I love this set. I just picked up from original owners on craigslist. They are beautiful and work/wash better than my woodgrain kenmores. The belt drive system is so quiet.

My question is the dryer. The bell rings at 15 minutes of drying. Is there a fix or is this normal?

Any help on the timing issue would be appreciated.
cougnut

Pics comming soon.

 

[kenmore71]

There are a number of causes for this. What it ultimately means is that the current from the capacitor in the electronic control is not grounding properly. This could be caused by a a machine grounding issue, a drum slip ring issue or another handful of other things. usually not hard to fix if you go about it methodically.

 

[macboy91si]

Hmm

Personally, I'm more interested in the A704, this is a new one to me. Could the actual failed capacitor (leaked, dried out) be an issue here? I'm also watching this space as I have an old HOH electronic dryer as well. It works fine, but I don't know as much yet about the HOH electronic system as I'd like to.

 

-Tim

 

[kenmore71]

If the capacitor were bad it would fail to shut off at all.

Sounds like the capacitor works just fine if it shuts off after 15 mintes (that's a bit long for Regular/Air and about right for PP. Does it shut off within about 10 - 15 seconds on Damp Dry? Really sounds like there's some sort of continuity issue between the electronic control and the drum baffles. There's a remote possibility it could also be a grounding issue, but that's rare on electric dryers.

More likely than not, the wire that attaches to drum the slip ring has come loose or the carbon brush that rides the slip ring is not seated properly or missing completely.

 

[cougnut]

update

ok guys, i installed a #6 ground to a clamp on the cold water, no change, the de606 still rings done after approx 15 minutes. it works so good, i dried a full load of jeans in 3 pushes of the button (45 minutes mabye). i am so determined to "fix" the problem, just lmk. i have included pics of my babies.

thanks again for all you help.
cougnut

 

[cougnut]

oh yeah

i will attempt to dry in other modes to see what happens, this might help in troubleshooting the problem. here are more pics. the original owners kept these things in above average shape. they even replaced both motors in the units within the last 10 years.

 

[akronman]

water pipe grounding

I'm not sure in the picture even though I enlarged it, but it looks like PVC plastic pipes, which won't carry any charge at all. If I am seeing things wrongly, sorry. But if it is a plastic pipe, try instead grounding it at the plug for the washer. I have a DE606 working perfectly, but all the instructions are clear as a bell that the machine needs to be grounded. Also, no idea here how long the grounding wire has been on the machine, but maybe find a new screw hole to attach it to, unpainted metal contact.

 

Also, as stated somehwere above, the overall check for the electronics is usually empty drum, damp dry button, should ring the bell in under 20 seconds. And you know if you change the dial while running, the new setting does not take place until you push that button again.

 

My apologies if I'm seeing the pipes wrong.

 

Also, does it operate any differently between Regular and Heavy?

 

[cougnut]

no change

the ground clamp is on the pipe behind the wall, good eye tho, i tried to keep it stealth.

looks like the dryer still stops around 15 minutes, on heavy of regular, i will try the other settings (fluff, damp), and see if there is any difference.

looking foward to the next step of troubleshooting. thanks
cougnut.

 

[appnut]

A704

I think that's an A407

 

[cougnut]

duh

your right, it is an A407
i will throw up serial #'s tommarrow to find out the date.
thanks
cougnut

 

[volvoguy87]

Cleaning.

Just a thought. The moisture sensors on the baffles can be coated with wax from dryer sheets. Wipe them down with rubbing alcahol to remove the wax and see if performance improves.

Dave

 

[cougnut]

baffles?

ok, will do, and i'll let you know. are the baffles behind the lint trap? i will check.
thanks
cougnut

 

[akronman]

baffles

the baffles are the three bars inside the drum, entirely visible.  At the top of them, closest to clothes, are metal strips for sensing moisture. Very easy to clean. Very visible.