Your Tumble Dryer Is Not Heating Up Properly

Has your tumble dryer recently started playing up and stopped producing heat? There are several reasons why this can happen. Here we describe the various possible causes in detail and explain how you can resolve this issue yourself.

THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS ISSUE:

• There is a problem with the electrical installation

• The safety thermostat has tripped

• The cycling control thermostat is defective

• The heating element is faulty

• The drain pump is blocked

• The motor is damaged

• The main circuit board (PCB) is defective

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of getting cut or injured

There is a problem with the electrical installation

It's possible your plug socket isn't being properly supplied with electricity. It needs to be receiving 230 volts and absolutely must be properly earthed. If the socket is also being used by other appliances, the tumble dryer will struggle to dry your clothes and could break down and stop operating. Check that the socket is definitely working by, for example, plugging another appliance into it. Quick reminder: you are strongly advised not to plug large domestic appliances into multi-socket extension leads. Large domestic appliances should be allocated their own dedicated wall socket.

The safety thermostat has tripped

The safety thermostat is a thermal safety device. Normally, these are not resettable. If the safety thermostat gets tripped, it will prevent your tumble dryer from heating up. The thermostat will trip if the appliance overheats, if the drive belt snaps, if the motor stops working, etc. You can easily check and test it using a multimeter in ohmmeter mode. First, find out where the safety thermostat is located (it will normally be behind the drum, close to the heating element). Next, disconnect all the connectors and place the meter's two probes on the thermostat's two terminals to check it definitely has continuity. If it does not have continuity, it will need to be either replaced or reset (if this is possible). Warning: never reset the thermostat without first finding out what's causing the overheating!

The cycling control thermostat is defective

The cycling thermostat regulates the temperature of the heating element. If it's defective, the element will not be able to heat up. You can easily check and test it using a multimeter in ohmmeter mode. First, find out where the cycling thermostat is located (it will normally be behind the drum, near the heating element). Next, disconnect all the connectors and place the meter's two probes on the thermostat's two terminals to check it definitely has continuity. If it doesn't, you will need to replace it.

The heating element is faulty

The heating element heats the air that circulates inside your tumble dryer. Your appliance will likely have two heating element assemblies. If either is broken, the appliance may fail to heat up properly, or perhaps not even heat up at all. You can check a heating element by looking to see whether its filaments (the spring-like parts) are broken. You can also test it for continuity using a multimeter in ohmmeter mode. First, find where the element is located (it will normally be behind the drum). Next, disconnect all the connectors and place the meter's two probes on the element's two terminals to check it definitely has continuity.

Purchase a heating element for your Tumble Dryer

The drain pump is blocked

The drain pump on a tumble dryer enables the appliance to evacuate the water produced by condensation and feed it into the water tank. If it's clogged or jammed, this will cause the safety float to activate. The appliance will then go into safety mode and no longer heat up. The safety mechanism can also be triggered if the water tank gets too full. If this happens, you will need to empty it. Check and clean the drain pump, and consider replacing it if the problem persists.

Purchase a drain pump for your Tumble Dryer

The motor is damaged

The motor on a tumble dryer enables its drum to turn. If its electrical coil is damaged, or the motor produces a hot smell or a humming noise, this indicates that it's faulty. You will therefore need to replace it. However, also check that the motor hasn't been caused to wear out prematurely by any of the peripheral components to which it's connected (i.e. make sure the drive belt isn't too tight and the drum shaft hasn't seized up, etc.).

The main circuit board (PCB) is defective

The circuit board manages all your tumble dryer's functions (i.e. motor, heating, etc.). If everything else detailed above has been checked, it may be that the circuit board needs replacing. You can either do this yourself or call on the services of a manufacturer-approved engineer.