Maytag HDE 806 Dryer no longer heating

[dalangdon]

My beloved Harvest Gold Maytag dryer has stopped heating! Do they still make parts for this model? Anything I should try before calling the repair guy (who is based out of the next town over, so there’s a hefty trip charge)

It tumbles like a champ, just no heat.

 

[stuftrock1]

Sounds like a broken heating element. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about HOH dryers. The one classic Maytag product I have zero experience with. I did a quick online search for a replacement heating element and wasn't able to find one. Hopefully someone else here will be able to find you one.

 

[repairguy]

Heating parts are still available as new old stock for this dryer. I would say first make sure the voltage is correct at the wall receptacle and maybe take the cover off of the terminal block on back of the dryer to inspect electrical connections.

 

[qsd-dan]

It could be many things: Selector switch, cycling thermostat, high limit thermostat, heating element, motor, or wiring.

 

Any repairmen under the age of 55 is probably going to take one look at that dryer and run the other direction.

 

 

[maytag85]

It’s more than likely the high limit or cycling thermostat have failed. I’d try replacing the thermostats (won’t be much to loose plus you might as well replace them while the dryer is apart) since that is likely where the issue is. You’ll need a Supco L180-40 for the high limit and a cycling thermostat rated somewhere in the 125F range (130F will work as well). Hopefully this helps you get your dryer back up and running.

 

[dalangdon]

Thanks! I’ll be looking for those part, and almost certainly bugging you with questions when I’m ready to start working This set is at our house in Eastern WA, so we’re not here all the time.

 

[combo52]

Non-heating HOH electric dryer

As mentioned by others, make sure you have 240 V at the dryer you could’ve lost one leg of the power supply in the dryer will still run fine without heating. This is fairly common

Second most common thing is a bad heating element. These were very apt to have a foreign object fall in the element short out and caused the element to fail.

There are at least 10 different things that will cause his dryer to run and not heat I would not waste your time buying any parts like thermostats, etc. I would not replace anything that is not necessary. New parts are often not as good as what the dryer was made from originally ,

I would take the dryer apart start investigating or find somebody that knows about halo of heat dryers and is willing to work on it.

John

 

[dalangdon]

Where does the 240 usually fail? I k ow how to check the outlet, and that will tell me that both it and the breakers are good. I assume the next stop is the terminal block. Anything past that to check?

 

[turquoisedude]

I am reluctant to offer advice anymore, but if the outlet is checking out OK, showing 120 and 240 volts with a multimeter, I'd say look for a broken connection at the terminal block, timer, or at the heating element itself.  Connections can go bad over time....   If they look good, then test the heating element itself for continuity. 

 

[dalangdon]

So I’ve finally had a chance to look at this, and determined that it was manufactured in December of 1972. The tech manual (downloaded from AW, thank you) says that there were three versions: one with reed switch and wire baffle, one with reed switch and bar baffle, and one with SCR and bar baffle. Any idea which version this may be?

 

[repairguy]

It should be the last one of the three mentioned if built in 1972.

 

[dalangdon]

Success!

We spent mst of today working on this, and I’m happy to report that the dryer is once again up and running! The culprit ended up being the thermostat on top of the drum.

 

[maytag85]

Knew it would have been a bad high limit thermostat. Congratulations on getting it back up and running.

 

[dalangdon]

Ok, here's the deal - it heats again, but on regular it doesn't heat enough. It seems to work on Permanent Press, but regular seems to dry to the damp dry point and that's it.

I think it could be one of two things:

1) I crossed some wires putting it back together

or

2) The new thermostat had what looked like an adjustable control, but no indication of what the settings were, so I kept it at the factory setting.

 

[combo52]

Maytag, DE806 dryer heating issues

It’s normal for this machine to not completely dry clothing on the normal cycle. It was designed to leave the clothes, slightly damp most people use the permanent press cycle for everything if they wanted clothing really dry.

The new thermostat should’ve had instructions with it instructing what setting to be used depending on where the thermostat was used in the dryer, I’m assuming from what you said this is the thermostat at the front of the machine on top of the heater housing that you replaced and not the one on the rear blower housing.

If it’s the one at the front, it should be set for around 180°F , if it’s the one at the rear, it should be set for about 150.

John

 

[dalangdon]

Thanks, John. There were no instructions in the package, and I don't remember numbers, just maybe letters? But it sounds like it may be working as intended. In any event, I don't want to go through another round of disassembling that beast

 

[maytag85]

In a nutshell, here’s what the Maytag electronic dry control means/translates to:

Air Fluff: Air Drying
Damp Dry: Damp Dry
Regular: Dry
Permanent Press: More Dry

 

[rodknock95]

Instructions for thermostat

There should have been instructions telling you where to put that thermostat setting at. This might help if this is the one you got.

PS, I didnt read all the thread before saying the same thing everyone else did. Hey, though, I did have a attachment, LOL

 

[dalangdon]

Thanks! I read the maintenance manual for this dryer, and it didn't say anything about taking the top off, so we removed the whole cabinet, which is a major PITA. Is there a way to remove the top?