Maytag Electronic Dry DG906 Question

[pturo]

My DG906 has been working strangely. The REG and Perm Press button cycle hardly works for 15 minutes, wet clothes. The Damp Dri works longer and actually leaves them dryer than the other two buttons, does what it says.

1.) I have checked the wiring to the motherboard and all is attached(easy to come loose though)
2.) Vent is rigid and immaculately clean, damper thing opens outside.
3.) High limit switch and cycling switches 9 months new
4.) Electronic control board 9 months new
5.) Have a ground wire from the very bottom of the cabinet in back attached to a cold water pipe.
6. The 3 prong plug is attached to a 3 prong outlet(replacement) that I doubt very much is actually grounded, (1955) home.

Is there some special place where the electronic control discharges the battery on the cabinet that is better than others?

Should I ground the 3 prong outlet to a cold water pipe?

Phil

 

[danemodsandy]

Phil:

Grounding seems to be essential on electronic sensor 'Tags- my own DE606 doesn't work correctly if it's not grounded. And it's a much simpler machine than yours. Since you do have a ground wire attached to the cabinet (are you using the factory ground screw, or some other screw?), your outlet may be somehow at fault, but I'll leave that to mightier minds than my own.

 

[toggleswitch]

~ Have a ground wire from the very bottom of the cabinet in back attached to a cold water pipe.

Assuming all works as it should (and that paint is not insulating the ground wire from the cabinet) this effectively grounds the outlet, even if it is improperly (or is no longer) grounded through its own wiring.

 

[pturo]

I assume it is the factory ground screw,but I am wondering if that is overrided by the 3 prong to the outlet. Toggles has a point, I painted the back of the cabinet, but to my original question, could I ground the cabinet anywhere?

 

[pturo]

Another Thought

How about connecting a ground where the cabinet first is grounded from the ground wire first coming in that attaches to the cabinet? That seems to me where the discharge or non discharge of the electronic control would happen based on the wiring, but correct me if I am wrong.

 

[gansky1]

With the dryer empty, press the damp-dri button to start the machine. It should shut off within 20-30 seconds if the electronic control is working properly. If it does shut off within that timeframe, we'll go on to step two...

You can ground the cabinet anywhere - and it should be fine the way you have it. I've used quite a few of these HOH dryers w/electronic control with the cabinet not grounded and they worked just fine.

 

[cuffs054]

Have you cleaned the sensors in the drum?

 

[pturo]

On Damp Dri when empty, the dryer runs for 4 minutes, chimes with button popping out and then cycles for 1 minute without heat and then stops. I cleaned the sensors inside the drum with rubbing alcohol and I do not use any sort of fabric softner. I still have the old microchip box, maybe I should put it back in and see what happens on the damp dri?

 

[volvoguy87]

Grounded outlet.

Go to the hardware store and in the home electrical section you can buy an inexpensive outlet tester. It plugs into your outlet and has 3 lights on it. The lights will come on in a sequence according to how your outlet is wired. By checking the displayed lights against the key on top of the tester, you can determine if your outlet is properly grounded, and properly wired otherwise.
Also, make sure that the water pipe is actually grounded. If there's a plastic connection between sections of pipe somewhere, it may not be grounded.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[bobbyderegis]

Phil,
the loose connections on the electronic control could be your problem. I had to solder the connections on my 606. Did you consider replacing the electronic control as well?
Bobby in Boston

 

[pturo]

Bobby,
This is a new electronic control(1 year) But the wires seem to fit very loosely.

Dave,
Thanks for the tip. Never hurts to have an outlet tester.

Phil

 

[pturo]

The Mistery Gets even more Confusing

So, today I disconnected the "new" microprocessor from the wires to the control panel and plugged in the old one without actually installing it to the cabinet, and lo and behold, when pushing the damp dri, it shut off in 7 seconds. So, thinking I had a hit on the problem, I re-installed the old microprocessor to the cabinet, and guess what? The thing runs like it used to, runs 7 to 12 minutes on Damp Dri. What in hell am I doing wrong? My brother has cardiac patients that have recived less attention that this dryer has.
I just don't get it about these electronic dry Maytags, it seems that when the planets align, and perhaps you are wearing the right outfit, and the machine faces north during the summer solstice, the thing will dry the clothes when it wants to, but stand by. I totally get the mechanical/electric concept but I just dont know why they are so hyper sensitive. Perhaps I shold solder the componets.

 

[pturo]

The Mistery Gets even more Confusing

So, today I disconnected the "new" microprocessor from the wires to the control panel and plugged in the old one without actually installing it to the cabinet, and lo and behold, when pushing the damp dri, it shut off in 7 seconds. So, thinking I had a hit on the problem, I re-installed the old microprocessor to the cabinet, and guess what? The thing runs like it used to, runs 7 to 12 minutes on Damp Dri. What in hell am I doing wrong? My brother has cardiac patients that have recieved less attention than this dryer has.
I just don't get it about these electronic dry Maytags, it seems that when the planets align, and perhaps you are wearing the right outfit, and the machine faces north during the summer solstice, you stand on one foot facing the right direction, the thing will dry the clothes when it wants to, but stand by, it might just not like you. I totally get the mechanical/electric concept but I just dont know why they are so hyper sensitive. Perhaps I shold solder the componets to the circuit board. I am so over this machine! It is beautiful, but anyone who wants to trade a Maytag dryer with a center dial timer with heat setting buttons, let's trade.

 

[mattl]

Grounding...

Odds are your problem is not related to this since the machine worked correctly at some point but....

When you double ground anything you are asking for trouble, especially in an older home. For a ground to work properly it needs to be a common point. A rod is driven in the ground near the Electric meter and this is a reference point. If you have copper plumbing in your home the ground rod needs to be bonded with it and any potential interruptions need to be bypassed. That is why your water meter or well should have a jumper around it. By bonding it the two points have the same potential and electrically speaking are the same point.

Now, if your plumbing is not bonded to your electrical service, not uncommon in older homes, and you have a grounding plug and outlet but then you also ground the cabinet to the plumbing you create a potential problem. Potential in two ways - if the to connections are not at the some point electrically there will be a difference in potential. This can be a fraction of a volt, or many volts. This leads to the other potential problem. If there is a difference in ground point potential then current will be flowing through the common point, in this case your dryer. Depending on how your home is wired worse case scenario is the the entire house is grounding through your dryer, not good for the electronic circuitry or you. This is why by code if you have multiple ground rods they all must be bonded together with a heavy gauge wire. Your cable, phone and even TV antenna all need to be connected to a common ground point.

Your best bet is to establish if you have a working ground at the plug, if it truly is ground and use only one connection as ground.

 

[toggleswitch]

Can't recommend this on 230v................

Using a standard neon tester to check for earth/ground.

I'm sure most of us understand sticking one lead into the hot opening of an outlet /power-point, and the other in the ground opening should cause the tester to light.

Here is what you may not know (although it may be safe and possible........I CAN NOT recommend this on 230v....)

WITH THIS TYPE OF TESTER ONLY..... one lead may be stuck in the hot side of an outlet and the other lead may be allowed to make contact WITH YOUR VERY OWN FINGER. You will get the thing to partialy light up.

This is useful to ensure that you have actually made contact witht the "hot/live" lead should the outlet not have a neutral or a good ground enabling you to light it up otherwise.

REMEBER:
THIS PROCEDURE IS FOR A "NEON" NOT A REGULAR LAMP / LIGHT BULB TESTER!

 

[toggleswitch]

Make your work interesting, but NOT shocking/ heart-stopping

BTW in general, when in doubt if a wire is energized, a mindful "electrician" works with one hand "in his/her back pocket."

This ensures current does not travel "in" one hand and "out" the other, across the heart.

 

[pturo]

Toggles,
The outlet for the washer and dryer is grounded per my new plug in tester. When the fusebox was replaced with circuits 5 years ago, a rod was put in the ground and as well the panel in wired to the main cold water line, with a jump wire between each side of the water meter. The cable is grounded to this pipe, not sure where the telephone is grounded.

So, you are saying that I don't need to ground the cabinet as well? The maytag washer is also on this outlet, and I gounded the cabinet to the cold water pipe as well.

I think I am confusing the whole ground process.
Should I just disconnect the cabinet grounds on the washer and dryer and let the outlet do the gounding?

Thanks, by the way, for the above information.

Phil

 

[gansky1]

Further Testing

Here are the pages from the Maytag Electrical Testing Guide for the Electronic control '06 models. This should be helpful....

Those who have an '06 series electronic control dryer should save these pages on your hard drive for future reference.

 

[gansky1]

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