DDC4500SJM Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

I watched a video. The man speaking was Wayne from parts direct. He made the repair go so smoothly. I enjoyed watching him and I hope you include him in more videos. Had dryer apart and back together (after I had to take top back off, to re-attach the door switch, which I forgot. Had a senior moment!!) in 15 min.And working as good as new. Thank you Wayne. Have a nice day. Bryan

DISCONNECT THE POWER. (I got shocked a few times during the diagnoses stage). Remove the lint catcher. Pop the top of the dryer up (there are two plastic tabs along the front of the dryer. Remove the two screws for the lint catcher and open the top of the dryer. Loosen the screws between the side and front panels. Lift up on the front of the dryer to free it from the clips down below. Swing the front panel out of the way to avoid disconnecting the door-open-switch. Undo the two screws holding the bracket onto the gas burner regulator. Replace the coils. Reassemble in the reverse order. It was helpful to open the dryer door to help align the drum and front panels.

replace two heating coils. Dryer working find.

1st replaced limit thermostat because it tested bad; this did not resolve the problem. Initial burn was successful. Heating element would heat but burner would not ignite for subsequent burns unless allowed to cool down for 10 minutes or more. Coils tested at correct values, but a u-tube video said that was not always an indication of a flawless coil set. It was either the coils or the burner itself. Burner would not have been a justifiable expense even though it came with new coil set, so tried the coil set, and it resolved the problem.

popped top up with flat screw-took out 4 screws (2 screws-1/4" nut driver - 2 phillips screws on bracket that holds coils in place) unplugged 2 wire lugs (1 three wire & 1 two wire) changed out bad coils screws back in-plugged wires back in -popped top back down .done

Watched tecnician (I paid) as he diagnosed the problem. Four screws take of the top and front. Clothes drum slides out. Access to valve is good. Valve attaches to feed via compression fitting. Male end of fitting on unit is moved to new unit via allen wrench. Drive belt is re attached around drum and over idler easily. Part cost $90.00 shipp0ed to me. Technician asked $375.00 for this repair. Access the parts via placing the model number on Google Search.

The bracket on the part supplied was different than the original. The wire connector was also different. The bracket had to be drilled for a hole to match the original. The connector had to be cut off and the wires soldered together, then tied off to the frame to keep them away from the flame. The repair works like new but not the simple plug and play I was expecting. In all fairness the exact model number was not available, probably since the appliance was 24 years old, so I chose the closest model number with the picture that looked like what I had. Problem solved.

We watched the YouTube video and had it installed in no time. Saved money doing it ourselves.

Diagnose that the circuit is functioning up to the igniter. This is done by removing the peep hole cover on the bottom front panel, turn the dryer on and watch for a glowing igniter. My dryer would still ignite the first time because the coils would not show an "open" until they heated up. So if you see the igniter glow it is most likely your coils are bad. Remove two screws from lint trap area on top of dryer. Pry up on top panel at the two clips. Panel is on hinges, so flip it out of the way or just brace it with something enough to keep it off the front panel. Remove the two bolts from inside top corners of the front panel. Use a small punch or screw driver to push in on the tab to release the doors electrical connector. Pull straight up on front panel to remove it from bottom clips. The gas valve is very easy to get to without removing the drum. If needed for inspection or cleaning, just pull back on the belt tensioner to remove the belt from the motor and then pull the drum out. Or just use a stubby phillips screw driver to remove the bracket from the top of the ignition coils. Use a very small flat head screw driver to lift the locking tab on each electrical connector while removing. Remove the coils and place new ones in very same position (note the tab or key way of the coils faces up and are defined in the bracket). Re-assemble all parts making sure connections are tight and drum is correctly mounted. Note: if you remove the drum, return the belt back, in a loop, through the tensioner. This part hurt my head for a moment because I did not pay attention. Also a good idea to vacuum the debris and lint while your in there! As always check to make sure the exhaust pipe is clear. Have fun!

My son is an engineer and repairs washers and dryers for a large commercial laundry company on a daily basis. He installed my part easily and had me up and running in no time.

Unplug dryer first! Remove toe panel with 1/4" nut driver on each lower corner. Gas assembly will be on the right immediately below right of drum. Use a short Phillips screwdriver to break loose two screws retaining hold-down plate on gas valve coils. I used an adjustable wrench to turn the screwdriver on screws which are not easy to apply torque to. Each coil will easily slip off stem. Disconnect catch on plug with very small flat tip screwdriver for each coil, then pull off connector. Ensure the 3-terminal coil goes to the front and the 2-terminal to the rear. Note aligning tips on coils which correspond to holes in hold down plate. Reassemble in reverse order except for toe panel. Plug in dryer and verify gas valve operation and flame presence. Replace toe panel.

Well, had I read more of the reviews on this website, I would have learned that my problem was the valve coils. Instead, I assumed it was the igniter, so I ordered and installed a new igniter to no avail. I was about to just go buy a new dryer at Home Depot and spend $600, but I had to try again so I read more reviews on this website and began measuring resistances across the valve coils and discovered I had a bad one. I ordered both just to be safe, and installed them and quickly enjoyed my first uninterrupted dryer cycle in over a year (for over a year, I had been stopping and restarting my dryer about 10 times for each cycle). So THANKS for this website and to all the home technicians who posted symptoms, resistances, and how-to-do-its to help me get this done. It was an empowering experience to fix this and have bookmarked this website for any future appliance fixes. It's a great website with all its schematics and postings.

Removed the screws on the dryer vent and the back of the dryer top. Then I raised up the top panel and removed the screws that held the front panel on. I removed the front panel to access the coils. I replaced the coils and then the front and top panel and screws. All went well. The dryer is working properly now.

Unplug power. Remove the lint filter and remove the 2 screws under the lint cover lid. Use flathead screw driver to pop off the top of the dryer housing. The clips are located at the front two corners.Just wedge and lift up to unclip. Remove two hex head screws on each side disconnecting the side housing from the front housing. Disconnect the wiring harness at the front top right side if you are facing dryer. Lift up on the front housing to unclip the bottom of housing. Just lift up and pull housing face toward you at an angle. The circular dryer piece where clothes go into will be loose but still attached. It will sag down a little. Then on bottom left side unscrew two screws to remove the 2 coils. You will need a stubby phillips screw driver about 1.5" long and you will need to lift up on the dryer circular piece out of the way a little. Once you remove the crews, remove the clip holding the two coils. Remove the wiring from the coils. 1 coil has two leads and one has 3. Replace one at a time just in case your model is slightly different. Be sure to install the coil with the little knobby part up and in alignment for when you reinstall the clip/ bracket that holds it in place. Replace the coils and install the racket/ clip with 2 screws. Reinstall the wires. Reinstalling the front face of dryer housing is a little tricky because you have to slide the bottom back onto the clips while holding the circular dryer part up. Then push the front housing up against the circular piece so they are aligned and fit. While holding it, screw the two hex screws on each side. Then reconnect harness and snap the top housing back onto the front face housing clips. Reinstall the two screws at the lint trap. Reinstall the lint trap and plug back in. The dryer is now fixed if that was your problem. Its a fairly simply job once you start doing it. Good luck.

Followed directions from Youtube video