maytag DE308 power cord connection help......

[hippiedoll]

hi everybody!!!

ok, so i'm trying to connect the 4 prong power cord to the DE308 dryer that i bought a little while back. but i've run into a couple of problems.....

i already screwed on the black, white, red wires, in that order, on the tabs.

my problem is:
1. i can't figure out where to screw the green wire to?

2. i couldn't fit the "strain relief" into the hole, with both halves together. so, i took the 2 screws out and put the "strain relief" into the hole. but now i can't get the screws back into the 2 halves??

i'm adding 2 pictures to show you just how far i've gotten.

thank you in advance, for your replies & advice/opinion.

 

[turquoisedude]

Christina, the green wire can go on any screw or bolt that touches the frame of the dryer.    The original strain relief may have been slightly narrower to accommodate a 3-conductor cord.  You can pick up a new one at a hardware store.  

 

Hope this helps!!  

 

 

 

[hippiedoll]

hi paul!!

thank you for your reply.

first,
the strain relief, is the one that came in the package with this power cord. it is a new strain relief that came with this power cord.
what happened was i couldn't get it into the hole, so i took the screws off and slipped both halves into the hole in the back panel and i am trying to put the screws back into the strain relief halves, but i can only get them in so far and i can't turn the screwdriver anymore to make the halves get tighter. and it is in a wierd position, that i can't grab the screwdriver better to try to turn it harder. but the strain relief is a new one.
also, when i took the screws out of the halves, it was kinda hard to unscrew the last part out. i don't know if i messed something up by taking the screws all the way out??
what do you think??

as for the green wire, so it would safe to put it against the cabinet, where the access cover screw, screws the little access cover onto the back?? would that be ok?

thank you again for your reply paul. i just can't figure out why it is so hard for me to put the screws all the way through the strain relief halves??

 

[hippiedoll]

quick update....

ok, i got the green wired connected onto the screw that holds the electrical terminals access panel, onto the back panel of the cabinet (if this makes sense?).

as for the strain relief, i did get the right hand side screw to go in both haves and i can tighten the strain relief on that side. but the other screw, on the left hand side, is really giving me trouble trying to get it to go all the way in!!?? damn thing!!!

gonna go out there again and give it another try now that i've given my fingers a little rest.

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, maybe the screws weren't meant to be taken all the way out of the strain relief.  I've done that before on the ones used for house wiring and a couple of vintage GE ovens but they always went right back together again...  Try putting the old one back and see if that works better.  It may be that the new screws had a tapered thread at the end to prevent them from falling out if too loose.  You could also build up a few layers of electrical tape around the cord where it goes through the strain relief and tighten the clamp as much as you can.  I don't think you'd be moving the dryer around that much so a really tight strain relief may not be necessary.   

 

For the green wire,  you could attach it to the access cover, but if there is another place nearby to attach it, I'd recommend doing that.  The ground shouldn't be somewhere it could get disconnected by mistake or work loose for sure!  If there is another hole in or around the cover plate, you could always attach the green wire with a nut and bolt and then just let the cover plate sit on that.  It won't be perfectly level, but it will be at the back of the dryer.  

 

Hope this helps!!

 

 

 

[hippiedoll]

FINALLY!!!

ok, i hope i got this right!!

i finally got both screws on the strain relief nice & tight on the cord. after trying and pushing and turning, i finally got the left side screw to go in. and so what i did was clamp a locking wrench onto the strain relief, holding both halves together, tightly onto the power cord, and i tighten the 2 screws as far as they could go.
so i'm really hoping that i got this all right!!!
LOL......

i can't believe how much harder it was to finish, than i thought it would be. i mean, i connected everything pretty easy. it was just getting the screws to go in, on the strain relief.

so, i hope it was ok to connect the green wire to the access panel cover screw?? because that is touching the actual cabinet......
please let me know, as i am pretty anxious to plug this baby in to see if everything works as it should!!!

thank you again.....

)

 

[hippiedoll]

the strain relief screws....

yeah, the tips of the screws do look slight tapered. and there is also a v-shaped wedge cut out of the tip & beginning of the threads. if that makes sense.

and the dryer didn't come with a strain relief or an electrical cord when i bought it. the seller/owner took it off to use on the new dryer they bought.

here is a picture so that you can see the tips of the screws and how they slightly taper and have that v-shaped wedge cutout....

 

[combo52]

Proper 4 Wire Dryer [ or range ] Cord installation.

You need to completely remove the aluminum grounding strip that is attached to the center terminal and attach the green grounding wire from the cord to the screw where the aluminum was screwed to the steel bracket that the terminal strip is attached.

 

[washdaddy]

Christina-
I know it's been a while but how did your mother finally react when she discovered that you had a dryer sitting in the side yard? hehehehe

Rick -Washdaddy

 

[hippiedoll]

hey combo52....

roger is going to be coming over this week to help me ground this dryer and probably double-check my "handy" work.
hee hee hee......

roger messaged me and said he knows exactly what you are talking about. so, we will be doing what you said.
thank you for your reply. i appreciate you chiming in )

 

[hippiedoll]

washdaddy/rick.....

believe it or not but, moms still doesn't know about the dryer!!
and if she did notice it or knows that i have it there in the sideyard, she hasn't said anything to me about it!!
ha ha ha ha......

D

my next move will be to clear out a section in the backroom and bring it into the house, during the week when moms is at work.
hm hm hm.......

;o)

can't wait to see if it even works...........

 

[thefixer]

To reiterate combo52's remarks. You should remove the existing metal strap that goes from the terminal block center stud to cabinet ground. When using a 4 wire power cord, you should not connect neutral and ground together. With them connected together, both neutral and ground will now conduct current and ground should NEVER normally be a current carrying conductor.

 

[cuffs054]

What the Fixer said.

 

[goatfarmer]

Good job, Christina! The V notch in the screw usually means it's a self tapping screw, they can be harder to work with.

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you's to:

thefixer & cuffs054;
for your advice & inputs.

goatfarmer/kenny;
for your vote of confidence.

i appreciate your guys's inputs and encouragement.

)

 

[hippiedoll]

update & thank you.....

first off,
thank you to our member Rogera608s/roger, for coming over & all of your help.

me and roger (roger really) did get the aluminum strip off the neutral terminal and ground screw that was on that metal bracket. and got the green ground wire screwed onto the bracket. and we plugged the maytag DE308 in and it worked and heated up nicely!!!
we even noticed that the felt stripping along the back panel of the tumbler, looked like it was missing. so, roger took off the front panel, lifted the cabinet top, and removed the tumbling drum to see if there was any issue with the felt stripping. which was still there and was probably bent up in the position it was in, from the very beginning. the felt strip was still glued down and still had a good seal to the tumbler/drum.
so, roger put the tumbler/drum & dryer all back together.

so, we know that the maytag DE308 works the way it is supposed to; tumbles, heats up and turns off at the end of the timer cycle. so everything is working the way it should. now the next thing is to make room inside the "laundry" room for this maytag dryer to be paired up with the maytag A608. although they won't be side by side or even next to each other, at least they will be in the same room!

;o)

i couldn't have gotten this maytag DE308 dryer up & running without you guys & roger.

so a big THANK YOU, to turquoisedude, combo52, thefixer, cuffs054, goatfarmer/kenny and Rogera608s/roger. i truly do appreciate your reading my thread, giving me advice, sending me the terminal cover, and coming over & helping me.

much love to you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hippiedoll/christina ;o)

here are 2 pictures i took today....
1. roger after he got the drum off, to check the felt stripping.
2. the inside of the dryer cabinet with the drum off.

 

[combo52]

Yay Christina and Roger

Glad you got it running, it looks like it will run a while longer.

 

[ovrphil]

Happy Endings

Good job, both of you and especially to Roger. I'm glad for you Christina.

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you...

john & phil. and to roger too! he is definitely a blessing to know & a super nice friend to have!!!

)