High Limit Kit

After messing with the dryer for several hours and removing the drum needlessly trying to use the dealers schematic as an aid I finally went to the internet for assistance. Apparently I wasn't the only person who had this problem. After reading a frew comments I tested the thermal fuse and found it to be open. After ordering and getting the part in two days later (very Fast) I went ahead and installed the parts with very little difficulty. The hard part was reinstalling the drum which could have been left inplace to begin with. After abandoning the beleif that "real men don't read the directions" I again went to your site and found an easy way to install the drum using a block of wood to hold the tensioner out of the way while I threaded the belt back onto the pully. With a minimum of effort the task was completed in about 1 hour. The entire repair, inluding the detours I took, only took about 2-3 hours total. Thanks for being there when I needed you - - mother-in-law is coming for a Florida vacation in another 3 days.

1) checking to verify the dryer was plugged in I inadvertantley could faintly hear that the timer was making sounds so I felt comfortable that it was not the problem.
2) Unplug the dryer and pull the top up, exposing the drum, door switch in the front, heater and two thermostats are on top at the back.
3) Using the continuity tester (not being an electrician the technical term may not be correct) I disconnected the leads to each thermostat and tested for current being able to pass through.
4) The small thermostat about 4" below the larger thermostat on top showed no current. The larger one did BUT the instructions are clear that you need to replace BOTH. That explains only being able to buy the smaller thermostat as a kit, something I initially found irritating. The upper one is supposed to reset itself when tripped but it also trips at a lower temperature than the smaller one. The smaller one is the failsafe. If it trips the larger one has failed to do it's job. Hence, replacement of both is necessary.
5) Two screws at the top of the front plate the door is connected to gets access to the lint collector, fan and part of the bottom of the dryer. If there is a lint collection the airflow is obstructed and the heater will not have cool fresh air flowing through it therefor becoming dangerous. Clean and repair the reason for lint collection.
The whole repair can be completed in under 30 min. if you know what you're doing. If your are looking for advice then I would budget 1-1/2 hrs. One nut drive on your screw driver and a vaccume is all you need but the continuity tester helped isolate the thermostat. There is another thermostat at the fan where the lint collects. All thermostats should be checked.

I Googled the dryer model number which brought up PartsSelect and other repair stories. I took a chance and ordered the part based on the repair stories. It worked! It didnt take long to repair the dryer although one of the thermostats required removing the heating element which was a bit tricky to get out solely due to a tight fit. Plus I dropped a screw which slowed things down because I had to fish it out--but thats my fault for being a Klutz. Overall i am incredibly satisfied!

First you need to raise the top in order to get to the parts. Then the door is removed, I did this in order to thouroughly clean the lint build up in the duct work. Then the high limit thermostat is removed in the back top part of the dryer, just above the heater. Then the heating element is removed by removing one long screw that holds the heater and the fused thermostat. Once all these parts are removed and the wires disconnected you simply reverse the process with the new parts. Put it all back together and everything works fine. Part Select.com also was helpful in diagnosing the cause of the problem. Thanks.

This was so easy, anyone can do it. Im a single mom, and me and my teenage daughter did it together. Just lift the lid of the dryer and you can see the big (high limit) fuse at the center of the top. Disconnected that, unscrewed the nuts holding in the heating coils, pulled those out, then replaced the smaller thermal fuse which was located half way down the casing of the coils, on the right. The connections can be re-connected on either side, so you dont have to worry about getting them mixed up. Unplug the wires, and plug back in on new part. Put the coils back in, put the screws back in place, then replace the high limit fuse the same way (same thing, doesnt matter what side the wires connect to). Very simple.

Followed the instructional video you provided. I have no previous repair experience and I am 80 years old. If I did it, anybody can.

Opened the top of the drier using a putty knife. It is held in by friction on a couple of posts in the front.

First time I just replaced the fuse right above the heat element. The dryer ran for 10 minutes and quit again.

Then looked around for something blocking the airway. Took two screws off the inside of the top of the front of the dryer and pried the front off. Found a bunch of lint (a couple of handfuls) partly blocking the airway to the blower. Cleaned it out thoroughly. Also cleaned out the vent tube from the dryer to the outside of the house. But the main problem was in the dryer itself.

After ordering the part I replaced both of the fuse parts in the high limit kit. Fairly easy and accessible from the top of the dryer with the top propped up.

Plugged it back in and works great.

Very important to find the reason for the high limit fuse blowing. There is most likely a blockage of airflow somewhere.

check the door switch for continuity, check thermal fuse for continuity, if open replace it along with the thermostat.( defective thermostat may cause the drier to run hotter and blown the thermal fuse.

Followed the diagram posted on this website to remove and replace the high limit thermal sensor and thermal fuse. My husband thinks I'm a genius, but it really was easy or I couldn't have done it.

PS - Don't forget to try to fix what caused the fuse to blow in the first place - in my case it was years of lint build-up.

took top

The first issue I had was diagnosing the problem, but after researching on the internet I was able to determine that the High Limit Switch caused the Thermal Fuse to blow. I found instructions on how to check the Thermal Fuse with an Ohm Meter, which was bad. This was a simple test. I removed the Thermal Fuse from the machine and tested it by using my Ohm Meter on the continuity setting. The instruction said that the fuse should always be closed and have continuity. Simply put, its like having a light switch in the on position. I put the leads from the Ohm Meter on the two connectors of the Thermal Fuse and found that there was no current passing through it, telling me that it was bad and needed replacing.
The bigger issue for me was what caused the Thermal Fuse to go bad in the first place, which was evident after I opened the dryer to check the part. The dryer was full of lint. Now understand that the lint that was inside the dryer was just a dusty coating, but I am one of those people that when he takes something apart and it is dirty I have to clean it before I put it back together, which payed off for me.
I removed the front panel to make it easier to clean the machine. This is when I noticed that the lint trap was almost completely blocked. Most people like me just before starting a load will clean the lint screen, but we never think that over time some of that lint gets by the screen and has to go somewhere. Well in this machine this happened and eventually clogged the tunnel leading out of the machine, which caused the machine to not be able to breath, which caused the heating element to overheat and blow the Thermal Fuse. I also used this time to inspect the rest of the machine, which again payed off.
During my inspection I found that the belt was beginning to fray, the drum seals were starting to tear and the pads under the drum glides had started to fall out, so I decided to order all the parts and refurbish the machine.
While I was waiting on the parts to arrive I disassembled the machine and cleaned everything and removed the old parts.
The first step I took was to clean out the lint tunnel on the front panel of the machine. To do this I first had to remove the front drum seal which is held on using a double sided tape. I then opened the door and removed the two screws that held the tunnel in place. I then removed the tunnel from the front panel and was able to remove all the lint that was clogged inside. This tunnel also has a foam seal, which is used to seal it against the front panel stopping the lint from escaping into the inside of the dryer compartment, which I also replaced. It was easy to install as it comes with a self adhesive backing. The next step was to reassemble these parts in the reverse order that I took them apart. This is where I ran into my first setback. Reinstalling the tunnel was not a problem but, when I went to install the felt drum seal I found that it did not come with a self adhesive backing and I had no way to secure it on the machine. So I had to go the next day and purchase some double sided tape which I used to attach the seal.
The next thing I did was to remove the drum from the machine. I did this by reaching inside the machine and releasing the belt off the tensioner. I then took hold of the front of the drum and lifted it slightly while pulling it towards me which allowed it to pop off the rollers which the back side of the drum rides on. I then removed the felt seal from the back side of the machine. This seal was a little more difficult to remove as the factory glues this seal in place. I cleaned this surface and reattached the felt seal using the double sided tape.
The next step was to replace the front drum glides. These glides are a two part component. The first part is a Teflon coated glide and the second part is a felt pad that goes underneath it. I removed the old parts, cleaned the surfaces and reinstalled the glides in the reverse order.