Dryer · Not heating
Dryer Runs but Won't Heat: Electric and Gas Dryers Diagnosed
Updated
A dryer that tumbles but never gets warm has one of a short list of faults, and the list depends on whether the dryer is electric or gas. Before you open it, rule out the two causes that are not a part — and one of them is the reason heating parts fail in the first place.
Before you open anything: unplug the dryer. An electric dryer runs on a 240-volt circuit; a gas dryer also has a gas line — close the gas shut-off valve behind it before you move it or open the cabinet. If you smell gas, do not work on the dryer: leave the house, do not touch light switches, and call your gas utility from outside. Lint inside the cabinet is a fire hazard; vacuum it out while the panels are off.
1. Check the power and the setting
- Both breakers (electric dryers). An electric dryer uses a 240-volt circuit. The drum motor runs on half of it, the heater needs both halves. If one side of the breaker has tripped, the drum turns and the heat never comes. Reset the breaker fully off, then on.
- The setting. Air-only or "air fluff" cycles tumble without heat. So do some delicate settings at the end of a cycle.
- The gas supply (gas dryers). Confirm the gas valve behind the dryer is open and other gas appliances in the house work.
2. Check the vent
A blocked vent is the most common reason dryers stop heating. Lint packed into the duct traps heat in the dryer, a safety device trips, and the heat stops. Go outside while the dryer runs: the flap on the vent hood should push open firmly. If it barely moves, clean the whole duct from dryer to wall. If you replace a blown thermal fuse without clearing the vent, the new fuse will blow too.
3. Electric dryer parts
Test these with the dryer unplugged and a multimeter, each one for continuity:
- Thermal fuse. A one-time safety fuse, usually on the blower housing or the heater outlet. When it opens, it does not reset; replace it — and find out why it blew.
- High-limit thermostat. On the heater housing. It should read closed at room temperature.
- Heating element. A coil of resistance wire inside a metal housing. A visible break in the coil, or no continuity end to end, means the element is the part.
- Cycling thermostat. Holds the temperature during the cycle. A failed one can leave the heat off entirely.
4. Gas dryer parts
With the dryer unplugged, open the small access panel at the front bottom. Then plug it back in, open the gas valve, and watch the burner while the dryer starts — look only, with your hands clear of the burner. If you smell gas at any point, stop, close the gas valve and follow the gas warning above. Unplug the dryer and close the gas valve again before you touch any part.
- The igniter does not glow — the igniter has failed (it is fragile; a crack ends it), or the flame sensor or a thermostat upstream is open.
- The igniter glows, then goes out with no flame — the gas valve coils are not opening the valve. Replacing the coils does not mean disconnecting the gas line; replacing the valve itself is gas work.
- The flame lights, then drops out after a few seconds, and the cycle repeats — usually the coils again, failing once they warm up.
Anything that means disconnecting the gas line is a job for a licensed technician in many areas.
Before you order the part
Dryer parts are model-specific, and gas and electric versions of the same dryer take different heating parts. The model plate is your only reliable source. On most dryers it is on the door frame, visible with the door open, or on the back panel. If you are not sure where to look, our model number guide shows each spot.
Ask before you install. Not sure it fits? Check your model number for free before you buy. Our fit check is optional; if it does not come back as a clear match, send us the full model number through Contact us before you order. Once a part has been installed we can only take it back if it arrived defective, we shipped the wrong item, or the listing was wrong on our end, and it has to come back in the condition it went out in. Checking first is faster than returning.
