WED5500XW0 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

First I unplugged the dryer, then removed the back panel, this exposed most all of the wiring and I could see the heater coils.
Not knowing what the problem was I started looking at the coils and could not see any broken parts.
So then checked the thermal fuse for continuity I removed the two wires from it with a small pair of needle nose pliers, it was held in place by two screws, once they were removed the fuse came out easily, I checked continuity with a volt meter placing the meter on X1 Ohms and could not get a reading.
I replaced with a new one and put it all back together the way I took it apart.
Then I plugged it in and it worked first time, I now have warm dry clothes.

i was able to go on line with your company , find my dryer, order the part and had it the next day. fast , great , service

Cleaning the lint out of the whole machine took quite a bit of time--it was everywhere. Underneath the lint trap was a collection that ultimately ruined the thermal fuse where it restricted the air flow considerably.

Ascertaining the problem was the most time consuming part.

The actual repair was quite simple and didn't take but 15-20 minutes.

Received your parts, Popped them both right into place, Even though only one side needed to be replaced, I wanted them to match up. It was amazing how easy this was. My husband was quite impressed I had ordered these rather then look for either a new or used dryer from some other source.

Pryed dryer top open and opened front door. . Unscrewed the 2 retaining screws. Pulled old switch from the wiring harness. Put new switch in place and replaced the retaining screws. Put new switch wire plug into the wiring harness. Before closing top, checked door switch function with dryer on. Dryer cut off when door open and when closed dryer started normally. . . Maint. Note instruction book should warn that letting door slam, which I did on occaision, broke the switch arm. Might save future problems.

Remove the kick plate from the bottom of the dryer by sliding a putty knife along the top edge to release the plastic clamps, one on each side about 4" in from the edges. The kick plate folds out and down. You will see the heat shield on the right, held in by one hex head screw. Remove screw and heat shield. The element is positioned in an open-front housing and is fastened to the left side of the housing by two hex head screws, located on the "rail" of the element and right near the two wires. Remove the hex-head screws that hold the element in place and disconnected the two wires by pulling them out by hand or with needle nose pliers. The only difficulty here is the cramped working area...I recommend a stubby socket driver for these two screws. Most of this I had to do by feel because I could not see the screw heads. Once the screws are out and the wires have been disconnected, slide the old element straight out toward you. You may need to disconnect a small plastic hose located to the left front of the element, but this hose just pulls right off. Vacume the dust & lint build-up out of the whole area, wipe out the element housing and clean up the whole underside of the dryer prior to installing the new element. Installation is reverse of removal. It also might be a good opportunity to clean out your exhaust duct and the vent to the outside. (Never use the aluminum foil-accordian-type duct.) If the exterior dryer vent has any kind of screen over it, remove it and get rid of it. Screens collect lint, lint builds up and burns out elements.

I started to repair this and got busy and ended up calling a repair service -- that was the first time. They repaired it for over $200 and said the cause was bad venting. I fixed the vent before using the fixed dryer but it blew again. So I ordered these parts and replaced them myself for a lot of savings. However, the dryer still overheated. Through lots of testing I found the root cause the repairman missed: The heating element had gotten so hot that the assembly holding it warped, hitting the element and shorting it. So a new element is on order. I still needed the parts I ordered here but the overall repair ended up more complicated and expensive. I was disappointed a paid repair person left without further diagnosis. If he had unplugged the vent and checked the heat on the exhaust vent (as I ended up doing) it would have been obvious more than a new thermal fuse/thermistor was necessary. Instead I wasted over $200 on his visit. So my advice is if you're at all handy, repair this yourself. The dryer has a service manual inside the front toe board that walks you through most diagnostics and tests. However, it took a little more than that for me to discover the heating element problem. This was a very dangerous situation that could have easily led to a fire, yet not found by a trained technician!

It was simple once I figured out what to do:). I removed the 2 screws on the top of the dryer... they were a bit hard to find. Even with the other descriptions on this site. I was removing things I didn't need to. The 2 screws you need to remove are under the LINT COLLECTOR LID. Remove those 2 screws & lift the lid... it will be tight at first. the front of the lid has 2 "catches" in the corners.

The hardest part was getting the door switch assembly to "unplug". We pried it off -- eventually -- & then simply plugged in the new one.

Saved me LOTS of money & was worth the 30 minutes - 1 hour of work.

As I said previously, once you realize how to get the lid up & manage to pry off the plug, that's all there is to it -- easy!

Save yourself time & money & do it yourself!

ordered new lint screen, removed old screen, inserted new screen.

I can't believe I waited so long to find this part and do this. I got the package very fast, opened it, took the piece to my dryer and popped it into place with my fingers. It worked perfectly! this took all of two minutes and saved me from having to hold the dryer door closed with a stick. Thank you, thank you!!!

First unplug your dryer. Then, I removed the two screws on the lint trap leaving the lint trap in place--do not pull out the lint trap--only remove the two screws. Next, slide the top of the dryer slightly forward in order to release the top of the dryer. I did this with my hands. Once the top of the dryer is released, raise the top of the dryer and unplug the door switch assembly. Then, remove the two screws that hold the switch. These two screws were located on the front panel of my dryer and are visible when you open the dryer door. Remove the old switch and install the new switch by putting the two screws you previously took out from the old switch back in place and plug in the new switch. Lower the dryer top. Push the top back to lock in place. Line up the lint trap holes for the two screws that hold it in place and replace those screws. Plug your dryer back in and it should work properly. Very easy repair. We ordered our part one morning before noon, and it was here the next afternoon with regular shipping. GREAT SERVICE.

This repair was a cinch. Pliers to pull out the metal piece and a screwdriver to pry out the 'catch' part in the door. Both replacement pieces went right in. I cannot believe how easy and CHEAP this fix was, and I'm so glad I found this site!! I figured I would have to call a repairman and pay big bucks, so I put it off, but the door was getting worse--slamming it so hard to keep it shut. Again, thanks for this great site.

I simply removed the back of the dryer to gain access to the heating element. Once I removed the heating element I figured I would also replace the thermostat and thermal fuse as preventive maintenance.

The issue was the idler pulley. First I began opening up the front panel based on a youtube video but soon realized the model was slightly different and required a lot more items to remove. I saw the pulley in the back with nothing in the way so I put the front panel crap back on and removed the rear panel. There it was, very simple to remove and replace. I'm not looking forward to drum rollers though. Hopefully they're aren't as difficult as they appear.

I did NOT have to repair the latch on the actual door, just the small metal piece that it hooks on (on the dryer itself) and it took about 10 seconds to.....do it myself. Just used needle nose pliers so squeeze the piece together and fit it in. thanks