What To Do If My Dryer Gets Too Hot?

What should I check first if the dryer won’t stop?

If your machine keeps heating up even after the cycle is completed, you have to pay attention to this issue. Here are the components that may be affected:

Examine the timer

Old-generation dryers did not have many electronic components. They used gears to count time and provide power to different parts at different times of the cycle. If the timer gear breaks inside, the machine will start acting weird.

The machine will not turn off the heating element after the cycle is completed. The metal body of the dryers will be getting very hot and might even get your fingers burned. This problem causes parts of the dryer to wear out and can even cause a fire. It is best to call an expert immediately.

Check the humidity sensor

The sensor inside the drum detects the temperature and how wet the clothes are. If the sensor has shorted out or showed wrong reading to the unit, the dryer might work for hours non-stop. Or even worse, burn out its heating element.

To test this component; remove the front side panel of the unit and measure the sensor at Ohms at room temperature. All models have different standard readings. It is highly recommended to check with manual or service technical notes.

Test the thermal fuse

Is your dryer getting too hot? There is a particular type of fuse inside in some models that can only be measured in Ohms. Those fuses can short out and provide power to the motor or heating element even though they should not.

It’s best not to jump to assumptions and test all fuses available to compare the reading of the fuses with service manuals. Those fuses are usually located on the air duct vent, built into the motor blower and motor itself. Both fuses protecting the motor and humidity sensors are right beside each other.

Inspect the control board

Those are circuits located on the top part of your dryer and control the timing and heating. Unfortunately, you will not be able to test this kind of component because testing all outputs correctly requires special tools and advanced knowledge. You can get those tests done in special labs.

Other dryer components

Suppose you have a steam dryer or a gas dryer. In that case, you can have issues with other components requiring a much more precise and advanced diagnosis. We recommend calling experts to get a professional opinion before taking any action.