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Tumble Dryer Keeps Stopping
If you have loaded your tumble dryer and left it to perform its primary function of drying your clothes, you may be a tad frustrated when the appliance stops working. If your dryer keeps cutting out then you may have to rely on drying your clothes by hanging on a washing line - which may be a little difficult when there is a torrential downpour.
For help - to diagnose and identify the cause of your dryer not correctly functioning, our helpful guide may just be the tool you need to restore your appliance and get back in control of drying your clothes.
Cause 1
Motor Capacitor
A motor capacitor sits close to the motor which normally has two windings, the sole purpose of the capacitor is to allow the voltage to pass in the correct phase to drive the motor. As your appliance gets older the capacitor can fail and slowly reduce in power until the motor can no longer start turning.
You can identify a faulty capacitor by performing two simple checks:
Safety First! Please make sure that you have disconnected the appliance from the mains before beginning any repair.
- If the motor emits a loud buzzing sound the capacitor may have shorted and require replacement.
- Using a multimeter (see our guide on how to correctly use a meter here) check for continuity, if the capacitor is faulty and you will get a reading less than 1 ohm
- If the motor does not start or starts slowly then the capacitor may be faulty and therefore would require replacing.
For a replacement capacitor see our range of tumble dryer spares to get your appliance back up and running.
To see how to replace your faulty capacitor, view our guide to see how.
Cause 2
Drain Pump
Some tumble dryers require a drain pump which is also known as a condenser pump when there is a fault with this part and it can no longer pump the water to the tank it may cut out.
Safety First! Please make sure that you’ve switched off your appliance and disconnected it from the mains before beginning any repair.
If regular maintenance is not performed then the pump can become blocked. General maintenance could help prolong the life of your tumble dryers pump, just like the filter in the door, it collects lint and fluff from your garments.
- Cleaning this from time to time will help reduce the possibility of your pump becoming blocked.
- The dryer may have a float system - made of polystyrene this can wear over time.The float rises and falls, when it interacts with a microswitch it helps command the dryer to switch off.
If upon gaining access to the drain pump you can identify that a replacement is required then a spare can be purchased from our extensive range of tumble dryer pumps here.
Cause 3
Heating Element
If the heater may have blown, this can be easily diagnosed by identifying if heat is blown out, if there is no heat then you can assume the heater is faulty. To get a better idea if your heater is no longer working, it’s recommended to locate the heater in your dryer. Please be aware that this may vary depending on your particular model.
Safety First! Please make sure that you have disconnected the appliance from the mains before beginning any repair.
- Usually located on the back panel
- You can gain access to the heater by removing the screws holding it in place
With the heater removed, check for any signs of physical damage.
- Use a multimeter (see our guide on how to correctly use a meter here) to check for continuity, you are looking for a reading of 10-1000 ohms - if there is nothing or less than 10 ohms replace the heater.
For a replacement heater, browse our range of tumble dryer spares to get your appliance back up and running.
See an easy to follow detailed guide on how to change the heater.