Dryer Heater Element 240v WPY313538

Advice: start by watching the excellent video on the PartSelect webpage re this heating element, not the way I started. My start: after pulling the dryer out into the room & removing the two access panels w/ nut drivers, I used an multimeter to (with difficulty) trace wiring and test the "accessible" thermostat mounted on the heater
... Read more >shroud, and finally managed to get at the heater element terminals.
The heater element itself was open-circuit - what I had considered the least-likely point of failure. I went on PartSelect, found the heater assembly & element pages, and watched the video. Finally
pulled the front off the dryer, getting full access - how I should have started. Ordered the heating element (spring-coil of Nichrome wire)
rather than the entire heater assembly for two reasons: I could see that getting the thin sheet metal, two-part housing back into the distant punched-hole in the back plate would be the hard part, made very hard by any distortion of the cylinder, and anyway, lower cost.
I used a long extension bar on a socket to reach the single self-tapping screw holding a tab extending from the far end of the housing, and a nut driver to remove the self-tapping screw holding the front. I disconnected the wire to the thermostat, the wire directly to the heating element, and pulled out the heater assembly. Removed the screws holding the two halves of the housing together, opened it up, and photographed it with my cellphone. Decided to use the technique in the video which meant removing all the ceramic stand-off's supporting the heater wire. This required using pliers to make a slight twist of the part of each stand-off that sticks through to the outside of the housing. Also had to flatten the spring-tab that is intended to lock the stand-off in place. Used a very small flat screwdriver the tabs back out before reinstalling the stand-off's. Slid the loose stand-off's on the new heating element and started at one of the ceramic power terminals, looping the element and inserting the stand-off's as I went, stopping short of the end and starting the other side from the ceramic power terminal on that end. As expected, I had to do a lot of adjusting of the loops to get enough slack to insert the stand-off's at the far end and get the housing closed and screwed together without distorting it. Finally fit the heater assembly housing back in that distant punched hole, the hardest step, as expected. Slip the two power wires back on the terminals, test the two previously-inaccessible thermostats for continuity, the resistance of the heating element for something plausible, and reinstall the door switch wire to the slip-on terminals.
Reinstall the front of the dryer by hanging it back up at the top,
swinging it down, and replacing the two screws angled-up from the bottom corners of the front. Put something wet in the drum, plug it in, and "smoke test" the dryer. Worked great for me - but do watch the PartSelect videos.

The dryer would run, but not heat up, so nothing was getting dry. I ended up replacing the heating element, and that did the trick. I’ll speak to the repair later, which is not hard. But, it may be more helpful if I share what I did to troubleshoot. Hopefully that saves you from ordering the wrong parts.

First, I verified volt ... Read more age (240V) at the outlet, then tested each of the thermostats for continuity using my multimeter. They were fine, but when I tested the heating coil it showed open (no continuity). When I removed the coil, I found it was broken about 1/2 way back. So that was all verification I needed.

I made the repair following the video on this site, and they do a great job of walking you through everything. The trickiest part was just taking the slack out of the heating element enough to put the shroud back together. It was cumbersome, but doable. Just gotta work the coil through each insulator to keep it from hanging up as you go. And keep tension on it, without pulling so hard that you stretch the wire. Definitely a good DIY job with only basic tools required.

The Heater Installation Went Well, I Watch The Video & It Was Very Helpful Instructions.
Great Job On Your Side With The Video, Thanks Again!

Took the front cover off and remove three screws and took the heater Element housing out. Removed four screws opened the housing removed two screws, the took out the old Element , put in the new one. Replaced all screws and the front cover. Turned the power on and hit the start button and it works perfectly?.

Although I ordered the heating element and thermal fuse in anticipation I really needed the Terminal Insulator kit for the heating element. The screw that the heating element is attached to on one side and the power supply on the other snapped (the weld joint came apart). First removed the front panel by unscrewing the two screws that h ... Read more old it in place which are located about 4" from the floor. Next removed the front cover of the heater housing by undoing the two screws that hold it to the bottom plate and unscrewed the nuts that hold the heating element in place on the inside and the outside of the heater housing. Assembly was easy just follow the steps backwards.
! When the front is off it is a good time to use a vacuum cleaner to remove the lint that accumulates everywhere, especially in the air output !

How to repair a Maytag Dryer. (Call the nearest serviceman.)
Shut off the power and unplug the machine.
Open the 'box'. Two screws in the front near the floor and hinge open.
Make a diagram of ever screw and piece you remove.
Diagnose the problem.
Order the necessary parts from ....
Replace the part. (The el ... Read more ement replace the second time in 30 years.)
Give the box a cleaning inside and out.
Put it back together.
Make sure all the parts you took out go back in.
Plug it in and turn on the power.
Test it.

Using a magnet to hold all the screws was helpful.
Having all the right tools is helpful. The requirements were pretty basic.
A good mechanical aptitude is essential or very helpful.
It is very important the exhaust port is patent. A leaf blower would be helpful in testing. I reversed the hose on our vacumn cleaner and packed foam around the tubbing to test it. (The local dealer warn me about using too much of the clothes softner.)
Karl Spees on behalf of my wife Soonja

Removed front of Dryer, using screw driver and putty knife to push in the top clips. Front drops down. Disconnected wires to heating element. Then removed whole heating element chamber. Removed old heating element from chamber. Then installed new heating element insude of old chamber. Reinstalled chamber in dryer. Hooked up all wiri ... Read more ng. Note! Dryer "must be unpluged" before starting any work! Last step reinstall front of dryer. Repair complete!

I first unpluged the dryer, then I removed the front cover of the dryer. The Heating unit in located in the lower right side of the machine. I unscrewed the heating "tube" from the dryer and unpluged it from the dryer. ( good idea to mark the wires because they are same color.) I unscrewed the two halves of the heating unit and saw tha ... Read more t indeed the heating coil was broken. I unscrewed the coil and fed it through the insulators. The coil was old and uncooperative, so I decided to cut it at each insulator with wire cutters. This sped up the process and protected the insulators. I carefully fed the new coils through the insulators and attached the ends to the terminals. Be careful not to over tighten or you may break the insulation on the terminals. I reinstalled the heating unit and attached the wires and tested the dryer. Job Done! Thanks Parts Select!

1: Removed heater cowling by removing 3 screws holding it in place.
2: Opened two halfs of the cowling by removing 4 screws on the flange.
3: Removed 2 nuts holding element ends to the cowling.
4: Removed bad element making note of how the element was threaded through porcelin element bracket/holders.
5: Installed new ... Read more element.
6: Reversed steps 1-3

I got a free Maytag washer and dryer set. All I had to do was put a new coil and start switch and it works. I did double check the wiring with the diagram behind the control panel. Everything went smooth...very easy repair. Thanks partselect for the quick shipping and parts. I can know save my money from the laundromat which is so expensi ... Read more ve these days. Easy fix..just make sure the wiring is good before making these repairs.