1106012990 Kenmore Dryer - Instructions

It's amazing... I fixed my dryer!! I am a 47 year old woman with no technical training, and I did it!

I live in a apartment and I bought the Whirlpool Dryer (Model #LER7646JQ0) USED for $150 about 6 months ago. The dryer started blowing cold air, so I called the place that I bought it from and they quoted me a price of at least $300 to fix the dryer.

After searching through google, I found the partselect.com website, and read the repair stories. I decided to take a chance. I ordered just 2 of the suggest 4 parts that could fix the issue, and the dryer did not work. The next day I order the other 2 parts, and that did it - my dryer was fixed.

The diagrams on the site were a little confusing to me (the dryers looks a little simpler inside) but it was easy to repair. I used a screw driver and plier to do the repair, however it would have been much easier if I had a socket set. I would suggest buying all parts suggested, and return the items you don't need. Here are the parts I used:

1. THRMST-FIX (Thermostat, High Limit 221 F
2. USE WPL 279838 (Heating Element (10" long x 6" wide)
3. Thermal Cut-Off Kit
4. Cycling Thermostat (Limit: 155-25) (Thermostat, Internal-Bias)

Good Luck!

Take out 2 philips screws in lint trap holder on top. Use flat screwdriver to pry up front left and right of dryer top near outside edges and tilt up out of the way. Remove 2 push-on AC connectors on door switch and remove plastic clip holding wires to dryer's front top metal edge. Remove (2) 5/16" sheet metal screw on inside top left and right edges to free up front panel. Lift front panel about an inch and it'll then pull off. It helps to have a second person to help hold or remove the drum at this point. It took 3 times for me to guess right on the squeak. First time I replaced the belt, second time I replaced these rollers, third and final time I replaced the idler pulley, the shaft of which had worn completely off so clearly i can't figure out how we didn't see (or hear) it the first two times! Dri-Slide lube helped stop the squeaking the first two times, but it always returned until this time, now I have a thoroughly rebuilt dryer for the next generation! (PS vacuum out the bottom of the dryer while it's open to remove both lint and greasy roller shavings - do this FIRST and you'll have cleaner hands & clothes!)

I removed the hex head screws from the back of the dryer and removed the back panel, after unplugging the dryer. I tested the various electrical components until I found that the upper limit temp fuse had gone out. Came to partselect.com and found the kit I needed and ordered it. When it came in, I replaced the upper temp limit fuse, and the other parts that came with the kit. I also, since the back was open, used the opportunity to vacuum out the blower fan and as much of the lint as I could get to. Dryer works great now!

Good

The repair was really easy and I loved the DIY videos they were great, not many tools needed to do these repairs that was great. The only thing is this didn't solve my issue.

First only replaced the high temp cut off switch which allowed the element to heat. However, after one heat cycle the switch would not reset. Then changed the thermostat (included in the kit). After tapping the cut off switch lightly to manually reset it, the dryer ran perfectly. Moral of the story: always change all parts included with a repair kit!

The replacement parts are truly easy to exchange. Everything is located behind the rear panel. A few fasteners needed to be undone. What's really important is another video that explained what should be "checked" when a dryer malfunctions. VERY IMPORTANT viewing. I spent an afternoon going over the front inside and rear of my dryer. I'll probably get another ten years from my dryer thanks to this site data and videos.

I simply removed the rear panal of the dryer. Removed the two wires from the fuse at the rear of the dryer. Attached an OEM meter across the two fuse connections and had no continuity. Ordered a new fuse and recieved it in 2.5 days.Replaced the fuse,reconnected the wires and replaced the rear panal. Started dryer and it now blows hot air and runs like new. I can't say enough about PartSelect. Great diagnosis using their website, the delivery was fast and I recieved the correct part at a good price. Very satisfied, Thanks PartSelect. Fred F

The dryer stopped heating, it would only blow cold air. I removed the back panel and tested the thermal fuse with a dmm. The fuse was open, so it was bad and I needed a new one. I tested the thermostat and the dmm measured continuity across the terminals, so I thought it was good, bad assumption. I ordered a thermal fuse from partsselect and it came with a thermostat. Like a dummy, I only installed the fuse. The 1st time I ran the dryer the fuse blew again, because the thermostat was bad. So, moral of the story, install both parts.

I did what any novice would have done. I took the entire thing apart to get to the gas jet. I did not know about the thermal fuse until I got to the schematic behind the timer and controls. I was a tech back in the 70's and 80's and only worked on electric dryers. Back then I would remove the heater core and twist the coils together to save money. So I had no idea how a gas dryer heating unit worked. So now any one that reads this. You do not have to take the dryer completely apart, I did that for all of you. Just replace the thermal fuse on the back of the unit by unplugging that wires and removing the screws! It looks like a long white piece of plastic with 2 wires to it. You will find this under the full metal shield on the back of the unit. This should be about a 1 hour repair at the most!

Unplug unit first.
Took the front cover off the front of dryer below the door.

I watched the video or I would have likley just called a repair man. It took longer to clean behind the dryer than to install the new thermal fuse. After taking the back off the dryer is was as simple as changing a fuse. Dryer works like new for about $20 bucks and we avoided the hasle of getting a repair man, especially since we live in the country. Thanks for having a web site that is so easy to use and full of good information.

removed back of dryer. Pull electical connections, removed heating element. Inserted replacement element, attached electrical connections and attached dryer back. Done -easily done.

first, I read the other repair stories and used them as a guide.I checked to see if the heating element was broken. It was not. The Thermal Cut off Kit was the ticket for me. I replaced the three easy parts it contained. Repair time was 30 minutes tops that includes checking the heating element and removing and replacing all three possible culprits (of the Thermal Cut-off Kit). Thanks a million. Happy Ending!Oh by the way, my dryer now dries super fast(saving me a bundle)

unpluged the dryer, took off the back, followed instructions and was able to take of the problem on my own.