Tag Archives: Dryer

Samsung dryer heating element DC97-14486A is used on many Samsung clothes dryers and even some Maytag (Neptune) and Amana dryer models.  When the heating element goes bad, it will usually have a break in the heating coil which will cause the element not to heat.  These instructions work for most Samsung dryers, some may have some small differences but the overall process if very similar.  Here is how to replace and test the DC97-14486A & DC47-00019A heating element:

First, unplug or shut off the power to the dryer before working on it.

Then remove the two screws securing the top panel to the back of the dryer.  Slide the top panel towards the back of the dryer to remove.  Now you will need to remove the front control panel, some model will have screws securing this. Remove them and then pull up to remove, you should have enough extra wire to set the control panel on top of the dryer to get it out of the way (if not, then disconnect the wires and set it off to the side).

Behind where the control panel was there will be four screws that secure the front panel of the dryer to the frame.  Remove these four screws.

Open the door of the dryer, there will be two screws that need to be removed at the bottom of the door frame area.  With those two screws removed you should be able to tilt the front panel forward, remove the connector to the door switch, and remove the front panel.

The heating element is located on the bottom right side of the dryer.  To remove the element you will need to remove the wires to the heating element, thermal fuse, and thermostat.  Then remove the mounting screw in the front and the whole heating element assembly should pull out the front of the dryer.

To test the heating element, you will need an Ohm meter or multi-meter.  A good heating element should read approximately 9-10 ohms.  A burned out element will have an infinite resistance (it won’t register anything).  See the video below for instructions on how to test the heating element.

To re-install the heating element you will need to put everything back in the reverse order.  If you lost track of how the wires connect to the heating element, please see the picture below.

If you need to purchase a new Samsung dryer heating element, click one of the two links below.

The best way to purchase the heating element is as an assembly. The heating element assembly includes the heating element, two thermostats, and housing.

Heating Element Assembly –  Part # PD00002003 (mfg # DC97-14486A)

We also sell the heating element by itself.  You will need to re-use the thermostats and element housing.

Heating Element – Part # PD00001991 (mfg # DC47-00019A)

Maintaining your dryer properly can be the difference of saving yourself hundreds of dollars of repair costs over the lifetime of your dryer.  Not keeping your dryer lint free can not only cause your dryer to break down more, but the lint build up is a serious fire hazard.  Here are 4 things to check.

Lint Filter

Clean the lint filter for the dryer after every load.  If you see any tears or rips in the lint filter, replace the filter with a new one.  Any large holes in the lint screen will allow lint to get past the filter and prematurely clog up the inside of the dryer or the exhaust vent.

Blower Housing (Area Under Lint Filter)

The area underneath the lint filter is typically called the blower housing.  The blower housing is a main air duct where air flows through your dryer.  Often, lint will build up in this area and it will need to be cleaned out.  On some dryers you can use a small brush to stick into the lint filter opening to clean out the lint, and on other dryers the whole dryer has to be taken apart to clean out the blower housing.  This is important to keep clean to maintain good airflow in your dryer.

Dryer Vent

Over time,  and even when cleaning the lint screen every load, a small amount of lint still passes by the lint filter and some of it builds up inside your dryer exhaust vent.  This lint needs to be cleaned out either by taking the venting apart (if accessible), or by hiring a professional company to clean your vent out.  Always make sure to use metal venting.  Plastic flexible venting can cause fires, and should be replaced with new aluminum venting.

Dryer Cabinet

The inside cabinet of the dryer will build up with lint over time.  This usually doesn’t accumulate very fast, but if you have an exhaust vent that is not sealed up very well then a lot of that lint can circulate back into the dryer.  Before pulling your dryer apart, make sure to unplug it first.  Some dryers have a front bottom panel that is removable that will give you easy access to cleaning out the cabinet of the dryer.  Other dryer models have to be pull completely apart to accomplish this task.  If you aren’t very handy, you may need to hire a appliance repair man to do the job for you.

Some Maytag Neptune dryers use a thermistor temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the air in the dryer.  When this sensor fails you can get a “tS”/”t5” error code which indicates a thermistor short.  Testing this sensor is very easy, all you need is a digital mulit-meter that can read ohms.

This is how to test thermistor part number WP35001191:

• With the thermistor removed from the dryer set your meter to measure ohms (or to the 20K/40k ohms setting)
• Place one probe on each terminal of the thermistor
• The thermistor at room temperature should read approximately 10k ohms.  If it is far off from that, the sensor will need to be replaced. (sensor in the above picture is a bad sensor)
• Once the bad sensor has been replaced, you will need to reset the code or else the TS code will continue to display.

Here is how to get into service mode to clear the TS code:

• First, Enter Service Mode.  Dryer must be on before Service Mode can be entered. Press Chime and Temperature Keys for 3 seconds, or until 3 beeps are heard. The machine will now be in Service Mode.
• Next, access diagnostic codes by entering the Service Mode and pressing Wrinkle Prevent. A “d” will be displayed. Rotate the Cycle Selector Knob in either direction to step through the list of codes one code at a time.
• Then, to clear the diagnostic code list press the Sensor Dry Level and Time keypads together for 3 seconds while viewing the list. The cycle count for each diagnostic code will be reset to 0, but not the machine cycle count.
• Finally exit service mode by pressing the OFF key or repeat the Chime and Temperature sequence.

If you need to purchase a thermistor sensor for your dryer click the link below:

Thermistor – WP35001191

In order to find the age of a Whirlpool built appliance you will need the serial number from the appliance.  Since Whirlpool manufactures appliances under many different names, this may work with some of these brand names also:

Whirlpool, Kenmore (Sears), Maytag (Newer models), Kitchen Aid, Estate, Inglis, Roper, Amana, Jenn Air, Crosley and more.

Please do not contact our company for assistance trying to determine the age of your appliance as we will be unable to help.  If the information on this page does not answer your question please contact the manufacture directly for futher assistance.

Serial Number Example:

CR3949348

1st Digit: Where the appliance was manufactured. C = Clyde, OH.

2nd Digit: Year Manufactured.  R = 2004

3rd & 4th Digit: Week the appliance was manufactured.  39 = 39th week of the year.

5th-9th Digit: Manufacture order that week

See the charts below for the year codes:

Whirlpool Model Number Codes
A letter in the model number indicates the year the model was introduced. Please note that the year the model was introduced to NOT indicate the production date. For models 1981 and older you will reference the 2nd character in the model number, and on models produced after 1981 you will reference the 8th character in the model number. Please reference the charts below for the year codes:

On older style Maytag & Jenn Air dryers, the blower wheel often fails with age.  The blower wheel connects to the motor and is the fan that blows the air through the dryer.  When the blower wheel fails you will often hear a rumbling noise come from the dryer when you start it, and then again when you turn it off.  Also you may start to notice the clothes taking longer to dry than normal since the blower wheel isn’t spinning as fast as it’s supposed to.

What goes bad on the blower wheel is the flat spot that is supposed to bed on the blower wheel.  On a bad blower wheel the center will be round out.

(bad blower wheel)

On a good blower wheel the center will have a “D” shape with a flat spot for the motor shaft to grab onto.

(good blower wheel)

The manufacturer part number for the blower wheel is Y303836, and sometimes they will have the number 3-12913 stamped on the plastic.  Click the link below to purchase the blower wheel from our store.

Blower Wheel – Y303836

For a few years Whirlpool decided to try using a different style idler pulley (belt tension pulley) on their 29″ wide dryers with the lint filter located on the top of the dryer.  They did this for about 2-3 years, and then they decided to go back to the original idler pulley that they had used for years previously.

This poorly designed idler pulley uses a piece of stamped metal with a plastic/teflon piece attached to it where the belt rides to reduce the friction.  Over time this idler pulley will start to make loud squealing noises or even high pitched whines.  Sometimes the squeak will be louder when the dryer starts, and then go away.  Whirlpool has now gone back to the original design that uses a wheel that fixes this squeaking noise.

Bad Squeaking Idler Pulley

Part to fix the problem.  Part Number PD00002256  (mfg #691366)

For a little bit more you can get a maintenance kit part number PD00002464 (mfg#4392065), that includes the idler pulley, belt, and rear drum rollers.

On Whirlpool Duet and Kenmore Elite HE3 style dryers they will commonly build up with lint inside the blower housing.  The blower housing is underneath where the lint filter on the dryer goes.  To clean out the blower housing you can either stick brush down where the lint filter goes.  Or the better option is to unplug the dryer, remove the lint filter, remove the two screws that hold on the bottom panel of the dryer, and then remove the two-four (depending on the model) screws that hold on the blower housing.  Clean all of the lint out real well and then re-install.

When the blower housing is clogged with lint, the dryer will work less efficiently and clothes will take longer to dry.  Other things a clogged blower housing can cause is blown thermal fuses, heating elements to burn out, and its also a fire hazard.