Trouble w/ a maytag de606

[babbish]

Hey everyone! I'm kinda new to the old school appliance game, but I'm familiar with electricity (being an experienced stage-light electrician, a self-taught automotive electrician, and having worked with some random light, switch, and other home wiring stuff). So, the deal is, I moved into a rental trailer to make it through my last year of college, and in it is a mismatched washer/dryer pair. The washer has given me no trouble, however, the Maytag de606 dryer is being rather cantankerous. It spins rather quickly, heats up wonderfully, but will not dry my clothes. My first guess was the filter, and, after some searching, I found it, cleaned it, put it back in its place, and the problem has not been solved. Thinking it might simply be failing to draw out the air within the dryer, I held a cigarette outside the open door, started it, and it successfully pulled the smoke in and through the filter. Anyone know what's up with my lovely drynosaur? If so, can I fix it, and how?

 

[foraloysius]

Have you checked the vent? The cigarette smoke test tells you there is air being moved, but it doesn't mean the vent can't be partly blocked.

 

[goatfarmer]

I agree,sounds like a plugged vent. How much airflow is present at the back of the dryer,where the vent pipe attaches?

kennyGF

 

[maytagbear]

I agree-

This machine has a smallish vent opening, and so even a relatively minor blockage has a big effect. You may have to pull it out from its current position to check the vent.

Do let us know, and welcome.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[tomturbomatic]

Have you gone outside to see if heated air is coming out of the dryer vent? Does the dryer shut off before the clothes are dry on the Regular or Perma Press settings and if so, how long does it run before shutting off? Try starting the dryer with no clothes on Damp Dry. It should shut off in about 10 seconds. If it does not, that's a further indication that there might be problems with the electronic dry control. 'Course, if the vent is blocked like with a bird nest, the high limit switch could be shutting it down early also, so you need to inspect the vent cap outside, especially if the dryer has not been used in a while.

 

[fixerman]

Just disconnect the vent completely and run a load to see if it makes a difference. This will elimanate the vent as a possible cause.

 

[babbish]

Still nothing, guys!

Well, sorry to be trouble, but, I replaced the vent hose, cleaned out EVRYTHING, and still no dry clothes, even after trying EVERY SINGLE SUGGESTION you have all given me (thanks anyway, I needed to know this stuff). I called my Dad (when all else fails, huh?), and he told me it could possibly be the heating element. How hot does this little critter need to be to dry properly? If it were the heating element, where could I find one, and how much is this gonna set me back? I'm confident that I could install it with a diagram or some instructions, if those are available. Again, sorry to be trouble.

 

[goatfarmer]

Heating element should be available at any part store,however,you will have to restring it through the old insulators,etc.And it's a bit of a BEAR to get to the element on a Halo of Heat dryer.Pretty much have to disassemble most of the dryer.
You say it heats,then I wouldn't suspect the element,unless it broke,and rewelded itself so that it's maybe a lot shorter than normal.

 

[tomturbomatic]

So what is it really doing, never shutting off and leaving the clothes damp or shutting off after 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 etc minutes leaving things damp? What setting are you using? DE 606 should be an electronic control dryer with 4 settings. Is that what you have?

 

[68imperial]

DE606

Hi Try checking the thermostats , the control switch, door seal, the drum baffles and the carbon brush. I agree these dryers can be a bit of a pain but you will love it once you get it working again. Tom

 

[pturo]

Dryer not Heating

Check your fuse box,if you have fuses. Older 220 wiring for dryers dryers had pull out fuses with two cylindrical fuses on either side, one could be blown and not the other. This happened to me in my Florida house.

 

[babbish]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

For Tomturbomatic, yes, that's about right, and yes, that's what I have.

For 68Imperial, where are all of these things located in the dryer, or where could I find a diagram?

For pturo, we can rule out the fuse theory. I checked that out, and it was fine, thanks a lot, though!

Thanks again, everyone!

 

[coldspot66]

Make sure you are getting 220v to the receptacle on the wall. Are you getting no heat at all? Or just long dry time?

 

[rolltideroll]

This is my list of things that I would loook into man. I can't believe none of you guys have even suggested puttting an amp meter on the dryer.
1. check vent for blockage
2.check thermostats that may have gummmed up from using clothes softener sheeets, the thermostats that control your "more dry and less dry setttings, you know the ones that sense humidity and speeed or slow up the timer to conserve energy. It could be gummmed up and speeding up the timer on this setting and not giving the unit enough actual dry time. Trust me, I have seen this before. You can simply by-passs these thermostats if you please and you may clear up your problem. I'm sure I will catch helll from some on here for this sugggestion.
3. check your amperage on your motor and elements on a split wire near your wall plug. Most here know what I'm talking about on the split wire thing. Your motor may be pulling tooo many amps and cutting off the unit prematurely.
4.air flow, air flow, air flow is alll I can say if these sugggestions dont fix it.

 

[rolltideroll]

sorrrrrrrrrrrry about my spelling, I'm typing with a broken finger.