HGD4400TQ0 Magic Chef Dryer - Instructions

with both hands

Followed instructions, except to advoid sharp edges, and completed the job in under an hour.

Well, here's the rub...in order to find out what part I needed to order, I needed to take the dryer apart to where the gas controls are, and there on a sticker was a part number for an LP conversion kit. But, in order to get to that gas valve unit, I fumbled about figuring out how to take this brand new dryer apart, since there were absolutely no instructions whatsoever in the owners manual. And once apart, and pretty much all apart, I wondered how it would be that the Maytag repair man would be so lonely, as he'd have plenty to do.
However, the kit had great instructions as to how to take it apart and change out the orifices.

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.

Half of my pulley was broken off so there were no wrench flats to take it off. I was able to remove it using Channel Locks and the 7/16 wrench shown in the video.

Hint: Use a one gallon ice cream bucket to hold up the drum while connecting the belt. It makes it much easier and gives you more clearance.

Getting to any of the parts in the Maytag dryer is easy. Tip the dryer back and slide a 4 x 4 block under the front edge. You remove the whole front panel after you remove two screws at the bottom corners of the front panel. You need to tip the dryer back to get a screwdriver on the screws. Swing the front panel up to release the top of the door panel from the top. Watch the short wires to the door switch. Unhook the door switch wires and move the front panel out of the way. The timer on the top is accessed by re-moving two screws along the top edge. There are four screws. Remove them all and tip the top of the front panel forward. You then see that two screws hold the panel and the other two screws just hold the trim.

The dryer started normal. The drum motor run when the start button was operated. The fluff cycle operated normal to indicate the timer motor was OK. On the dry cycles, the igniter heated up. The gas came on. The dryer run for some period of time and then the flame went off. The thought was that the low temp cycle thermostat sensed the dryer was hot and thus switched over to time the cycle to its end. However, the low temp cycle thermostat tested good with a meter when the sensor was removed from the dryer and heated with a light bulb. Burnt contacts in the sensor were a possible problem. I also though the radiant sensor may be bad and not recycling after it got hot. After time, the igniter would cycle on but the gas flame would not come on. I thought the radiant heater might not be tripping the secondary coil on the gas valve. The gas valve coils tested good. I was checking them cold after the dryer had cooled down. I ordered a number of parts.

I got lucky and did a test on the coils while the dryer was still hot. One of the coils in the dual booster holding coil was going open when hot. When cold it had enough continuity to let the gas valve cycle on once. After the coil got warm it went open and shut the gas valve off. When the coil did cool off, it again had continuity. I was about ready to trash the dryer when I finely found the problem. I am happy I persisted and worked the problem through to a solution. I purchased several extra sensors but saved money in the long-run. I rate this problem at the high end of complexity for the do-it your self home owner to solve. The problem was an easy fix once the real problem was found. Only 4 screws and 3 push on wire connectors (two were on the front panel for the door switch).

Once I started using a bunch of clothespins to hold the felt in place and then started gluing small sections at a time I was able to complete the task. The glue comes out of the tube very quickly so don't squeeze it a lot.

This was so much easier than I though it was going to be. Pulled up on the top part of the dryer and folded it over to the back. Removed 2 screws for the front panel and disconnected some wires. Laying down I fed the new belt on and made sure the tensioner was put back into the right spot, because when the belt broke the tensioner sprung to the other end of its travel. Put everything back together. This was made super easy because you guys had the parts and the shipping was super fast. Alot of the local shops in the area didnt even carry the belt or were not helpful..

First, I unplugged the dyer and then I removed all of the screws for the panel that covers the rear of the dryer. This exposed the cycling thermostat's location. I then removed the wires, one at a time so I would be able to put them back on in the same place. Then I removed the one screw using a nut driver and then put the new cycling thermostat in place. It was pretty easy.

I disassembled the dryer once to clean the motor and compartment. After reasembly, the problem persistes. I ordered the motor and the second diasasssembly was accomplished in 10 minutes and the entire job took 45 minutes and the dryer was running like new. Tip- Leave the motor secured while removing the blower fan.

Just follow the instructions the one was provided with Maitanace kit we bought from you.

Nothing to it. Just remember to put the insert in the knob, NOT on the selector stem. Line up the flat part of the insert with the flat part of the stem and push the knob in place.

Don NOT ram it on the selector stem. When it's seated, don't push any more. That's all there is to it. It works. If the pointer on the knob indicates the selector is lined up correctly, but it isn't, the problem is the selector, not the knob.

Looking at the schematics, it wasn't clear exactly where the motor was located. I took off the rear panel thinking I could get to the motor through the blower. Realizing that was a no-go, I did some web searching and found that the lint screen chute had to be unscrewed, the top had to be lifted to gain access to the top 2 screws holding the front panel to to the main body. The barrel was then dropped and the rib belt removed from around it so I could set it aside. The clips were removed from the front and the back of the motor to gain access to the blower shaft. .The motor shaft is screwed into the blower shaft but it took me a while to figure out how to grab the blower shaft( made of hardened plastic?) with an adjustable wrench while torquing the end of the shaft with a (3/4"?) socket wrench. Access to the rear was rough, but getting the motor out an back in was easy. The spring tensioner for the belt was the next hurdle. With the s-curve facing outward and clipped to the base, the belt with the rib side wrapped around the barrel, the belt was slid between the roller and the tensioner bracket and wrapped around the motor drive rib side inward. I had to take the old motor to kind of prop up the barrel so I could at least see the tensioner and motor interface. I had to do a balance trick where I held the barrel up while centering it to the belt and the rear panel while ensuring the cloth seal was seated to the outside of the chamber. The front panel went on, and the front cloth seal was seated by spinning the barrel. The rest was just a matter of reversing the steps. Tons of lint/dust is probably what crashed this motor. Disassembling the front and the back allowed a thorough clean up - vacuuming and wipe down. Should go another 10 years/

It was so easy... Pop out the old with flatblade screw driver and insert new piece... Works perfectly and looks better than the velcro strip I was using to hold the door shut...! Thanks for fast delivery and having the part available...

Regards,
JBL

removed front of dryer located igniter removed two screws disconnected wires then put new one in also replace thermal fuse and thermostat on back of dryer works great.