DDE7900LA Hotpoint Dryer - Instructions

first had to troubleshoot... used multimeter to check all switches, they were good.

then checked thermostats, good again.

then checked motor centrifugal switch.. good.

with multimeter i found continuity between heating coil leads and heater housing. coil had broken and welded itself to housing.

changed coil in short time with restring kit (which got here amazingly fast) and everything is great.

ps: PartsSelect got me the part super fast and it was what i needed. also at a great price. would order from them again.

added note: if i were to do this again i would order the porcelain insulators that insulate the leads to the coils, they were old and very fragile and i experienced some fragmentation.

thanks to PartsSelect

pried old switch assembly from front of machine with screw driver. removed 2 electrical connections. shorted terminals to verify problem. inserted wiring terminals to new switch. verified operation and then pushed switch assembly into machine opening.

Open the door. Remove torx screws just above the door. This allows the top to fold up toward the back.

Remove 2 screws with nutdriver just inside the top on each side. Then loosen 2 screws with nutdriver at the front near the bottom. The front can be lifted up and swung around to the right to get it out of the way. Optional: Disconnect the wires to get it completely out of the way.

From the back of the dryer bend the spring-loaded bar that holds a pulley to the belt just enough to release the belt.

From the front pull out the drum forward and out of the dryer. The belt will come with it.

Now you can see the inner and outer heater coil elements. Both of mine were clearly broken. At this point follow the directions in the replacement kit.

Reinstall in reverse order.

--Removed bottom rear panel (right under where 220 line comes in) which exposed belt and idler pulley.
--Relieved tension on belt by moving idler arm and moved belt off idler puller (just to the side).
--Removed e-clip.
--Removed old pulley and washers.
--Installed new thick plastic washer first, then pulley, then e-clip.
--Relieve tension and place belt back on new pulley.
--Replace back panel.
-Fini!

I checked the power (OK) and removed the four screws that held the timer/controls (upper panels) cover. This revealed a schematic for the dryer that enabled me to determine the door swich was probably the culprit. I pried out the old switch and, sure enough, it was always open (checked with multi-meter). I found the replacement switch easily using the dryer model number and "door switch" search string. Ordered Sunday night, the part came on Tuesday and took 2 minutes to install (no tools needed).

It was very easy. Pop out old, connect new wires and done! Can't say enough as to how fast and easy getting the part from this company was. Ordered the part later in the day one night and on the second day the part was there. Outstanding service.

Had to totally disassemble the dryer, working from front, back and top. That finally allowed access to the heating element. Then it was a simple matter to pull out the old burnt coils, stretch the new coils to the recommended length specified in the provided instructions, string them through the insulators, wrap the ends around the appropriate posts and tighten down the nuts. Then reassemble the rest of the dryer and test run. Perfect.

Took to many parts off to find out only needed to remove four front screws under the lid. I lifted the lid and found the thermostat and replaced same dryer now works great again at normal temps.

I discovered that the High Limit Thermo was in place, but had been bypassed years ago. After lifting the top up, I finally found the HLT on the top left side in the back. I removed it, then put the new one in with its 2 screws. I put new lugs on its wires and put them back on. The dryer tested GOOD. No more potential Bar-B-Que! I did print a picture of the wiring diagrams that were on the back of the unit. This gave me the color code of the wires, where they were to be found, and what they did. This also helped. This GE Dryer is at least 26 years old! Newer Dryers in the Videos actually require more work removing things to get to the Thermostat. When I finally found it, the job went quick.

Took apart the entire dryer. Cleaned and vacuumed all parts.
Removed drum assembly and threaded new coils in insulators.
Connected new heater coils to supply terminals and then reassembled dryer. Key to proper assembly was having threaded keys to properly allign the dryer drum during assembly. Dryer was tested and it works like a new dryer now. Old dryers have higher quality motors than newer dryers.

Per suggestion of "Parts Select", I replaced the "high limit thermostat"....very simple task on the dryer: 1 - unplug from power source; 2 - remove screws securing top to front (open door, screws located beneath lip of unit); 3 - tilt top up allowing access to everything; 4 - remove connections to 'thermostat' (note which wires go where); 5 - loosen screws securing thermostat to unit and remove thermostat; 6 - vacuum any and all lint while unit is apart; 7 - install new thermostat and put everything back together; 8 - test dryer to see if repairs worked!

1. removed old switch 2.wrote model # 3. went to web site found part 4. ordered part 5 part came in 2 days 6. installed part in 15 min. works like new saved over 95.00 thanks ed

I searched the web and found a site that explained how the unit came apart. Took it a part almost according to instructions (I thought I saw a short cut that wasn't).
Unplug
Remove top, torx screws above door, tilt top back, lift front (swing to the right).
Remove clip from back of drum, and slide the drum out(watch the belt or remove tension first)
Remove wires and restring
Slide belt on to drum.
Slide drum back into dryer.
Reinstall front and top.
Retension belt.
Plug back in.
I took the time to remove the duct and cleaned out the unit before reassembly.
Also it helps if you can get easy access to all sides of the unit. I could not, the owner had stored stuff around it to the point that it would have added several hours to the repair to gain easy access. So I had to do some gymnastics to get to all the area's to work on the maching. It is my Dad's dryer and that is enough to write a novel about.
If I had followed the above, it would have saved me an hours worth of time.

First unscrew the two screws at top to disconnect the control panel. Lay unit on the back. Remove door(be careful not to lose washers and hinges). Remove four screws to lift off top. Wiggle drum, slip belt over drum. Replace door, then put Four screws back in place.Stand unit upright.Remove back panel, you should see belt hanging.Pulley wheel is in front of you.Follow instuctions sent with pulley wheel.Reattach you're ready to roll, make sure you sllip the belt on the drum until the drum spins.

We removed the lid to the dryer. The drum had to come out so the back access was removed and the belt taken off. The drum then slid out the front. The dryer had two elements both were broken. The new ones were stretched to the proper length and laced through the ceramic brackets. The new copper leads werre installed and the coils attached to them. We cleaned the dryer as much as possible and reassembled it. Works like a charm (for now)!