Need repair help...Dryer suddenly stopped working mid cycle

Try pleasing your wife so she can stop sitting on it.

Unplug it and check the power terminals under the back plate.

A loose connection burned through a hot leg on a dryer I had years ago.

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Check the small switch that senses door being open/closed...

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When Redlos says check the switch, I think he means open the door, engage the switch and see if you can reach the start button. But keep your fingers clear of the drum.

It doesn't sound like the switch if it cut out mid-cycle, but can't hurt to try it.

Open the door and check the little black thing hanging down on the top left corner inside the door way.
If it's not there, not long enough to make contact with the door(check that/VERY COMMON*) or if you push it and don't hear a soft click your lid switch broke. (hold in switch and see if your unit starts. If it does, its not contacting the door.

If it's okay, then your thermal fuse went out.

On that Whirlpool made-Kenmore the thermal fuse routes power to the motor. So if the Thermal fuse trips the motor does not get power.


It would be the little white thing hooked up the the output exhaust with the two blue wires coming from it.

either the lid switch being bad or the thermal fuse being bad will cause the unit not to run.

If it were a bad motor it would hum or start and not run.

If it were the timer it would likely work in other cycles.

If it's an electric dryer it is possible that the breaker is half broken. I have seen this many times. One leg of the breaker has continuity the other does not. You flip it on and off and it appears on, but only one side has power.
If you have a meter check the power at your outlet for 220-240.
If not, flip the black wire and the red wire on the back of the machine and see if it starts. If it does, 100% that's the problem (unit needs 115 to run 220 to heat)


If it's a gas dryer the only things that would cause that problem are the thermal fuse or the switch.

both are very cheap and both are easy to change.

The back comes off after taking off the nine 1/4" hex screws then taking the 1/4" hex screw off the thermal fuse and changing it. (good time to change the thermal limiter and cuttoff as well) then just put it back the way it came apart.

To change the switch you need to take the lint trap out, then remove those two phillips screws, then with a paint scraper or a butter knife, pry it open at the point of the two black plastic lid clasps (just give it a soft pry)
The switch then comes out with two phillips screws then you unplug the harness and plug the new one in, then put it back the way you took it apart..


The part numbers you would need are


switch WP3406105

thermal fuse 3393519

(if changing the thermal fuse I recommend changing the cut off and limiter)

electric 279816

gas 279973



That is one of the better made dryers of all time. Parts are cheap and it's easy to work on. The basic design is still in production and it first came out in 1976.

With little changes here and there.

Probably has a 50 year service life if in an climate controlled laundry room.



*** Once you get it working *****

set the dryer to tumble only or no heat dry.
Hold the switch and push the start button.
throw a dollar bill against the vent on the right of the dryer. If it does not stick to the vent you have a restriction in your ventilation system and the BIG problem is that you need to clean the dryer vent from the dryer to outside.

A thermal fuse is a safety device, it trips is the unit is not properly exhausting.

pretty awesome that three of the first replies are the three most common causes for the problem the OP has. That's rare.

The first thing to do is always turn the breaker completely off and then back on. Do no use eye test on breaker.

I recommend youtube or other similar sites to get info on next basic steps. Here is a good source, but it can't compare to good videos.

Thanks for all the help. The door stitch has been broken for awhile, it won't stop when the door is opened. I just persisted on fixing it because the rest of the dryer worked fine. I wad thinning the thermal fuse may be it with how much it has been working the last few days and a lot today. I'll check the exhaust as well, I've had my mil over drying clothes and the lobby filter was pretty clogged when I checked it, so she may have gotten the exhaust clogged up.

plug it in the wall