WED88HEAC1 Whirlpool Dryer

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 ... Read more 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.

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 did ... Read more n't take but 15-20 minutes.

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 ove ... Read more rheated. 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!