Heating Element - 240V 5400W 279838

Followed the video on your site.

Installed the new High Limit Thermostat onto the new Heating element and installed the unit on the dryer. Wires were then connected and the dryer was tested. Repair complete. Dryer is 25 years old and this is its first repair.

This was my second time making repairs. The only difference this time I replaced all parts from top to bottom. When I pulled the heating element out only one coil was working the others had burned out. It was easy to do and the videos on the site are very helpful and informative. I followed the steps and if I thought I missed a step I replayed it again. I am a woman and found it very easy and not at all intimidating at all. I am going to hopefully have it for another 10 yrs. You guys keep up the good work.

I followed the instructions that I watched on the video. The video was very helpful.

Removed back panel to access the heating element. removed the old element and also removed the thermal cut out from the old assembly. installed the thermal cut out on the new element, reinstalled the new element, replaced rear cover. Started the unit and had heat.

The other part was a knob for a for a 37 year old Magic Chef electric stove. matched exactly what was there.

To replace the thermostat and heating element, I followed the video from PartSelect.

Before buying the parts, I had already taken my machine apart to clean it and check for lint build up, but there was only a bit of dust, no major blockages. Because the burning smell was metallic, I just had my fingers crossed that replacing the heating element and thermostat would do the trick. It worked!
There is an odd ceramic sort of smell in the first 5 minutes of using the new element but that went away and all is working well at this point.

My components looked slightly different from those on the video; I had fewer wires so I just took photos of everything before I started to make sure I put it all back in the correct place.
I had to watch another video on how to easily remove the thermostat, mine was stuck. I just used a flat head screw driver behind it like a lever and gently pried it off.
It took me about 30 minutes total only because I had to watch a couple of extra YouTube videos due to the differences of my machine. I don’t usually do repairs like this one and wanted to be completely sure I was doing it correctly, but the work/repair itself was super easy.

The lint trap seal was just because mine got damaged when I took it apart to clean it. I just pulled the old one off, made sure the old adhesive was completely removed, (it peeled off like scotch tape), I cleaned it, then I slowly went around the edge of the vent/housing and stuck the new foam seal down. No video required, just common sense.

*as with all electrical repairs I unplugged dryer from the outlet*

I disconnected the wires to the heating element, removed the 2 nut screws holding the heating element in place and removed the defective heating element. It looked like the heating element had darkened on the lower end and the wire terminals definitely looked like they had built some resistance that lead to the connection wire melting.

I slid the new heating element in and replaced the 2 screws. I cut the melted portion of the connection wire about 1/2" beyond the melted area and stripped the wire jacket exposing clean wire. I took the connection kit & clean wire lead, divided the wires into 2 groups on each end and braided them together and twisted them to a hand tight grouping. I then took the lead cap and twisted into onto the braided wire connection until it was also hand tight and snug.

I then reconnected the heating element connection wire back to the terminal end of the heating element and made sure all connections were snug.

I plugged the dryer back in, reset the dryer by turning the dial to a timed setting then back to off. I set the heat to low turned the dial to a time dry and turned on the dryer to ensure the element heated up and that the wired connection was secure. After 20 - 30 seconds, the element maintained heat and no issues were found with the fixed wire.

I replaced the dryer back and all screws and reconnected the vent hose. Dryer has worked great for the last few weeks with no issues. I was really surprised it was that easy to fix.

Steve video

Turn off the breaker to the unit or unplug. Disconnect the 3 wires, 2 hex screws keep the element in place. it swivels or slides out. keep the thermal fuse from the old unit, it disconnects from the spade lug and pops off.

Watched a couple of you tube videos, seemed simple enough. Used multimeter to test thermostats, still good. Took off the heating element, it was visually broken. Called the 800 number, the guy who answered told me how to find the model number of the dryer. He then told me the part number and it matched what I had. Ordered, 2 days later arrived, just plugged it in and reinstalled the back covering, works great!