Maytag LDE412 Series 2 Dryer

[maytagbeliever]

My dryer seems to take a long time to advance to off on auto dry so I am assuming it is the Cycling thermostat needs to be replaced. Appliancepartspros.com has the part but they do not show where it is located or how hard it is to replace. Does anyone know where this part is located and how hard it is to replace?

Thanks
Steven

 

[maranoman]

Thermostat located on Blower Housing

Steven - before you assume it is the cycling thermostat, have you already eliminated the possibility that the venting (ducting) of your dryer is not blocked or severely clogged with lint?  Also is the outlet of your ducting on the outside of your house free from obstruction? Most slow drying is caused by blocked ductwork or ductwork that is too long, which causes the dryer to cycle on the hi-limit thermostat, resulting in prolonged dry time. 

 

My guess is that your thermostats are fine. When using the autodry cycles, it will take a while before you see the timer begin to move on a Maytag DE412. As the clothes become more dry, the timer will move much faster towards the end of the cycle. If you have extremely long dry times, I would first inspect your ductwork.

 

But to answer your question:

 

The DE412 has two cycling thermostats - one for the regular temperature setting (304474 - 150 degrees) and one for the low temperature setting (304475 - 140 degrees). If is is a DE412 series 7, it will also have a thermal cutoff.  The cycling thermostats (and thermal cutoff) are located on the blower housing cover, which is located in the front lower left corner on a LDE412. To access it, FIRST UNPLUG YOUR DRYER. Then remove the two screws found on the front panel near the base (they are about 4 inches above the floor. When the screws are removed, you can tilt the front panel up and unhook it from the clips that hold it to the top cover. You will need to remove the two wires connected to the door switch as well. You will see the thermostats as soon as you remove the front panel.

 

Again, MAKE SURE THE DRYER POWER IS UNPLUGGED before replacing the thermostat(s). Use needle nose pliers to remove the wires from the thermostat(s). Take a picture if you need to so that you put the wires back in the correct place on the new thermostat(s). You will need a 1/4 socket driver to remove the two screws fastening the thermostats to the blower housing. Installation is the reverse of the preceding steps.

 

This would be a good time to clean out as much lint as possible from your dryer and also inspect the condition of the belt (look for signs of shredding on the belt edges.) If your dryer has been noisy, you should also inspect the rear drum rollers and the front drum glide bearings.

 

Below is a link to an excellent video showing the disassembly of a DE412. You only need to watch up to the removal of the bulkhead if you are just replacing the thermostat(s).  If you want to replace the belt, watch the entire video.

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

 

 

[this post was last edited: 1/12/2021-12:43]

 

[appnut]

Jeff, thank you for the thoughtful, thorough explanation for Steven. 

 

[maytagbeliever]

Thanks so much!

His Jeff,
I am careful to remove lint from the screen and screen assembly and also outside duck flapper door. My dryer is a Series 02 and someone was saying it may not actually have a cycling thermostat to feel the moisture content. It may use some other method to extrapolate how dry the clothes are. It just seams the cloths are hotter (overly dried) by the time the auto dry finishes. I'm the original owner and seen how the control accelerates as cloths dry. Maybe I am just imagining that autocycle has changed. hehe This dryer has never been opened up.

It breaks my heart that my washer and dryer look brand new and will probably bury me because they are so simple and well designed and well built and I have taken good care of them (I am a 2x cancer survivor and 62 - permanently disabled). And now everything is expensive complex junk built by our enemy and the bully of the world! I just repaired and painted my Patton (USA made) fan that fell out my window and damaged the fan blades and now it looks and runs like brand new - vibration free. My Hoover Celebrity Vacuum, my Deluxe Osterizer blender, Toastmaster toaster (that still toasts perfectly) all look like new and don't break. I never made much money in my life, but I was taught to always buy quality and to take care of my things so that they would take care of me. I feel so sad for kids now. How can they ever get ahead when nothing last anymore.

You should see how I refurbished and rebuilt my Maytag washing machine thanks to help here and watching videos. There isn't one speck of rust on it. I plan to post it. I just thank God I grew up at time when quality was a conviction, not just an advertisement! Thanks again.

Steven

 

[yogitunes]

Dryer sheets, like duct tape, to be used for everything except put in the dryer.....

these handy little tissues which makes your clothes static free and smell nice play havoc on a dryers internals, IE sensors and duct work.....best to avoid using them at all in a dryer....

if you dryer has never been opened, its probably the best time to open it and clean it out thoroughly....as well as the full run of the ductwork from the lint filter to the exterior vent...

keep us posted on your progress...

 

[qsd-dan]

While you have the front cover off, check the blower wheel. These blowers are notorious for stripping out and freewheeling on the motor shaft.

 

[maytagbeliever]

confusing

AppliancePartspros.com website says Cycling Thermostat 14 304475 is not compatible with my dryer LDE412? the drawing are not clear either. And you can no longer read the labels on the cycling thermostats. Cycling Thermostat 15 304474 and the Hi-Limit Thermostat 303396 are verified to be used on my LDE412

 

[maranoman]

Error in Parts Diagram

I believe that Appliance Parts Pros is wrong and are basing there omission of the 304475 thermostat on an error in the Whirlpool version of the DE412 parts diagram, which does not list the 304475 thermostat.  I have attached two photos below from the DE412 parts manual. The first  diagram shows the blower housing thermostats for all the 12 series machines. You will see two cycling thermostats shown for the DE/DG412 machines. The second diagram is specific to the DE412 and for some reason, they omitted the second thermostat (4 on the first diagram). The hi-limit thermostat s attached to the heating element so is on another page in the parts diagram.

 

Also attached is the electrical diagram of a DE412 again showing the presence of two cycling thermostats and one hi-limit thermostat.

 

The DE/DG412s are perhaps one of my favorite Maytag dryers. I love the thermostatically-controlled automatic drying design concept for its flexibility in selecting how dry you want your clothes. The electronic-sensing Maytags are excellent, but don't provide the same flexibility in my opinion.

 

As luck would have it, I've run into a string of three DG412s recently in my neck of the woods, otherwise known as the Land of Maytag Milk and Honey (Des Moines is 35 minutes west of Newton. ) I restored all three DG412s over the past two months. All three had two cycling thermostats. The DE412 would have the same.

 

I've attached photos of one of my DG412s (before and after) showing the blower housing thermostats (this was a series 7 machine, so it also has the thermal fuse to the left of the thermostats.) Finally, I've attached a photo of my Maytag Plant 2 Dryer Line "re-creation" in my garage!

 

I'm still not convinced you have a thermostat issue. Can you easily pull your dryer away from the wall and disconnect the exhaust ducting?  Then run a load of wet clothes from the washer to see how long it takes?  If it runs much faster, then I would look into your ductwork for any obstructions.

 

Qsd-dan also brings up a good point - check your blower fan and see if its connection to the motor shaft is loose. Your motor might be doing its job but if the blower fan is not connected well, it can lead to poor air flow and cycling of your hi-limit thermostat.

 

[maytagbeliever]

Update

I opened the dryer as recommended and took out the tumbler and completely cleaned it up with 409 and mineral spirits. It was nasty including oil/grease, but now looks like new. I cleaned the lint housing and felt seals, etc. Then I bit the bullet and as recommended I cleared the ductwork. I taped a chop stick to the blower fan so it couldn't rotate and to a gas backpack blower and blew high speed air through it and was surprised a fair amount of lint cam out. The I had my wife turn on the shop vac at the blower and went outside and blew in from the other direction and more came out. Then reversed direction again, but nothing more came out. So now I know the ductwork is clear. The blower fan is well connected to the motor shaft.There is 1" of play/movement in the motor shaft and fan blade.

Thanks for your info on the thermostats - you were correct. Even though the label were no longer readable, the supplier was able to tell which thermostat went to the right and to the left. And when I installed the new ones, the labels also stated what color wires when were and they matched. I also replaced the Hi-Limit Thermostat (I am keeping the old ones just in case), Tumbler Bearing Kit and will be replacing the rollers and felt seals front and back when they come in. I saw some partial cuts in the felt and thought I will just replace them while I am at it. If anyone knows a video of how to do it I would love to see it. I will just take a picture of the direction it overlaps - I think that is the most critical. I also primed and painted a bare metal spot with 2000 deg paint and smoothed it out. I took MEK and cleaned the old rubber off of the outside of the tumbler. I took an air compressor to the motor winding to get dust I couldn't reach with the vacuum.

I was shocked that the original belt lasted this long. But the back is all cracked and about to brake. The new belt is OEM, but the rubber is 1/2 the thickness of the original.

When I removed the tumbler, I had no idea how the belt was configure. I copied the screenshot off of a video and think this the way it needs to be reinstalled. I assume the belt will not make contact with the motor drive on the other side once it is all the around the drum? Also, I will find out if it can be re-installed from the front.

I know this refurbishing might be extreme, but I believe in the design of these Maytags and don't mind spending the time and money because I am convinced they will again last for many more years and don't want to find out the parts are no longer available. Should I also buy a heating element just in case?

Thanks for all your assistance and advice!

Steven

 

[maranoman]

More Advice

Steven,

To reinstall the belt, this is a good video to watch (and the repairman's name is Steve!):



Make sure you place the non-ribbed side of the belt against the outer drum surface so that the ribbed section faces the motor pulley when it wraps around it. Once you've replaced a few belts, you will learn how to reinstall one "blindly" with your hands from the front. For your first belt change, it is sometimes easier to remove the rear access panel and reach in to wrap the belt around the motor pulley and idler wheel.

This would be a good time to also clean up the idler pulley, add some fresh grease between the idler bracket and the motor bracket, and apply some turbine oil between the idler wheel bearing and shaft. It should spin freely.

Since your drum felt is torn, it is good that you are replacing it! Unfortunately, there isn't really a good video on replacing the glued-on felt like what you probably have on your LDE412. There are some videos on replacing the felt on newer Maytag dryers that used tabs to hold the felt in place, but it wasn't until 1989 that Maytag introduced these tabs on the bulkheads.

When you receive your new felt, compare the length to the old piece. I have found that Whirlpool has shortened the length of the felt and it might be a few inches shorter that the original factory felt - just be aware of this so you don't start gluing the felt to the bulkheads and find out at the end that the new piece is too short!

Take photos of the overlap felt location and orientation before tearing off the old felt. The drum will rotate clockwise as viewed from the front of the dryer, so make sure your overlap is in the correct orientation to avoid interference between the overlapping felt and the spinning drum.

To replace the felt, you will need to first remove the old felt and as much of the adhesive as you can from the bulkheads. You can use a heat gun/hair dryer with a putty knife to scrape off the adhesive but it won't be easy. It is OK if there is a little bit of the old glue remaining on the bulkhead - just get off as much as you can.

Once the bulkhead surface is prepped, apply a bead of Whirlpool Y055980 High Temperature Adhesive to the bulkheads, maybe a quarter section of each bulkhead at a time. Use spring clamps or clothes-pins to hold the folded felt to the bulkhead while the adhesive dries. Once each quarter section is done, move on to the next quarter section. I usually do the rear bulkhead first and when it is done, I like to lay it on the floor felt side up and place the drum on the folded felt so that the felt crease stays in place prior to reassembling the dryer. When the font bulkhead is done, I again crease its felt and lay the bulkhead on top of the drum with some weight on top to again "train" the crease on the felt.

I've only had to replace the heating element on a Maytag stream-of-heat dryer once. Still, if you want this dryer to outlast you, you can keep a spare heating element on hand just in case yours ever fails. Here's my favorite video (with Steve again) on replacing the heating element:



Good luck on your project!

Jeff

 

[maytagbeliever]

Update

The felt seals are back ordered so I just put the dryer back together and everything is working fine. My wife did the laundry, but next time I will watch the auto dry closely to see how it is operating. The old drum rollers didn't look much different then the new ones, but they weren't that expensive anyway.

Thanks for all the help

Steven

 

[combo52]

Keeping an older W&D running

It is generally better not to replace parts that show little or no wear, Replacement parts are not the same quality as the original parts that were used to build the appliance.

 

On your dryer I would have replaced the belt, the blower wheel and take a good look at the heating element and check for signs of overheating and sagging of the element, in which case I might replace it.

 

There is generally little need to replace the felt seals, thermostats, rollers, idler pulley or motor although you should drill holes in the motor and oil and clean it.

 

John L.

 

[maytagbeliever]

How to remove dryer felt glue?

The felt seals have come in. But before I take out the drum again to replace the seals, is there anybody that knows how to remove the remaining high temp adhesive (055980). I replaced the felt at the bottom of Maytag washer and there it was only 3 little felt strips. I can't imagine how hard to get out 2 7 foot circular lengths of this adhesive? And I am curious what is the best method of spreading on the new adhesive? This stuff is so messy and likes to leave strings of adhesive every time it touches anything.

I agree, don't fix it if ain't broken, but I have been amazed that all of the parts that I have replaced look EXACTLY like the originals. I have seen after market Honda parts and I would rather keep the old worn Honda parts. But I haven seen this to be the case with the Genuine Maytag parts.

 

[maranoman]

How I do it

No doubt about it - the old adhesive is a pain to get off. I've never been able to find a chemical that will remove it easily, and I've tried a heat gun without success. So I just use a putty knife and scrape off as much as I can. It's usually not all of it, but enough so that I have adequate bulkhead surface for the felt to adhere to. I'm sure I've scraped through the paint and down to bare metal in some areas of the bulkhead, but I haven't been too concerned and don't bother to touch it up (you certainly could since it won't show anyway.)

After scraping and using some mineral spirits to clean the surface of any debris, I just squeeze the adhesive out of the tube and ran a continuous bead along the bulkhead (I do not spread it on - just run a 1/4" bead.) I glue about 1/8 of the bulkhead circumference at a time, fold and press on the felt, and use spring clamps where possible to hold it in place. I wait 10-15 minutes for the glue to set and then move on to the next section. At the end, make sure you overlap the felt in the same orientation as it was originally so that it doesn't bind as the drum rotates clockwise (viewing from the front.)

As I mentioned before, doublecheck the length of the felt to make sure it will be long enough to make it all the way around the circumference with an inch or two of overlap. I bought a new Whirlpool OEM dryer felt replacement for my Maytag dryer once and it was 2 inches short (and it was the correct part number.) Since then, I try to find Maytag/Maycor packaged NOS felts on eBay.

 

[maytagbeliever]

OMG

Your right. This is a few inches too short and it does not appear to be as thick as the original. What is NOS? Not Original Supplier? Why is the difference between Maytag and Maytag/Maycor? This is all I found on Ebay for Maytag/Maycor: MAYTAG/MAYCOR 63-5476 felt seal.

I waited over a month to get the back ordered seal. Can you imagine if would have tore the old one off and the new one is too short? It is as though they forgot the seal should overlap.

 

[maranoman]

Short Felt

I actually had removed the felt on a project dryer and started gluing down the replacement OEM Whirlpool felt when I discovered it was too short - very frustrating. Glad you were able to learn from my mistake before you went too far.

New old stock (NOS), or old stock for short, refers to aged stock of merchandise that was never sold to a customer, but still new in original packaging. Maytag NOS parts usually are in a plastic bag with a blue Maytag or Maycor label on it. For the felt you need (314820 or 3-14820) I don't see any NOS 314820 felt available on eBay right now.

I've never tried it, but I think there have been posts in this forum from other members who bought wool felt in bulk and cut their own strips for dryer applications.

Can you tell us again why you are replacing the felt? Is it ripped or shredded? That is the only reason I replace felt on a Maytag dryer. In some cases, a small tear isn't going to hurt as long as it isn't causing noise between the drum and the front/rear bulkhead.

If you're not sure whether you should change your felt or not, attach a photo in your next post showing the entire bulkhead with the felt around it.

 

[maytagbeliever]

Felt Seal Condition

It has about a 3" cut where I can see the drum has probably sliced it, but it is not cut all the way through. I think this is the same situation with the back seal.

The WP3313541 measures 79". The alternate part number Partsellect.com gave is WP314820 and they said it's length is also 79"!

So at this point I give up. If I could find the correct size I would buy is just so I would have for the future as I am sure this situation will not be any better in the future. And I don't want to have to throw away a wonderful machine because I can't find a felt seal the right length. But for now, as you say, it will be fine.

The sad think is I will never be able to find the right part based off of the part numbers above unless the seller will open the package and actually verify the felt is 3-4" longer then 79". I called Maytag CS 800 344-1274 and it is just a 3rd party call center that can't get to the bottom of anything. So they gave me 844-200-5440 and he couldn't even look up/find the Maytag LDE412 dryer. USELSS

If anyone ever runs into 2 that are the correct length, let me know and I will buy them. I don't know if it is wise or allowable to put my email here.

Thanks for all the help and advice!

 

[combo52]

Felt dryer seals

If a small area is worn just patch it with similar felt, I have even replaced a full 1/2 of the dimeter on MT and WP dryers because the exact part was not available.

 

You can either glue the patch in place or sew it to the other felt as you like.

 

John L.

 

[lesmac]

Automatic Dry Sensor

The beginning of this thread includes an inquiry regarding longer than normal drying times for a Maytag DE412 when using the moisture sensor (Auto Dry) setting. I am also experiencing this situation and am trying to determine if there is actually an Automatic Dry Sensor on this unit. The parts houses indicate that there is, even though replacement parts are no longer available (see attached photo). I have reviewed the less then helpful parts schematics and followed all the dryer wiring I can access and have not been able to locate a sensor of this type in the dryer.

So my questions are:
Is there an Automatic Dry Sensor in a DE412 Series 7 dryer?
If so, where is it located?
If there is not a Dry Sensor, how does the unit gauge the dryness of the clothing?

I have thoroughly cleaned the unit, checked the ducting, and confirmed good air flow from the fan. No real improvement on drying time. The other issue we have is that the dryer does not always shut off when the clothes are dry so they get pretty crispy. The timed settings seem to work fine. We purchased this unit new about 1989 so we are familiar with how it "normally" operates when using the "Auto Dry Regular Fabrics" setting. I suspect that the longer drying times are related to the unit not "sensing" that the clothes are dry.

Thanks,

LesMac