4KMEDC300BW0 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

My dryer was running way too hot and the temperature settings didn't make any difference. Clothes were shrinking and coming out almost scalding hot. I followed simple directions posted on you tube for troubleshooting this problem. I checked that there were no lint blockages, visually inspected all connections and hardware. All seemed good. Metered out all thermostats and fuses. Everything checked good for continuity. For the reset-able thermostats, I heated them on a hot plate to verify that the normally closed switches opened near their specified temperatures. Dont do this for the non-resetable fuses and thermostats. If you're
not sure, avoid this step. Only the hi-limit thermostat seemed to open a little higher than expected but I couldn't with 100% accuracy determine the exact temp it opened. Made sure the heating element wasn't shorted in its housing or that too might give the dryer the same symptoms. That checked good too. Only thing left I could think of was to change that hi-limit thermostat. Ordered part, removed and replaced. Perfect fit. Op-checked good. All heat settings now operate normally. No more shrunken clothes that are too hot to touch even on the lowest setting lol. Hope this helps, happy hunting.

First I unplugged the dryer from 240V and removed the back cover upper (behind the switch) and lower (exposing the remainder of the parts)

Inside the upper section was a folded wiring diagram of the dryer (don't know if this was courtesy of Whirlpool or another individual, but it was a very nice touch.)

I did a resistance measurement across the heating coil and found out it was fine. I then plugged the dryer back in and carefully took voltage measurements from one phase of power (this was easily accessed where the power comes in to the dryer, just be careful not to touch or short the wires)

I had an assistant turn on the dryer (this makes things go a little faster, as you are behind the dryer otherwise) and checked for 240V across the heater coil.

Once I did not have this, I kept one lead on the left side wire (one of the power phases coming into the dryer) and moved the other lead to the left (as viewed on the wiring diagram) until I no longer had 240V. This identified the faulty component as the Thermostat High-Limit, non resetable.

I ordered the kit with the High Limit NR and High limit Thermostat (as both had to be bad). I also ordered the 150 degree cycling thermostat (although this was not necessary - for <$20 I opted to replace it as well)

Removing wires one at a time, each component is fairly easy to replace.

My only complaint is that with the combo kit, the wire attachment is a little different that the original component and requires you to cut an existing wire and crimp a different terminal to allow all three wires on the High Limit thermostat (250 degrees) to be attached. There is little to show you how exactly the crimp is to be connected (it goes on the smaller of the three wires - DO NOT CUT the jumper provided and USE A GOOD CRIMPER - not the $2 variety, or you'll be getting a new connector!!) The connector provided is designed for some strain relief from one connector to the other, however) An additional jumper with the appropriate connectors already attached would be a nicer design.

Also, make sure you do NOT screw in the smaller cover that covers the power in until you place the entire lower half cover back on the dryer (unless you want to take it off a second time, as I did...) as it uses a common screw to hold both in place.

Overall, fairly easy to do with a minimum of tools, straight blade screwdriver to remove stubborn wire connectors (esp. for HT thermostat 250), ratchet and socket for quick removal and replacement of covers, and a good T&B style crimper ($10-$20 at your local hardware and well worth it even if you only use it a couple of times)

30 minutes and done - the dryer now cranks out the heat and the advanced settings (Auto dry) work great - no more 2-3 times throug to get things dry.

If you have a minimum of mechanical ability and a little bit of electronic troubleshooting skill, you can check and repair this youself and save about an $80-$100 service call.

Thanks to Part Select for the diagram of the dryer layout as well!! (Schematic would be nice if available online, though!)

Shipped the part in about 2 days from order time, as well. Will be back (hopefully not soon, though, as something has to break first!!!)

Be safe and good luck!

(One last note: Make sure your lint trap is clear including the hose - either due to build up or a lazy kid...as this probably caused the failure as heat could not escape...)

I was reluctant to call a repair service. Typically when an appliance is as old as my dryer (14 years old), service people encourage you to replace, not repair. I had replaced the dryer's motor within the last 5 years and believed my dryer still had life to it. At first, I tried cleaning the lint build up from the dryer cavity and hoses. This worked but only for a couple of days. After reading other successful repair stories on the website, I decided to try replacing the thermal fuse. It was so easy. The part was easily identifiable. It was just a little hard to yank off the connecting wires. Good as new and no service call.

Unplugged washer,removed the two screws by the lint trap,moved the top foward lifted the top (it'shinged in the back )the switch is right inside the door top right hand corner removed the two screws that hold the switch in place used a flatblade screwdriver to seperate the connections pulled off the old installed the new switch put every thing back together worked as though it wes never broken

I looked at the parts breakdown to see how it cam apart.

I tore the dryer down,
1. removed the door
2. openned the top
3. removed front panel
4. removed fron bulkhead
5. removed belt and drum
6. removed back cover
7. removed the ductwork
8. removed the fan (this is the hardest part, it is very tight on the motor with left hand threads, there are flats on the (inside of the dryer)fan where the motor shaft goes into the fan for a wrench and you can put a socket on the front pulley on the motor. I ended up just knocking the center out of the fan and replacing it.
9. removed the motor and cleaned the entire unit
10. reinstalled everything in reverse order. Note:I went ahead and replaced the idler pulley and the rear wheels that support the drum, and put a new belt in (just about
everything that could fail) I spent about $200 to keep a $1200 dryer in service at least another 7 years.

Solution: electric motor replacement as the integral centrifugal switch lever (plastic cam) wears over time causing the start windings' switch poor contact. Took it all apart, (back panel, front and top) including lifting the drum out to completely expose the motor. Needed to wrench the plastic fan from the inside motor shaft. Tricky part was swapping the original pulley (6 rib belt, still good) for the one supplied for 4 rib belts. I needed to file another flat onto the other side of both motor shafts (old and new) to break them free, using a vice to secure the pulleys. The dryer works perfectly! It's a great dryer that can be repaired by a determined novice. The enclosed instructions were helpful, although if followed about cutting the original motor shaft to obtain its pulley might require drilling the shaft from the pulley = nonsense. Thanks again Parts Select.

one socket wrench very easy and I am a 78 year old women.

Replacing the part was easy: unscrew the old one from the front of the dryer after opening door, disconnect and replace with new one. Getting to it was a bit more difficult: Remove 6 screws from the back, 4 that hold the back of the top down and 2 that hold the control panel in place. You had to remove the control panel to free up the wiring bundle (held in place by a tie wrap inside the control panel housing) so you could move the top forwards enough. Then remove the top of the dryer by lifting the back up slightly and moving it forward to disconnect from attachments in the front and move aside to gain access to the switch.

My 80 series Kenmore dryer wouldn't start so I looked online for a solution to the problem. One of the sites I found stated that the problem could be as simple as a thermal fuse if other potential issues could be ruled out. I ordered the part on a Monday from PartSelect with standard FedEx ground shipping - stated it could be 3-5 business days. To my amazement, the part arrived the next day! Awesome!!! I watched the video on the PartSelect site to make sure I knew how to fix it, then followed the easy instructions. All I needed to do was use the nutdriver to remove the back cover from the dryer, unplug the two wires going into the thermal fuse, remove the old fuse, and pop the new one in. Then I just plugged the wires into the new fuse, replaced the cover and voila, the dryer worked like a champ! Thank you PartSelect for saving me a needlessly high repair bill!!

Followed simple instructions to replace two pulleys and belt. The Virtual Repairman helped me identify the cause in minutes. Took another 5 minutes to place the order and the part arrived two days later. Saved $125 at least. Thank you!

john

Took a bit to first figure out how to get the front of the dryer off in order to access the motor, wheels, and belt, but found a "how-to" online. Once I had that, the rest was easy.

Lubricated motor and guide wheels but squealing still there. Then noticed the "idler pulley assembly" (the part that keeps the belt tight against the drum) looked a bit old and worn. Ordered a replacement part on this site because it was much much cheaper than a service call, installed it.... and NO SQUEAL!!!

Went on this website and found a story that was similar. I ordered the parts which arrived quickly and I replaced the Thermal Fuse and heating element and it was fixed! The whole repair cost me $24.88! Way cheaper than calling a repair man.
Heater thing was part # 3387134
and the fuse was 3392519

The repair was fairly straight-forward. I removed the front of the dryer, lifted the top off, and then released the tension off the belt dy depressing the pulley arm. Once the belt was off, the drum came right out and then it was on to unhooking the wiring from the old motor. Very simple up till this point. The snag came when I went to unthread the impeller fan off of the old motor shaft. It was permanently sealed onto the shaft so I had to cut the old shaft into using a reciprocating saw was a metal-cutting blade. Once this was done the new motor installed easily exactly like the old one was mounted. I had to also purchase a new fan due to the fact that I was unable to remove the cut shaft from the old fan. All parts worked great and the dryer assembled back together easily. Works like a new dryer now.

First, let me say the t videos are excellent. Check them out if you haven't already.

I came across the video on diagnosing the causes of odd dryer noises. After watching that, I decided that the issue was probably a drum roller.

I took a chance and ordered the maintenance kit to avoid having to take the dryer part to confirm the diagnosis and then put it back together again while waiting for the parts to arrive (BTW - the parts arrived within two days of my ordering them) .

Even if you know your issue is only the roller, I recommend getting the entire kit. It takes no extra time to replace the drive belt and the idler pulley while you have to dryer apart and I consider it good preventative maintenance.

Definitely watch the how-to video PartSelect provides on how to perform the repair using the maintenance kit. It's very clear and very helpful. I'm not sure I could have figured out how the belt fit through the idler pulley without it.

As video shows, the repair is pretty straightforward. As others have noted, you'll likely find a couple of dollars in change and a goodly layer of lint in the bottom of the cabinet. Have your shop back handy.

It seems kind of silly, but I found the hardest part of the whole repair was getting the front panel to slide onto the two bottom clips that support it.

One thing to watch out for are two small metal clips surrounding the screw holes at the top of the front panel. The nut screws that hold the panel in place screw into these, not the panel itself. After I struggled to get the panel in place I realized that in the process I had knocked the clips off and so had to remove the front panel again in order to retrieve the clips from the bottom of the cabinet. Minor frustration. And with all the practice I had the first time around, the panel went on much more easily the second time :-)

It was very gratifying to plug the dryer in, turn it on and have it run perfectly. Better yet, it impressed my wife.

Purchased the dryer maintenqance repair kit. Very simple to do. Easy to follow instructions. Took less than an hour. Everything I needed was in th kit. Did not have to run to home depot for anything.