how to obtain "troubleshooting guide" for Kenmore dryer?

[Nate Nagel]

got a Kenmore dryer - actually in a place that I'm renting - that is the most irritating appliance ever, in that it constantly cuts off thinking that the clothes are dry. I have cleaned the moisture sensor bars with alcohol and also washed the lint filter in soapy water thinking that it may be fabric softener buildup. I'm not nuts about the vent hose configuration but it doesn't appear to be kinked or clogged. Searching online yields results on appliance repair forums that refer to diagnostic tests in the "troubleshooting guide" that presumably pros have access to, but I don't see where to get them. Going through Sears' web site is an exercise in frustration. Anyone have any shortcuts, or should I just dump this stupid thing and get a simpler used one off Craigslist? (I'm willing to do that if that's what it takes because it's a huge quality of life issue, killing a whole Saturday morning to babysit the dryer while doing two or three loads of laundry is a colossal waste of my time - it's seriously looking more appealing to start doing my wash at the laundromat. Plus if I wash something that I want to wear within an hour or two, that's not happening - anything that normally hangs in a closet ends up getting hung and drip dried.)

It's an electric dryer, model 110.62082101, in case anyone has a copy.

thanks,

nate

[trader4]

My usual approach to that kind of problem is to get a circuit diagram and a VOM. If it's completing the cycle, like it thinks the clothes should be dry, sounds like it would be the moisture sensing, however that's done. Or is it stopping without getting to the end? I think the dryers I've owned had a more basic cycle too, like just timed dry that might bypass the moisture sensor?

[Nate Nagel]

Right, question is how to get diagram?

If I can't fix it myself, it's getting recycled, which is a shame, but we all know that a service call base rate is about 50% of the cost of a new dryer, so they're essentially consumable even if they are fairly complex.

nate

[trader4]

de quoted text -

Usually there is one inside the appliance itself, on a panel that you remove, or on the back. Did you try googling for it with the make/model? Also most of the online places that sell parts frequently have parts diagrams, wiring diagrams, etc.

[Nate Nagel]

quoted text -

I did, this was all I could find

Also, it appears that the "moisture sensor" is simply two pieces of stainless steel that connect to the main board (I assume? without disassembling the whole thing and not tracing it out?) so if cleaning them doesn't work it might be recycle time as a new main board is $226 (?!?!?!) and I can buy a new dryer for only a little more, or a used one from the List of Craig for probably less.

In other words, much as it offends my "use it up, wear it out" upbringing, trying to fix this thing may be a sucker's game. Because if I spent $17 on a manual, a couple hours of my time troubleshooting, and then big bucks on a control board (unless there happens to be another common issue with these things?) it's Just Not Worth It.

I have a load of sheets in the washer now, we will see if simply cleaning everything made any change in its behavior.

nate

[Ashton Crusher]

When My Kenmore was acting up I took the top panel apart and inside it was a wiring diagram..... The repair was a $100 replacement circuit board. Mine had simply stop running as soon as the start button was released. (Start button made it start but when it was released it wouldn't keep running). The board had a fired diode on it. The replacement included instructions to modify a couple wire connections.

[hrhofmann]

de quoted text -

Do you have a timed dry cycle, and does it work ok???

[Nate Nagel]

quoted text -

I'm going to have to download the owner's manual (done, fortunately that one I was able to find) and read it (in process) to answer that question. If there is a non-moisture-sensing cycle, it is not intuitive how to get it.

nate

[David L. Martel]

Nate,

The sensors get smacked by wet clothes. Thus they get shorted to each other when the clothes are wet. If you have a flaky connection in the wiring harness, that can look like "dry" clothes. So, clean the push on connectors at the circuit board and at the sensors. If that doesn't fix things let us know.

Dave M.

[Dean Hoffman]

Some cut due to AIOE quotation limit.

There might be something here:

[Pat]

You might disable the sensor and simply turn the dryer off when the clothes are done.

[gfretwell]

Ditto HR Bob. There should be a "timed dry" cycle that does not use the sensor. If that fails you may have something else going on like a bad door switch.

[Nate Nagel]

I did clean the connections at the sensor bars as part of the cleaning that I did today - on this model they're part of the lint filter assembly so I removed the whole thing, cleaned it all very well, and sprayed the last of my deoxit into the female connectors before reassembling. (gotta order more deoxit, unless someone knows where one can actually walk in and buy it...)

I've done two loads of laundry since then - one was a load of sheets with one heavy flannel shirt mixed in. I had to restart it once to get everything dry. (I didn't even try to dry the flannel shirt; I hung it up damp and then restarted it to dry the sheets.) The other was two light quilted blankets. I just restarted it, actually one blanket was completely dry, the other was slightly damp in spots.

So performance is greatly improved over its state pre-cleaning but still not right.

Cleaning the connections at the circuit board would require moving it and quite honestly I'm not up to it right now; been fighting the flu for four days now and only today felt human enough to start doing some stuff around the house. I'm still getting out of breath walking up and down steps which is just freakin' pathetic and frustrating. Can't wait to shake this bug...

nate

[Nate Nagel]

Am thinking that may be the eventual solution, if that will even work. I'm assuming that shorting the connectors together tricks the board into thinking that your clothes are f'ing damp and will keep it running? (but then it'll likely never shut off, yes, so you'd have to go check on it? i.e. if you had something in there that wouldn't wrinkle like a load of towels or something you couldn't start the dryer and leave the house as it'd likely run forever... not sure I want to do that, that could create a dangerous situation when others use the dryer)

In response to others asking about pure timed dry cycles, most of the buttons on the front of this are for pre-programmed moisture sensor cycles, however I discovered after dl'ing the manual that hitting one of them to select the basic parameters of the drying cycle (heat setting, estimated time, etc.) then hitting "more time" or "less time" will then turn the cycle into a timed dry cycle with all the other settings remaining the same, so that is another option, although with an additional, aggravating step.

nate

[Stormin Mormon]

Sorry to hear that. Hope things improve, soon.

You can call the Mormons and ask for a priesthood blessing. I have, and they work. (If it's the will of God, of course.)

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

and quite honestly I'm not up to it right now; been fighting the flu for four days now and only today felt human enough to start doing some stuff around the house. I'm still getting out of breath walking up and down steps which is just freakin' pathetic and frustrating. Can't wait to shake this bug...

nate

[WW]

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

got a Kenmore dryer - actually in a place that I'm renting - that is the most irritating appliance ever, in that it constantly cuts off thinking that the clothes are dry. I have cleaned the moisture sensor bars with alcohol and also washed the lint filter in soapy water thinking that it may be fabric softener buildup. I'm not nuts about the vent hose configuration but it doesn't appear to be kinked or clogged. Searching online yields results on appliance repair forums that refer to diagnostic tests in the "troubleshooting guide" that presumably pros have access to, but I don't see where to get them. Going through Sears' web site is an exercise in frustration. Anyone have any shortcuts, or should I just dump this stupid thing and get a simpler used one off Craigslist? (I'm willing to do that if that's what it takes because it's a huge quality of life issue, killing a whole Saturday morning to babysit the dryer while doing two or three loads of laundry is a colossal waste of my time - it's seriously looking more appealing to start doing my wash at the laundromat. Plus if I wash something that I want to wear within an hour or two, that's not happening - anything that normally hangs in a closet ends up getting hung and drip dried.)

It's an electric dryer, model 110.62082101, in case anyone has a copy.

thanks,

nate Nate.... If the motor is packed with lint the motor overheats and trips the safety IN the motor. As it cools the motor will run again. The cure is to use air pressure to blow the lint build up out of the motor. This is a common cause.Even though the dryer is vented. WW

[SRN]

Start by cleaning the entire vent/duct system, including inside the dryer itself. Sometimes lint gets clogged and the lint handling system won't pass enough air to dry the clothes efficiently.

Also, run a load of clothes using a timed dryer setting and see if the clothes dry or if there is still a problem. In other words isolate the problem to a mositure sensing problem or a dryer problem.

This may help:

[David L. Martel]

Nate,

Pretty sure the wiring harness does plug into the circuit board so clean that plug et c. once you've gotten over the flu. If that doesn't fix it try shorting the wires together at the circuit board with clip leads. If you still have a problem something is wrong on the circuit board. If the problem is fixed you have a bad wiring harness. The circuit board is an expensive replacement.

Dave M.

[hrhofmann]

I hope I never have an appliance with only electronic controls. I do have a usave with electronics, but both washer and dryer have rotating motor contolled knob for functions and I like that type of controls, not as sensitive to power surges and no question if they are working or not.

[bob haller]

Disconnect vent line at dryer. Crudely connect vent line to outside with a powerful shop vac exhaust.

Have someone watch the exhaust hood from a distance, power on shop vac. This should clean the exhaust well and create a mini dust storm outside.

Plus look for droops in exhaust line, a low spot can collect condensation and fill with water blocking the exhaust creating very slow drying times