DE406 Maytag Dryer - Instructions

Since the heating coil is right behind the front door I had to remove all panels starting with the back one to get to it. The back has a lot of tech screws that I removed with the nut driver. The side panels were removed with a phillips screwdriver. The top is held in place with the other panels. The base was shifted away from the front and I released the heating coil case with 4 screws in the front and was able to pull it out of the top to replace it. I cut the old one out with wire cutters and snaked the new one through the ceramic insulators. I was careful not to touch the new one without gloves because the oil from your hands can burn them out more quickly. I screwed the new ones to the contact points while trying not to stretch it too much. I vacuumed the whole dryer out before putting it back together.

Used toothpick for a year to push switch acctuator far enough to engage switch. Broke my foot and found time to order part thru PartSelect. Went from cast to boot and received part 2 days after ordered. Had difficulty with foot and getting to switch. Went back into PartSelect and figured out how to dis-assemmble panels thru the diagrams. Time on my job doesn't, just that their service and expertise that is available to everyone is there to use. Broken bones or not, I will always get my parts and advice from PartSelect. Thanks to PartSelect.

I deduced the lid switch was the problem.

I removed the two screws holding the control panel on. Pulled the control panel back.
Disconnected the ground wire of the lid switch.
removed the two top clamps that hold the panel to the top of the machine.
Pulled back the casing (outside of the washer) and placed it on it's side on the floor. Here I could reach the switch. Removed old, installed new and reversed the process.

The part that gave me the biggest problem was setting the casing back on to the frame. You have to slide the front part in at the bottome, then lean back the rest of it.

Put blocks under the washer where the leveling leg was needed and screwed the part into the washer. Then it was just a matter of moving the washer into place and leveling. Pretty easy.

The dishrack came in one box I opened the box snapped on the rollers and the bumpers and put it in the dishwasher, could not have been easier Thank you partselect

Took off back cover, thermostat was easily identified because of photos I've seen on website. Took 2 connectors off, removed 2 screws and removed old thermostat. That was pretty much it!

NOTE: Replacement thermostat 694674 has an adjustable temperature range setting that MUST be manually set prior to installing! You need to use the enclosed chart to find your original part# and make sure the setting is matched. My original part# 341146 had a "D" setting so I had to change but very easy to do.

First let me say that this dryer is at least 30 years old. The only repairs it has needed up to this point were a set of belts and lint screen holder.

I researched and found a list of items to check for dryer not heating. Only 3 items were listed as possible causes, the Heating Element, Cycling Thermostat, and Heating Element Terminal & Insulator.

First and most important step - UNPLUG THE DRYER FROM THE WALL

To access the cycling thermostat, I removed the back panel. The thermostat is located on top of the blower housing and is easily accessable. I was unable to test the old part.

Accessing the heating element and terminal insulators is a bit more difficult as they are located in the fron of the dryer around the door opening. Further research showed the way to access these parts was to remove the cabinet from the chassis. After photographing the wiring connections, I disconnected the cycling thermostat and motor connections. Next, I removed the 3 screws at the bottom of each side panel. With the dryer door removed (it lifts off when open), I simply lifted the cabinet up over the drum. I recommend having someone assist with this as it is awkward and a little heavy. Lay the cabinet on its front on a rug to keep from scratching the finish. The heating element and insulators can be inspected at this time.

Having found no breaks in the element or insulators, I assumed the problem was the cycling thermostat and ordered one. When I got it (less than 2 days), I installed it and reassembled the cabinet to the chassis. I plugged the dryer in and set the timer. Still no heat!

After looking at the schematic, I found 2 other possible causes for no heat. The motor contains a centrifugual switch (closes when the motor spins) which I was not able to check. There is also a HIGH LIMIT thermostat on the shroud that holds the heating element. I decided I could test this part by by-passing it. I unplugged the dryer and removed the back once again. I reached past the drum from the back (not easy to do) and disconnected the 2 wires from the thermostat and connected them together. I plugged the dryer back in and started the dryer. It heated up like it should. I then ordered the high limit thermostat. After removing the cabinet once again (easier 2nd time), I installed the high limit thermostat and reassembled the unit.

The Dryer is working fine and hopefully should last another 25-30 years.

My daughter found the video on youtube, which showed step by step repairing procedures. I just followed it and fixed my dryer in 15 min.

I ordered the switch, which is what most people told me the problem was. I didn't have a multimeter, so I couldn't test the current one.

I removed the two screws from above the lid switch, removed the control panel screws on either side, and used a flat screwdriver to pry the top off by popping the clips.

The switch was easy to reach, and I compared the old and new switch after removing the paddle assembly. The new switch has three prongs, whereas my old one had two, so I put the gray wire terminal onto the bottom prong. I set everything down, plugged it in, and tested it, but still no spin cycle.

After some further research, I realized the problem was with the spin solenoid under the washer, or the red wire that leaves the lid switch and goes to the spin solenoid, also called a wig-wag solenoid. (This is a belt driven model, not direct drive.) It's not too common that the solenoids fail, but it is rather common that the wires break inside the insulation on this model.

Moral of the story is always ohm through the switches and wires before ordering replacement parts. (Remember, never ohm through a live circuit.)

In retrospect, this repair was not diffcult, but it took a long time because I could not find any directions or advice on the internet. The first puzzle was getting inside. The back panel comes off very easily with removal of a handful of panel screws. This exposes the motor, belts, drive pulleys, etc., and while I could rotate the drum by hand, I could not diagnose the grinding noise or why it turned with difficulty.

To go further, I had to remove the cabinet, which is easy - once you know what to do. Take out three screws along each side, near the bottom (of course, don't lose or mix up these screws with the ones from the back panel). You'll also have to detach four colored wires from the motor - the connectors are color coded, so there shouldn't be a mix up when you reattach them later. There are also two wires (B & W) that connect to the back of the drum that nneed to be detached - I marked B and W on the metal with a sharpie so as to remember which goes where. I didn't bother to check, but they must be the wires that connect to the door-open switch. After that, the whole cabinet (sides, front panel and door, top and control panel as one unit) can be tilted forward and lifted off to be set aside.

It turns out the grinding was from all the crap that fell through the gap at the front edge of the drum over the years - handfuls of paper clips, hair clips, wadded wrappers, earrings and $3.60 in change.

It mostly landed in the flange, or sheet metal shield, surrounding the coil heating element, which encircles the front of the drum ("Halo of Heat"). I cleaned all the lint and crud off the heater flange, and from the whole cabinet. Be very careful not to break the heating coil wire or the ceramic insulatots that hold itin a circle - they are somewhat fragile. If you ever need to replace the heating coil element, this is how you get there. It's a fairly simple matter of threading the new wire could through the ceramic insulators and making the obvious electrical connections at either end.

But my issues were still with the frame and exposed drum, belts etc. The drum is suspended from bearings at the back; nothing holds it at the front. There are two belts. One runs from a small pulley on an idler wheel (tensioned by a spring) to a large pulley on the back of the drum. The other is the motor belt, which is the longer of the two, that runs from the motor shaft to a small pulley on the back of the drum (inside the large pulley mentioned above), then over to the large pulley portion of the idler wheel (inside the small pulley mentioned above).

I wondered if any of the bearings on any of the parts was going bad, so I took off the belts. I don't remember which belt should come off first to make it any easier, but you'll manage either way Pull the idler wheel to slightly loosen a little tension on the belts and rotate one belt off a small pulley, then the other one. If you're new to this, take a picture, or make a sketch where the belts go - don't trust yourself to remember it later.

The idler wheel is attached to a bar that slides in a bit of a track or bracket. By lifting the wheel (stretching the spring) and moving it to the R side just a little, the bar can drop down the track and take all the tension off the spring. The spring is hooked into the cabinet at the biottom, and fits on the idler wheel shaft at the top, so you can take it off with no problem. Once you do that, you can pull the idler wheel/pulleys right off toward you. I took the bar out of the bracket and washed it off and polished it with steel wool to get rid of rust. similarly, I cleaned the frame bracket it slides in. I lubricated both parts with a litte petro jelly before reassembling. All the parts were covered with lint, and I took the time to clean everything off, especially the motor. We're talking forty years' worth.

I also went inside the drum and took out the lint filter and a plastic guard, and used a little brush and a vacuum to clean out the caked

I pulled off the old clips and easily replaced them with the new clips and popped on the wheels.
I replaced 8 clips and 8 wheels in less than 15mins

I looked up the procedure to remove the switch in a repair book, removed the broken switch. Then I reconnected the wire leads, put the part in and closed everything up. The part arrived so quickly and there were even instructions with the part which made the repair go so easily.

The lint filter was torn in a couple of places. This let lint go into the dryer vent pipe over a period of years. I ordered a new lint filter and replaced it. I also pulled out the plastic piece the filter sits against and cleaned out behind it. The vent went to the roof. I pulled off the rain shield and found that the vent pipe was almost completely packed with lint. I pulled out all I could reach and nailed a 2x2 inch and 1x2 inch together and used it to scrape out the vent pipe. I placed a flashlight in the bottom and checked to see it was clean. I replaced the rain shield and carefully reconnected the dryer to the vent. Now the dryer runs cool as it should.

There were no instructions with the part, but looking at the old rack it was simple to see how the parts should be assembled. Took the center part from the old rack, twisted off, and applied it to the center of the new rack. Snapped on the wheels and was done. Very simple assembly.

Repair went well, but my switch only had one contact on the non common end. The new switch had two contacts. One is for operation with lid open and one for lid closed. Make sure to connect to the lid closed contact and the common on the other end and leave the lid open contact unused.