Whirlpool Dryer Timer Ticks When Dryer Not Running - Is this Normal?

[maranoman]

My neighbor across the street had a Whirlpool WED5700VW0 dryer on her curb when I came from home one day last week. It looked really clean and so I hauled out my appliance cart and brought home a new project. I called my neighbor up and she told me that it was taking 2 hours to dry a load of towels so she bought a new one.

After bringing it home I opened it up and found the blower wheel completely plugged with lint so I figured it was an easy fix to get it running properly again. But then I saw a blackened heater element caused by a cracked ceramic insulator. While the heater element still tested OK for continuity, I bought a new one anyway and put it in on Friday.

On my first test run, I noticed that as soon as I turned the timer to the AccuDry sensor drying Energy Preferred position, the timer motor started ticking immediately even before I pressed the "Push to Start" button. The dryer performed the cycle well and dried the mixed load of clothes in 30-35 minutes on the Medium heat setting. The buzzer went off, and despite having the Wrinkle Shield set to Off, the timer motor continued to run once it reached the first AccuDry Off position. It continued to tick and advance the timer until it reached the Wrinkle Shield 30 minute Option Off position at which point it finally stopped ticking and advancing.

I then noticed that the timer motor will tick with the dryer not running when the timer dial is positioned anywhere but an Off position. When the Wrinkle Shield dial is set to Off or the 30 minute option, the timer motor will also not tick when the timer is positioned in the Wrinkle Shield 90 minute option zone. When the Wrinkle Shield dial is set to 90 minutes, it will tick with the dryer stopped and the timer dial positioned in the Wrinkle Shield 90 minute option zone.

When the door is opened, the ticking stops but continues as soon as it closed again.

I took the timer apart and all the contacts appear to be clean with no arcing or corrosion present. Continuity tests on the "Press to Start" and Wrinkle Shield switches were successful and they seem to perform properly (i.e. "Press to Start" button starts the button and the dryer doesn't intermittently tumble in the 30 minute timer zone when Off is selected, it will tumble intermittently in the 30 minute timer zone when 30 minute option is chosen and likewise when the 90 minute option is chosen.)

Another weird thing: when the timer dial is in the Wrinkle Shield zone position, the timer motor is ticking away but no tumbling is occurring, you can manually move the dial back into the AccuDry or Timer Dry zones and the dryer will start right up without pressing the "Press to Start button.

I checked all of the wires for loose or wrong connections but couldn't find anything amiss.

In the attached photos I have included the wiring diagram. I am no electrician, so I may have missed something from the diagram.

I am a vintage Maytag man and this was my first "modern" Whirlpool dryer. Can anyone tell me if this is normal behavior for this dryer and if not, what I may have missed in my testing?

Thanks - Jeff

 

[DADoES]

 
The timer normally will run when set in the auto-dry cycle if the moisture sensor bars are not shorted ... that is, there are no wet clothes touching the sensor bars.  It'll probably run if the timer is set with the dryer not otherwise started.  Test it by setting the timer and placing a wet/damp towel to touch the bars, in which case the timer shouldn't run.  It also may not run if the door is open (door switch not triggered).

Regards to it running through the Wrinkle Shield, that's probably normal.  IIRC, my mother's old (1994) KA with mechanical timer and an anti-wrinkle function (not selectable, it's always engaged) in the Perm Press auto-dry cycle runs it through to the end even if the clothes are unloaded before the anti-wrinkle period runs out.

The full 90-mins period may be the "default" on yours, with the 30-mins period being an "option" selected by the switch such that the timer stops at that point ... otherwise the timer runs out to the end of the 90-mins period (setting the switch to Off allows the timer to run but not the drum motor for tumbling).

 

[combo52]

Yes the timer will run if set in a cycle even if you don't start the dryer, this is a safety feature, designed this way the timer will reset itself to Off if someone comes along and takes clothing out before the cycle is over and just closes the door and walks away.

 

WP & KM dryers have been wired this way for over 40 years.

 

Jeff, You found yourself a good dryer, you should check on your neighbors dryer exhaust system so they don't ruin their new dryer, usually by the time the blower wheel starts clogging on a WP dryer of this style the exhaust system is in pretty bad shape.

 

 

John L.

 

[maranoman]

Thank you!

I feel better now knowing this is the way Whirlpool dryers behave (and it was a good learning experience diving in outside the Maytag swim lane.) Based on the wiring diagram I had the hunch that the timer motor would continue ticking but couldn’t understand why this would be - although I can see now how this might be a safety measure. What threw me was that it didn’t stop on that first Off mark after the AccuDry cycle when Wrinkle Shield was set to off, but your comment, DADoES, makes sense. I will let my neighbor know to check out the rest of her dryer exhaust system. I’ll probably use the WP dryer for a few weeks to make sure it continues to run well and then sell it and use the money to buy parts for the new 1959 Maytag Highlander Model 124 I just found!

Thanks again!
Jeff

 

[dustin92]

Wait until you use the wrinkle prevent setting and it stops and starts by itself every few minutes! Oh and on the auto dry cycle the timer won't move much if at all until the clothes are almost dry.. Totally normal! Had a similar dryer for a while and it worked exactly the same, sounds like you have a good dryer!

 

[maranoman]

Stop and Start on Wrinkle Shield Cycle

When it is set for wrinkle shield and in that cycle, what mechanism is used to turn it off and on? Is it cam action in the timer? Will the buzzer also go off intermittently?

 

[dustin92]

I'm not totally sure how it works, but if the buzzer is on, it should go off each time the dryer tumbles the clothes- until the wrinkle guard cycle times out or the dryer is manually stopped.