WED4975EW0 Whirlpool Dryer - Instructions

First I unplugged the dryer, then removed the back panel, this exposed most all of the wiring and I could see the heater coils.
Not knowing what the problem was I started looking at the coils and could not see any broken parts.
So then checked the thermal fuse for continuity I removed the two wires from it with a small pair of needle nose pliers, it was held in place by two screws, once they were removed the fuse came out easily, I checked continuity with a volt meter placing the meter on X1 Ohms and could not get a reading.
I replaced with a new one and put it all back together the way I took it apart.
Then I plugged it in and it worked first time, I now have warm dry clothes.

To reach the heating element you only need to open the back cover of the dryer (about 8 nut-head screws). Remember to disconnect the power.

To remove the heating element there are two small nut-head screws. Remove the two electric wires. Then you can pull the heating element away.

You can check the heating element with an ohm-meter or visually inspect it to see if the heating element spiral wire is broken.

Don't hurry to dispose the old element. My model includes a small electric safety part. You'll need to transfer it to the new heating element (that comes without it)..

Good luck.

i was able to go on line with your company , find my dryer, order the part and had it the next day. fast , great , service

Cleaning the lint out of the whole machine took quite a bit of time--it was everywhere. Underneath the lint trap was a collection that ultimately ruined the thermal fuse where it restricted the air flow considerably.

Ascertaining the problem was the most time consuming part.

The actual repair was quite simple and didn't take but 15-20 minutes.

The repair was easy. the most time consuming part was vacuuming the dust from the back of the Dryer, The repair required removing screw from the back panel of the dryer. Then removing screws from the heating element and unplugging the wires. The only moderately diffculy part was swapping the sensor form the old element.

Pryed dryer top open and opened front door. . Unscrewed the 2 retaining screws. Pulled old switch from the wiring harness. Put new switch in place and replaced the retaining screws. Put new switch wire plug into the wiring harness. Before closing top, checked door switch function with dryer on. Dryer cut off when door open and when closed dryer started normally. . . Maint. Note instruction book should warn that letting door slam, which I did on occaision, broke the switch arm. Might save future problems.

Moved dryer from wall,disconnected power. Unscrewed the 12+ sheet metal screws holding on the back cover. Located heating element, remover it's two sheet metal screws and pulled down on the element to remove. Disconnected the two electrical leads from element and went to the top of Dryer. Do not remiember if told to remove the tempture kill button was easy to see that it was needed on new element. Moved high tempeture senson to new element. Reversed steps to install new element. Replaced back cover, pluged in and powered up. Works like a champ. Thanks for the price on the part and the video which started me on the right track. I'll be back !!

Followed electrical drawing from switch to motor, Thermal fuse was in the line and no power coming through it, removed wire and put together and tested, dryer turned on. Read statements from others at parts select and also bought thermostat because time stopped working last year. Installed both parts and cleaned dryer, works perfect including timer.

It was simple once I figured out what to do:). I removed the 2 screws on the top of the dryer... they were a bit hard to find. Even with the other descriptions on this site. I was removing things I didn't need to. The 2 screws you need to remove are under the LINT COLLECTOR LID. Remove those 2 screws & lift the lid... it will be tight at first. the front of the lid has 2 "catches" in the corners.

The hardest part was getting the door switch assembly to "unplug". We pried it off -- eventually -- & then simply plugged in the new one.

Saved me LOTS of money & was worth the 30 minutes - 1 hour of work.

As I said previously, once you realize how to get the lid up & manage to pry off the plug, that's all there is to it -- easy!

Save yourself time & money & do it yourself!

I first disconnected the power. Then, I took off the back panel with about 8-10 screws. There were a couple of screws that held the heating element in place, which I removed. Then, I disconnected the heating element. The heating element was toward the bottom right hand side and was easily accessible. The connections to the heating element were a little bit tough to disconnect but not too bad. I had to use a flat head screw driver to kind of pry them off but looking back I think some needlenose pliers would have worked better. I then removed the bad heating element and plugged in the new one. I replaced all the screws and turned the dryer back on. It blew hot air again and all was well. I am not very mechanical and it was all pretty easy.

Grow a second set of hands. Always unplug any appliance. Remove lint screen. remove two screws (philips Head). I took a wooden shim lightly tapped w/hammer to pop front of dryer top free. Mine worked on hinges and just flipped back til it rested against the wall. Removed two 5/16 screws inside holding face on carefully raise face section off the support clips at either side on the bottom. Pull drum out (I have the large style drum commercial size [approx.). Clean the inside free of all lint (known to be fire hazard). Sling new belt around drum. Get newly grown set of hands to hold drum in place. Pinch belt to fit between tensioner, lift tensioner and place belt around motor pulley. Spin drum couple times to make certain belt isn't twisted. Reverse dismantle proccess to put back together. Replace all parts that come with kit, you'll feel better knowing you got a new dryer, almost.

When my dryer suddenly stopped functioning, without any prior signs of pending failure, I guessed that it had to be something simple, like a fuse. I did a google search and stumbled across a forum post that described the symptoms (wouldn't turn on), and the poster said that Whirlpool recommends replacing the thermostat whenever the fuse is replaced. The reason for this is that the likely cause of the fuse burning is that the thermostat is no longer properly regulating the temperature range of the heating element.

I disconnected the power source, and then I removed the back cover, and both parts were in plain view, so I simply replaced the wires one by one.

First I called an appliance repair place. They charged me $40 to come out and said "the air vent might be clogged". I snaked it out and really wasn't anything in there. So I started thinking it might be a thermostat. After reading the reviews that others posted here, I said, "how hard can it be"? Thanks to PartsSelect putting a diagram (schematic) of the parts, I could see what I was looking for when I removed the back panel. So I took my nutdrivers out, disconnected the vent hose and removed the 10 or so nuts off the back panel & got it out of the way. Took out the vacuum cleaner and sucked all the lint out. Removed the housing where the heating element was and marked on both thermostats and housing where each wires went. As cheap as PartsSelect had the thermostats priced, I figured why not remove the guesswork by buying the highlimit and cycling thermostats and a new heating element too. One screw in each thermostat and out they came. Swapped wires with new thermostats and put them back. With the heating element...it was all one piece, so no fighting to get the element into an old housing. Just swapped them. Put the back panel on and reconnected the vent hose. Cost to repair: about $100. Time for parts to get to me: 2 days. Time to install new parts: about 10 minutes. Knowing that I have a dryer that runs like new AND saving a TON of money on electric bill....THAT is priceless. Thanks PartsSelect!

I spent nearly an hour trying to self-diagnose the problem before I wised up and found PartSelect.com. After reading just a couple of postings I went back and tested the thermal fuse. It was bad. Other posts suggested I replace the thermostat at the same time, so I ordered both. The parts arrived within three days and the actual repair took less than 10 minutes.

After realizing that my dryer was no longer heating, I took off the back and examined the heating element. I saw that a coil was broken and knew that it needed replaced. When the part came in, I basically changed out the wires that were plugged into the old element on to the new one, replaced the screws in the heating element housing and back panel, plugged in the dryer and was back in business! Oh, by the way...I am a 49 year old WOMAN!!!!