Dryer Heating Element

Remove the kick plate from the bottom of the dryer by sliding a putty knife along the top edge to release the plastic clamps, one on each side about 4" in from the edges. The kick plate folds out and down. You will see the heat shield on the right, held in by one hex head screw. Remove screw and heat shield. The element is positioned in an open-front housing and is fastened to the left side of the housing by two hex head screws, located on the "rail" of the element and right near the two wires. Remove the hex-head screws that hold the element in place and disconnected the two wires by pulling them out by hand or with needle nose pliers. The only difficulty here is the cramped working area...I recommend a stubby socket driver for these two screws. Most of this I had to do by feel because I could not see the screw heads. Once the screws are out and the wires have been disconnected, slide the old element straight out toward you. You may need to disconnect a small plastic hose located to the left front of the element, but this hose just pulls right off. Vacume the dust & lint build-up out of the whole area, wipe out the element housing and clean up the whole underside of the dryer prior to installing the new element. Installation is reverse of removal. It also might be a good opportunity to clean out your exhaust duct and the vent to the outside. (Never use the aluminum foil-accordian-type duct.) If the exterior dryer vent has any kind of screen over it, remove it and get rid of it. Screens collect lint, lint builds up and burns out elements.

Our dryer is 8 years old and had been slowly taking longer and longer to dry clothes, to the point that I was ready to purchase a new one. When the dryer stopped heating completely, I removed the bottom panel and found that the heating element was no longer working. I checked online and found this website. The top two recommended fixes for this issue was to replace the heating element and/or thermal cut-off kit (two sensors). I chose to purchase both, delivered to me very quickly (two days). I figured for $80 you can't go wrong. Here's the procedure I followed:

On my particular model, the back does NOT come off and all of my repairs had to be made via the front, bottom panel.

(1) disconnected 6 wires (3 pairs) from the heating element and two thermal sensors
(2) removed entire heating element 'sleeve" which contained both the heating element AND the two sensors. The space is way too tight to try and do this any other way (and I highly recommend this method to save a ton of time and frustration.)
(3) vaccummed out the entire inside of the dryer, clearing all lint and debris, including tons of lint creating a blockage, thus slowing the ability to dry over the years
(4) replaced sensors and heating element
(5) installed heating element & Thermal sensors back inside and reconnected all wires
(6) tested dryer to ensure that heating element lit up and produced heat - it worked beautifully!

Besides fixing the heating issue, cleaning out the clogged lint pipe at the back of the dryer and wall have made the old dryer new again. It's working better than ever!

I simply removed the back of the dryer to gain access to the heating element. Once I removed the heating element I figured I would also replace the thermostat and thermal fuse as preventive maintenance.

I followed the tips from the repair video. Easy as 1-2-3. I changed both the heating element as well as the thermal cut off. Went ahead and repaired the door catch. Brand new dryer for the next 10 years. I do advise to pull out your shop vac and remove the tons of lint that accumulates in the bottom. A definite fire hazardous. I do attest that this web site is the best by far.

Found a service manual on-line for the Whirlpool Duet Dryer. Did the troubleshooting for the problem stated. Found the heater element to be bad (open circuit across heater block). Ordered new element from PartSelect.com and installed. Dryer now works like a charm and I didn't have to call a repairman.

I first went to your site and studied the parts diagram to see where the element was located. I then unplugged the dryer and pulled from the wall. After that I popped open the front cover and accessed the bottom of the dryer where the element was located. I then removed two screws that held the element in place and removed the wires to the element. After a little tug the old element came out. I slid the new one in place and connected the wiring and screws and replaced the cover and pluged it in. Works good as new...

First i tested each part for continuity and found out that the thermal fuse was bad. So ordered the part and went ahead and got thermostat and element to ensure no problems in the future since I already was in there.

Following the very helpful instructions that I found at PartSelect.com I was able to open the dryer and access the heating element which I suspected was bad. I realized later that I didn't need to open up as much as I did but the job was easy. In the future I would only open the panel below the door to access the element.

Just to make sure that it wasn't a problem with a thermostat or thermal fuse I also checked continuity from the temperature selector knob on the control panel to the heating element. When I verified continuity (zero resistance) I knew that the element was bad. Once I removed it I could see that one of the coils was broken and I should have just checked that first and not bothered opening up the control panel at the top.

Still it was less than an hour of work total. I have some experience with DIY projects but have not worked on appliances before. Thanks for the great site with good instructions and lower costs than the local parts counter.

It was easier to remove the blower manifold cover, (3 screws) to get at the heater element. Remove the heat shield, disconnect the two wires from the element. There is another screw on the side holding the element in the housing. Remove it and slide the element torward you. I used pliers as it was a snug fit. Replace. Good time to vacuum the whole area.

1st. i removed the two screws that holds the cover.
2nd. -vacumn (most time used)around to find the screws that hold the metal heat tube and shield.
3 rd. removing the screws tip the front of the tube up and pull out from the back.my element was clipped in place. I then pulled the element out and replaced the thermostat (tip: replace all t'stats around the heat element). it is as simple as reading the repair stories