LGC50AW (PLGC50AW) Amana Dryer - Instructions

... I figured it was some over temp switch but then read about the gas solenoid problems others were having... bought $100.00 worth of parts... saved the old just in case down the road I might need them... figured a service call would cost me that much... now lots of new parts... and a working dryer. Done!

First removed the bottom access panel, then the then pried the top lid open. Then, I could get to the four screws holding the front of the drum in place. Once that was removed, reached underneath drum and disconnected belt from tensioner pulley and motor. Removed the drum and discovered the problem. One of the two drum rollers had completely disintergrated from the shaft, actually "melting" off of its roller shaft. Removed both of the rollers and shafts by putting a flathead screwdriver on the slot of the shaft, and at the same time holding the locknut behind the bracket with a box wrench. I replaced both shafts and rollers and reused the same washers and snaprings. I used a screwdriver and a vice to remove the snap rings off of the old shafts. The best bet is to use a pair of snap ring pliers, which I didn't have. I used some white silicone grease to lube the new rollers up, reinstalled them and replaced the belt. You MUST route the belt around the drum before you install, then connect the belt to the motor underneath and wrap it around the tensioner. While I had everything opened up, I shop-vac"d the inside of my dryer(filthy). I did this before putting anything back together. Also, when re-installing the front dryer panel, make sure the motor inlet and the lint outlet tube form an airtight seal. All in all, this was a fairly strightforward job. The dryer now works great and is as quiet as a mouse.

The pully wheel was completely worn down as the belt had cut into it over time. I'm not sure if the lever and shaft needed replacing but since the part was inexpensive I decided to replace it as well as the wheel. The easiest way to access the parts was to turn the dryer on its side and remove the bottom panel of the dryer. This eliminated the need to remove the drum. It was then easy to reach in with a wrench and remove nut and bolt that held on the pulley lever. I also had to remove the spring which was attached to the lever. Next I put the new pully wheel on the shaft of the new pulley lever. The most difficult part of the job was installing retainer clip which holds the wheel on the shaft. This took a little persistance. After this was done it was simple to put the assembly back in place, reattach the spring and tighten the nut and bolt. I then replaced the bottom panel of he dryer, turned it upright and plugged it in. The whole job took just over an hour. One tip: Before removing the old assembly, I took a picture of it with my cell phone camera so I would remember how it went back together.

Dryer drum stopped but all other elements seemed functional; couldn't afford new dryer. Unplugged appliance & moved it to my garage (more room to move about). Undid base plate w/tools and found belt slack - identified broken idler pully wheel as part to fix. Went online & found part-select, located part & was way happy: $7.00 part + $7.00 shipping; got part 3 days later. Removed broken pully wheel (take off lock-washer, put wheel on, reinstall lock washer). Cleaned out venting elements (huge lint-ball & some sand in blower intake area). Re-attahced base. Back on-line to see "replace dryer belt" instruction sequence; opened lid of machine (while verticle) and positioned belt properly. Located access port (sealed) at base, knocked out the circular metal plate so I could reach in & thread the dryer belt back around motor & idler pulley wheel. Did test spin (manually) to make sure belt properly threaded, in place. Move appliance back to proper location, plugged in & hooked up venting to outside; ran test & SUCCESS!!!! It even seemed to dry better because of the now cleaned venting area. Labor cost = $0, Part cost < $15.00, Time (actual work) bit over 3 hours total.

Pulled the front panel off and cleaned out all the lint out that had gotten past the lint screen. Pulled off the back panel for same. Removed lint roughly the size of an adult badger. Did not solve problem. Could see that the heating element was glowing red but gas was not igniting, very tempted to put out my cigarette. Between the assembly gas valves impotent clicking and the free trouble shooting info off the net... I guessed it was the gas valve assembly. Got the part from Part Select and replaced it. (part arrived much quicker than I thought it would too) Dryer now works and while I didn't need the thermostat, it was cheap enough that I will just keep it as it is the next likely part to take a hike.

I just inserted the door catch, which by the way fit in perfectly. Thanks. Took 5 seconds to repair.

Opened front panel .Tested both coils on gas valve.
Found no continuity on one of the coils. Replaced coil,
dryer works like new.

Took out two front Panel screws and removed the panel. Removed Gas solenoid coil holding bracket by removing two phillips head screws. Disconnected the coil leads. and removed the coils. Connected the new coils to the leads and set in place. Replaced the holding bracket and the two screws. Replaced the front cover and the two front cover screws. Piece of Cake!

I first thought the drum rollers were the source and replaced those. It took me 60 minutes to get the dryer disassembled and wires labeled for reassembly the first time. Knowing how to do it for this repair made everything go quicker.
I removed the tension from the belt by pulling it away from the spring and then slipped the belt off the motor. I then removed the drum from the dryer to get to the idler arm assy.
The trickest part of this repair was putting a box wrench on the nut on the motor side of the frame. I found a 3/8" box wrench with an angled handle that worked well. I then used a 7/16" socket on the other side of the idler arm base and removed the bolt. I was careful to note the position of the tension spring so that I could put it back together correctly. I then put the new idler arm assy in place with the bolt through the frame but had some trouble keeping the nut in the box wrench. I ended up using a bit of chewing gum to keep the nut in the box wrench long enough to get it threaded!

From there it was a cinch - just put the belt back around the drum, the idler wheel and then pulled up on the arm while I slipped the belt over the motor. No more screeching!

I removed the dryer front and the drum, then disconnected the wires from the dryer motor and removed it from the motor mount, after installing the new motor in the motor mount the rest was just putting the dryer back together the same way I took it apart, the best way to do this is to print out the diagram from partsselect.com and follow it step by step, this was so easy everybody can do this and save alot of money for the labor and the parts mark-up, try it you all can do it (SO EASY)

I removed the two screws holding the access panel, and removed the access panel. Then removed the lower air duct. I then checked the burner, The solenoid was not opeing the valve for the gas. I order the coils, in two day I had the coils and installed them. The dryer is working great.

After replaceing several parts including the thermostats the last part I replaced the coils were the defective part. I originally metered out the themostats and they appeared to be okay but since this was my first time I thought I might have been mistaken. It turns out the last part I thought it could be was the part that was defective. I will say that it is very simple to replace any of the parts involved. The hardest part was trying to open the dryer itself. But after having to do it 3 times, I'm now a pro. I also replaced the drum belt and since I had it open I also replaced the belf idler with a newer modified idler rolller.

Putting the belt back on is easy, but it helps to view the video or a picture to understand how the belt goes around it.

Switch can be removed from outside of dryer and your video described the repair as having to work from inside dryer. But since wires were still attached to old switch, it could be popped out and wires switched. Since there were three wires on new switch to allow it to turn on and off a circuit, it was useful to check the resistance of the switch compressed or released to be certain I was attaching the two wires to the right two poles of the new switch. But that all required only a couple of minutes. Thank you.

Unscrewed 4 screws,pulled off front of machine.Unscrewed 2 screws holding coils on,unplugged coils,installed new coils,plugged in coils,reinstalled 2 screws for hold down brace.Reinstalled front cover,plugged dryer into outlet(remember to unplugged dryer before working on it).started up,instant heat,works great.thanks Partselect for helping me out!!!

Checked four thermocouples all showed continuity with my multimeter so they were all good. I'd read that the coils commonly went out and that these were the symptoms. Hey, it's very simple in there. Not much else could be wrong. I had a Maytag repairman come out. At first he said the problem was a blocked vent. I knew he was wrong. Then he said one of the thermocouples went out. It was $80 for him to come out. It turned out that his second diagnosis was wrong too. To repair the dryer by Maytag would have cost me $240. I gave him $80 and bought the coils for $37. They are EXTREMELY easy to replace: two screws held a bracket that held two coils. With the bracket off, I took off the old coils and slid on the new ones.