Maytag gas dryer

I have been having some problems lately. It would stop before clothes were dry. It would not restart until it cooled off for some time. First I replaced the felt rub pads that the front of the drum rides on. They were bad. That seemed to help a little. Then same symptoms. If I had a real light load it would run longer. The timer continues to run down to zero.The last time I had it apart one of the rear drum support wheels seemed stickier than the other. I replaced the rollers. These did not solve the problem. I am thinking that the motor must have too much internal drag, and is causing it to overheat and shut off. I don't see any other friction components. The belt tension pulley spins freely. Now it won't start at all even empty. Does this type motor have a centrifugal switch that might be stuck? My guess would be if it had a centrifugal switch that went bad, it would either work on not, not go bad in stages.Is there any easy way to diagnose this? I am thinking about an amp meter. I don't have one, but could get one. I see that Amazon has one for about $27. Any other ideas. Sorry for the rambling. Thanks, Roy

Kenmore dryers that I have worked on use a split phase starting motor where a centrifugal switch does switch out a start winding once speed is reached.

Now that it won't start at all will give you a place to start.

The not starting, does the motor get power and just humm? If so, it could be the centrifugal switch not making contact. If there is a capacitor, it could be bad. Most dryers also use the centrifugal switch as a fail safe. If the motor stops, it drops power to the heat. It also is part of the interlock that connects when you push the start button.

If there is power to the motor, and it is not doing anything, either the winding has burned open, or the thermal overload is open. That may be what was opening and stopping it. If the motor is getting power, and not doing anything, that would be a big clue that that was the problem all along.

Dryers, especially gas dryers, have a lot of over temp safety switches. The motor that drives the drum also drives a blower that circulates air. There will be over temp switches to monitor the air temp, and possibly a sail switch to monitor air flow.

I assume you have checked the vent pipe (the pipe going out the wall, to the roof, wherever). Easy way to check it is with a leaf blower.

There's one more thing you should try, and probably first as it's the cheapest possible cause. You may have a lot of lint built up in the dryer duct. Bring in an air compressor or run an air hose into the house and laundry area, make sure the lint screen is clean, then do what works for your model dryer to make the dryer operate with the door open. Usually this involves the use of a screwdriver, but sometimes just pushing a button and turning it on. Then, using a blow gun with an extension (12" to 18" is good), blow into the lint trap area (screen removed if necessary) and work the air around to get as much lint free as possible. The reason for having the dryer running is so that the dryer can blow the volume of air necessary to get all the loose lint out the vent. The only purpose for the compressed air is to loosen the lint.

...There's probably some videos on YouTube just in case my words turned out clear as mud again. :wink:

We have a VERY short run of duct, and I blow it out about once a year. It always amazes me how much wet/damp lint gets caught inside. After cleaning, the dryer always works faster and more efficiently. Having all that lint in there slows airflow, which can cause the dryer to heat up more than normal.

I will have to check out the motor without the belt on it, to see if the centrifugal switch clicks on and off.
The vent is clear, the flaps were open the last time I had it running.
Will be gone till the weekend, and will check the motor at that time.

I have recently had the same thing happened to a commercial dryer at work. I took an air compressor and blew the electric motor out. Problem went away. Lint builds up in them and doesn't allow sufficient air flow causing it to over heat.

There's a fair chance that the hub of squirrel-cage fan is stripped out. The plastic fan has a D-shaped hole that "keys" it to the half-cutaway motor shaft, and, in my experience, the hole in the fan hub rounds out over time. Just replaced the fan wheel on my 22-year-old Maytag gas dryer for the second time about 6 weeks ago. The replacement fan wheel runs about $30 from a local appliance-part dealer, or about $20 from an on-line dealer.

Look close at the thermostat, mine was
Located top of dryer near the rear, Replaced
that and it still going , I think its more like
an overtemp sensor , small 1" round its black
has a couple wires , you tube to rescue

Your dryer is shutting down because a thermal limit switch is opening. You need to first figure out which switch it is, then that should lead you to the root cause.

The thermal switches are shown on the schematic for your dryer, which is probably inside the control panel. An AC voltmeter will easily show which switch is open. Remove whatever panels you need to get access to the switch, then run the dryer until it quits. Check the voltage at either side of each switch until you find the open one. (If the dryer is properly grounded, you can reference your measurements to the dryer chassis. If that doesn't work, you'll need to make your measurements with respect to line neutral.)

It's worth noting that the fan wheel slipping on the motor shaft will cause an over-temperature condition that will trip a working safety circuit. There are several YouTube videos covering the squirrel-cage replacement.