Found a trick for sticky dryer thermostats that saved me an hour

I was working on a Whirlpool dryer last Tuesday where the high-limit thermostat kept reading open even though it was fine. After wasting 20 minutes testing around it, I tried heating the thermostat with a heat gun for about 10 seconds before testing continuity. It closed right up and confirmed it was good, so I moved on to find the real issue was a clogged vent elbow. Has anyone else used heat to get a more accurate reading on these things without pulling them out?

2 comments

2 Comments

seanlewis10d ago

Ha, that's a clever trick I heard about from an old timer at the supply house last year. He swore heating up thermostats for a few seconds before testing them was the only way to avoid chasing ghost issues on those older Whirlpool models. I've used it a couple times since then and it's saved me from replacing perfectly good parts.

smith.blair9d ago

Hell yeah, I'm doing this from now on. I've wasted way too much time second guessing a good thermostat on those old Whirlpool units. That clogged vent elbow is a classic sneaky bastard too, always hides behind the dryer. Probably been causing that thing to overheat for months lol. Good looking out.