DDE7108PML Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

Based on the symptom (drum not turning), I figured that the belt was shot. I found a video on YouTube that described how to fix it. I also found directions here on this site on how to fix it! Here's what I did: step1: there were two screws holding the top on. took them off and the top swung up, exposing the drum and broken belt. step2: took off the two screws holding the front on. tipped the front forward so I could get the new belt around the drum. step 3: took the back plate off (10 screws). had to remove the exhaust tube first. cleaned out all the lint with the shop vac. there was plenty of lint everywhere. step 4: put the belt onto the motor pulley wrapping around the tension pulley. step5: put everything back together and plugged it in. everything worked fine. it took longer to vacuum all the lint out than it did for the actual repair.

removed four screws holding top. Swing back top to expose thermostat. emove two push on connectors and two self tapping screws. Instal new thermostat

take off door, take off front, mind the 2 wires for the door switch, take off top, take out enough screws on right side so it will lean out a bit for the drum to be removed. before removing drum you must remove the belt. pull the wheel to the right, minding the belt pattern for reassembly, its springy and will relieve tension. pull drum out. look to the left of the pulley and check to see any stray wire that may have pulled out while battling the belt. if you found a stray wire and it reaches the dryer motor find its home. on to the coils. I left assembly on dryer so I didn't have to figure out wire placement. the end connectors that the coils attach to are to be reused so don't get to mean with them. remove the end connectors minding how many wires it has and which of the 2 coils go to it. remove the old coils so as not to damage the very brittle ceramic insulators. on to the new, the instructions will tell you to stretch out the new coils to specified lengths. start with the shorter one first! just to see the stretchiness and how far is too far to stretch, if to long it will touch the heat shield and no good can come of that. after stretched out its time to string new coils in, carefully, so as not to stretch or collapse the coil. now hooking the end connectors to the ends of spring. I used 2 pliers to bend the tab a little bigger so it would cover the spring end. after springs are attached to ends and ends are in place, time to battle the drum and tensioner again, make sure plastic piece is on drum insert if equipped, put drum in place and bend tensioner down and install belt. put side screws on, then front and 2 wires , then top then door. plug in and start up. if unit doesn't start remember that stray wire going to the motor, you guessed it wire goes to the start switch. unplug and hook up the wire and it will work.

My General Electric clothes dryer (model DDE7206RAL) was running to hot. I went on the internet and goggled “General Electric clothes dryer gets to hot”. This led me to the “partselect.com” website which listed two possibilities for a fix along with a schematic of the dryer. I ordered both parts: 1) high limit thermostat – part WE4X584 which is listed as #507 on the schematic and 2) Thermostat- limit 145-15 listed as part #315 on the schematic. Replacing these parts is an easy fix. It took me about an hour to replace both parts. I can do it a second time in 15 minutes.

I only needed two tools and a flashlight to replace both parts. I unplugged the dryer. I opened up the dryer door to access the four screws that held the hinged dryer top. I used a Craftsman TORX T15 screwdriver to take out the four screws then lifted the hinged top to expose the #507 high limit thermostat (back right on the exposed drum). The thermostat is designed so that it can not be replaced in the wrong position. This thermostat is held in place with two ¼ inch screws. I took out the old thermostat and then replaced the electrical contacts one by one as I removed them from the old thermostat to the new thermostat and then replaced the new sensor with the ¼ screws. I then closed the dryer lid and replaced the four screws that secured the lid.

The part #315 (thermostat-limit 145-15) is accessed from where you put the cloths into the dryer. The thermostat part that senses the temperature are exposed inside the drum but the actual location of the sensors are underneath the lint filter and covered by part #305. Part #315 is held in place by two screws located on the inside of the drum.
Open the dryer door and remove the lint screen. Stick your head in the dryer to see two thermostats sensors (parts #315 and #316). Part #315 is the one on the left as you look down at the two thermostats sensors. You will see four screws inside the dryer drum. Take out only the top two screws inside the dryer using the TORX T15 screwdriver. Then the cover (part #305 on the schematic) can be lifted out from under where the lint screen had been positioned. REMOVE ANY LINT FROM THE EXPOSED screws which are held in place by part #311 clips on the schematic. Then remove the bottom left screw (the other screw holding the #315) from inside the drum while holding the #311 clip located underneath the lift screen ( I suggest that you put a piece of duct tape on the #311 clip to keep it from falling as you loosen up the screw from inside the dryer drum.) The old thermostat is now free and can be lifted out from underneath where the lint screen had been positioned. The thermostat #315 has a marking on the original and the replacement. I just replaced the new with the same relative markings positions that were on the old #315 and the same for the electrical connections. The hardest part of this replacement was putting in the new #315 bottom left screw. I had to put a piece of tape on the #311 clip to start the replacement of the bottom left screw then I removed the tape after the bottom left screw had been replaced. After that was in place it was just a matter of replacing the cover (part #305- the top two screws from inside the drum) and the lint screen.

The dryer worked perfectly the next run of dirty clothes. $27 plus postage. What a deal.