Dryer Timer Won’t Advance

A dryer timer that won’t advance is going to result in a dryer that is not going to turn off and thus will run for hours. This will cause unnecessary energy usage and an abnormally high electric bill before calling for appliance repair in Yakima. There are, generally, two possible causes for this problem: the heating element and the timer. You can troubleshoot these problems so that you can fix them yourself or so that you can communicate what you find when scheduling dryer repair.

HEATING ELEMENT

A faulty or broken heating element is the most common reason for the timer to not advance. Dryers have 2 heating elements and even when just one of them becomes faulty or broken, the timer is not going to advance properly. You may feel the heat in the drum, but the timer is not going to function properly. If there is no heat in the drum at all, there is a bigger problem that will need to be addressed.

There is a way to access this problem yourself. Start with disconnecting the power and taking off the lid and the front of the dryer. You are likely going to be able to leave the wire connected to the door switch. Then you are going to need to take the tub dryer out. To do this, you will have to pull the idler pulley toward the motor in order to release the tension from the belt. Then you can unhook the belt and slide the tub out of the dryer and this will reveal the heating elements.

If you are unable to tell by looking at the heating elements, you can check them with an ohmmeter. There should be continuity between the terminal that connects the two elements and the other terminals. If there is no continuity, you will need to replace both elements. You can purchase these at local retailers or internet distributors. Once you have completed the repair, you will want to check and make sure that the vents are not clogged because clogged vents could have caused the problem to begin with.

TIMER

This is the other possible cause of the problem, but it is also the least likely of the two. It is easy to check by setting the timer to a designated time, like 30 minutes, and timing it. If the timer doesn’t move, then you know that your timer is broken and needs to be replaced. If at the end of the 30 minutes, the dryer turns off as it should, you will know that the timer is good, and the likely culprit is the heating element.

These are problems that you are able to troubleshoot and fix on your own. If you are not comfortable doing the repairs yourself, don’t ever hesitate to call a trained professional. If you go through the process of troubleshooting, you will be able to communicate that to the repair technician. This will make their job, and the duration of the process, so much easier and so much faster.