DG7400 Dryer - Instructions

I tested the dryer coils and found that they were getting a voltage but would not open the gas valve. Coils were not bad but weak. After they warmed up they would not open the gas valve. It took 10 min to repace both coils and the heat sensor.

Remove top two front cover screws. Disconnect wiring. Set aside front cover - door assembly.

Remove two screws at top of the vertical riser cover to expose entire dryer interior. Remove filter. Remove screws to blower cover plate. Remove 4 screws that fasten front drum guide assembly. Remove drum. remove and replace 2 drum support rollers . Replace one rusted drum roller shaft. Replace both drum rollers and non-metalic washers.

Drill out 4 rivets holding two front drum glides. Replace and rerivet new drum glides.

Pry back slighty the many retention points around the front drum assembly which hold the front drum felt seal. Refit the new front drum felt, pressing the retaining clips back in place with a screwdriver.

Replace tumbler motor belt.

Install Drum. Install front drum retention assembly. Install new blower seal with reassembly of blower cover.

Total time - about 1 hour

I took the new latch out of the package and snapped it into place. It took about 15 seconds, and that included the walk to the laundry room!

I unplugged the dryer,removed the two small screws on the front of the dryer and pulled the bottom forward. The two wires connected to the door do not have to be removed. With an electrical tester using the Ohm setting I tested the Radiant sensor and the Gas Valve coils. The two terminal coil was DOA. The dryer can be operated with the front open as long as the door wires are connected. Symptons: The igniter would heat up and not release gas. My repair was successfull due to this awesome website and the super fast shipping service. AAAA++++

Let me give a little background first for those trying to diagnose their dryer issue. My dryer was turning on and running but the clothes were not drying. From everything i read I thought it was going to just be the IGNITER (part# 304970 [Partselect# PS373025]), but when I opened the dryer and watched it worked I saw that the igniter was working fine and the gas was coming on. This made me think that it is was the HIGH LIMIT THERMOSTAT (# 3033950 [Partselect# PS2029366]). I replaced this and got no real change other than the gas would stay on a bit longer at the start. So I replaced the other TEMPERATURE CONTROL THERMISTOR (# 3072080 [Partselect# PS2030068]) but this had no effect. I then went back to my original thought of the igniter and replaced it with no improvement. My dryer was still running and only occasionally lighting the gas to heat up the drum, the clothes would eventually dry after a much longer than normal time. After reading some other stories I decided to try the GAS VALVE WITH COILS. I ordered the part and was surprised when it arrived at my house the next day. I took out the four screws in the front panel which are accessed by opening the door to the dryer. I shut off the gas and removed the igniter to avoid any accidents with it. Unscrew the gas line from the old valve, remove two screws in bottom of unit to remove it from the dryer. Turn it over and remove two small screws to remove old valve from housing. Now take your new valve and do the opposite. Set in the housing, screw in the two small screws, place in dryer and replace two screws to hold in place. Screw gas line onto new valve and replace igniter. Turn on the gas and give it a test run. My dryer fired right and for the first time in a long time the whole dryer actually got warm.

I did not troubleshoot my gas dryer to find the exact part that needed to be replaced. Instead, I did some research and found that the ignition coils are an extremely common problem.

The top panel of my gas dryer is attached by two snap clips located in the front, about three inches in from each side. I slid a butter knife in the space between the top panel and the front panel to push the clips and release the top panel. Front panel is attached by two screws, one on each side. I removed the front panel to access the heating system on the bottom left of my dryer and immediately saw the two ignition coils with a metal cover on top of them. Removing the metal cover was a little difficult because the two screws holding it in place were stuck. Once the metal cover is off, the two coils simply slide out. On my dryer, the bigger coil had a metal sleeve inside the core. I kept it and used it with my replacement parts.

The most difficult part of the repair was figuring out how to take appart the dryer to access the heating system. Now, the ol' lady is bragging to her friends that I didn't just fix the dryer, but that i've actually made it better than when it was new ;-)

I found that I replaced more parts than I needed to fix fhis problem. The source of the rumble was the blower wheel connection to the motor, allowing the wheel to wobble (plastic wheel flat spot worn off over time, no firm lock to the motor shaft). But the dryer should be good for another 10 years!

Disconnect dryer from electrical outlet and exhaust.

Remove the back access plate to release the belt from the pulley. Remove the two screws at the bottom front of the dryer, rotate the front to release it at the top. Remove the wires from the door status switch. Remove the 4 nuts holding the drum support frame and pull straight out. Remove the drum. Remove the two bolts holding the thermostat cover (silver odd shaped metal plate at the front of the dryer). Remove the dryer blower cover plate by removing the 6 bolts holding it to the blower housing. Remember to remove the bolt holding the plate to the bottom of the dryer. Release the door status wire from the clips on the left side of the dryer and set the blower housing plate to the right, out of your way without removing the wires. Remove the blower wheel by removing the Circlip at the front of the shaft and then removing the shaft compression clip. Pull out the blower wheel and then remove the rear Circlip from the motor shaft. The back of the blower housing can be removed by removing the 4 bolts holding it to the motor support frame to make access easier but this may not be necessary. Release the 5 wires attached to the motor. Release the front and back motor clips. I used a large straightblade scerwdriver to press down and out on the end of the clips. Lift out the motor. Remove the rear pulley from the motor using an allen wrench and transfer it to the new motor. Set the new motor in the support frame, ensuring the lips of the vibration isolation rings are pointed down to slip over the frame and are not facing up towards the clips ( makes clip instalaltion much easier). Hook up the wires, following the color coding on the motor controller you are attaching to. Reinstall the blower back housing if removed, rear circlip, blower wheel, front circlip, shaft compression clip, blower housing front cover (Including the bolt to the dryer bottom) , reroute the door switch wire up the left side, reinstall the thermostat cover, reinstall the drum and belt, reinstall the drum front support frame (ensure the felt seals for the drum and the blower cover are properly aligned and seated correctly), hook up the door status wire when your set the front cover and install the 2 screws, reinstall the belt through the pulley and idler wheel (make sure the belt smooth side is against the drum) through the back access panel and reinstall the panel.

This is hardly a "repair". You toss out the old lint screen and put the new one in. The hardest part was getting the lint screen out of the plastic bag it came in...

ta da it is done...

remove the rear lower left vent cover to get access the belt tensioner and pulley. then pop the top section up with a flathead screwdriver in the front, freeing it from the popclips. Then remove two screws from the back side of the front section releasing the drum. loop the belt around the drum.

I opened the panel, undid the plugs, detached the radiant sensor by undoing one screw and removed and replaced the part. Fairly simply.

The dryer was not getting hot the clothes we're damp and had to put on hangers to finish drying. I pulled the cover plate saw the element was glowing the gas cable would kick on had a flame for about a four to six second count. I did some checking on the web. I read about others who were having same type of problem. Order the limit part and now.the flame stays on for about twenty second or less the dryer gets hot and it drys fast. Thanks for the web site. It took about thirty minutes . Now it works great.

UNPLUG the appliance. After removing the top of the dryer the front is easily removed. To make life simple I disconnected the wire harrness at the quick disconnect and placed the door/front away from the workspace. I removed the bracket holding the coils in place and replaced the old with the new coils. replaced the front and top panels and pugged it in! Good as new!! I originally ordered the wrong part and PART'S SELCET.COM refunded my money no problem! I will bookmark this site and use it again.

I followed the directions that came with the conversion kit; which I ordered from PartSelect. Your website was the only place that could help me. Our new dryer is actually a Samsung. The people at Best Buy were no help. I called the Samsung headquarters and a "real" person there told me I could order from them or use a Whirlpool kit because they are the same. You guys were faster in getting me one, so I went with you. My wife was happy. I would recommend you to others.

Fixed it eventually with part PS470049 ('M' Series Ignition Coil Kit). See separate story.

The flame sensor did not fix it but read on for info on how to replace this part. Before replacing this part, I should have read another posting in a different web site about the ignition coils: if you see a red glow inside the burner unit but the flame does not come on, then the problem is likely to be with the coils, not the flame sensor. However since some users here had solved the problem by replacing the flame sensors, I figured I'd try it. The setting for "More dry, less dry" never worked either so maybe this would fix two problems at once.

This dryer is a stacked front loader sitting on top of our washing machine. Opening the little front door (lower left side) is easy once you figure out that a little screw below needs to be removed. I almost broke the door trying to pull it open. The sensor is attached to the side of the flame area cylinder. It was hard to remove both the screw and the part itself from the slots as it's very springy. In fact when I finally removed it, it dropped to the base of the unit and sparks went flying as one of the electrical clips touched the metal (ground). Tip: first disconnect the electrical lead coming from the back of the unit to the ingnition block and later I used rubber gloves just in case. (I could not access the plug/outlet in the back). I installed the new part easily, though I was confused by the electrical leads: the white wire connects to the lead that has a red plastic dot on the side, but I think that must be a mechanical part and not a (wrong) marking, while the red connects to the other lead. Anyway, I connected it the same way I found it and put it back. Reconnected the other electrical wires and closed the door.

This did not fix the problem which turned out to be with the gas valve coils: as they get old, they turn off the flame when they get hot, even though the dryer keeps on turning. To read how to replace that part, search for comments under part number PS470049 ('M' Series Ignition Coil Kit). I don't know whether replacing the flame sensor is going to fix the "more dry-less dry" function, will have to see. Still, this website is great. Our dryer is a Westinghouse bought in 1991 (almost 20 years old!) and with this fixes it's just like new.

Turned off circuit breaker. Removed two screws at base of front panel with stubby Phillips-head screwdriver. Swung panel up about 30-degrees, and removed panel, disconnecting red and yellow wire to door switch. Removed four sheet metal screws and took off large drum support bracket. Checked drum support rollers and shafts. They were fine. Reset circuit breaker and turned on dryer. Rattling noise still present.
Removed six small screws holding blower fan assembly. Shaft receiver on squirrel cage fan was worn completely round (it should fit onto a half-round shaft). Ordered new blower fan from PartSelect.com. Replaced tonight, and it works beautifully. This dryer is 29-years old. All it's ever needed in the 10-years I've owned it is a belt replacement and this repair. Long live the 1970s Maytags, and good parts suppliers like this one.