Show Stopper In Colonial Copper

[variflexpghpa]

Here are some pictures of a recent find.

 

[variflexpghpa]

Controls

View #1

 

[variflexpghpa]

Controls Continued

View #2

 

[variflexpghpa]

More Controls

Dryness

 

[variflexpghpa]

Current Topic - Dryer Sprinklers

Heres a view of the sprinkler water tank cover

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Very nice find!
I love the color.
Where did you come across such a nice dryer?
Do tell us what you think of it's performance.
Thanks for the photo's!
Brent

 

[variflexpghpa]

The always popular lighted controls shot

for your enjoyment

 

[variflexpghpa]

The real problem

This dryer has been sitting idle for over 30 years. Its a model DCIFK - 65. I picked it up last week and finally got a chance to do some inspecting tonite. Its in a garage that has no 220vt service, but I figured I would atleast hot wire it so that I could see if it runs. Well as you can see from the previous picture the console light works, as does the drum light. But when I pressed the start button... nothing... DOA

 

[variflexpghpa]

It wont run................but

I did some checking of the wiring.. maybe a disconnected wire of a terminal or something like that but didnt find anything. I did notice a relay in the console, which when I tripped it with at screwdriver.. it jumped to life with roaring blowers.

As long as I held the relay it ran, and the end of cycle buzzer occasionally buzzed too. OK so heres the big question to the experts. What trips the relay to start the dryer when the start button is pressed? Or is this not working because of the way I have it wired? The picture is the relay that I manually tripped. By the way the pictures were taken tonite. I forgot to reset the camera date after replacing its batteries. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

[variflexpghpa]

One More

Heres a shot of the sprinkler tank. Sorry the picture is lousy. I will take a better one. But hey you get the idea...

 

[bajaespuma]

Love the milk chocolate color. This is from 1965? I want one. Can't wait to see the matching washer.

 

[filterflo]

Hi Variflex, thats a wonderful dryer. I have the same model and have had the same problem. You have a bad door switch on it. It is a special 5 wire switch that is quite unusual in its construction. If you have a wiring diagram on your dryer you can trace the wires and bypass the switch. Being a 5 terminal switch, it is particular to the Electronic Control models and has a series of Normally Open and Normally Closed positions. The switch is a very complicated series of different positions depending on whether the door is open or closed. With the door closed the contacts to the motor relay are made and the dryer will operate. Also in that position the drum light is turned off. With the door open, the drum light is turned on and the contacts to the motor relay are opened........
This so far is the ONLY dryer I have ever seen with a complicated 5 wire switch. Ive seen Kenmores and Whirlpools with 4 wire switches but never a 5 wire. I was very lucky that I had an extra switch when mine went bad........I checked everything else out on the dryer first (when I manually tripped the motor relay on mine the dryer would come to life, but only as long as I held the relay in).

Let me know if you need any wiring help, I think my dryer has the wiring diagram still on the back........Jimmy

 

[maytagbear]

Oh, what a beauty

I do so love these mid 60s Frigidaires with the offset dials!

One of my favourite aunts had the Custom Imperial pair. Unfortunately, hers were white, and she eventually "wore them out", but still a nice appliance memory.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[peteski50]

Frigidaire Dryer!

Real cool Frigidaire. They were real cool dryers. When they went to the 1/18 I always loved the washers but always felt the 1/18 dryers were not made as well as these 60's dryers.
Peter

 

[spinout]

5 wire switches

WP & Kenmores did indeed use true 5 wire switches on many of their models that is commonly available. It's possible that yours may be a standard Microswitch or identical to the WP part. If you want to post a pic of the switch, I can verify that.

 

[mayken4now]

Love the water housing for the the sprinkler.

Thanks for the pics, nice machine!

 

[appnut]

Steve 1/18 has this exact same dryer, I do believe the same color, or a slightly different shade. His is gas. It's one of the best dryers I've ever used.

 

[trainguy]

Hi Randy,

It's great to finally see pics of this dryer. Now how about some of your other finds?

Rich

 

[variflexpghpa]

Runs like a champ....

Thanks for the expert troubleshooting help. It was indeed the door switch, and yes its a five contact switch. I first used a screwdriver to trip it and then hit the start button. The dryer fired right up. It turned out that the leaf on the switch had bent over time....30+ years of sitting with the door shut, so that the pin on the door only made the first set of contacts. A little adjustment to the leaf fixed that.

The dryer now runs perfectly, infact even the ozone bulb works.

I did wonder tho.. if the switch was bad, how do u get to it. It appears the front of the dryer is one piece and looks tack welded to the rest of the cabinet. Is this right? And also looking at the switch, the toe pedal assembly is also connected to it, im kinda thinking if you cant get to the door switch from the front, this is a big job to gain access to a simple repair.

thanks again for the expert assistance

 

[dalangdon]

Colonial Copper?!?!

That's why it looks familiar! I saw one just like it in Paul Revere's house ;-)

Seriously, that is a beautiful dryer and quite a distinctive color.