Solving an Electrical Problem

An important part of your laundry routine, your clothes dryer quickly and conveniently dries wet items, obliterating the drudgery of hanging clothes, sheets, and towels outdoors to dry. You rely on your clothes dryer to assist you in the never-ending laundry chore so much that if the dryer stops functioning you can quickly fall behind in your task. Your dryer may suddenly trip your circuit breakers, turning off the dryer motor stop and possibly other electrical outlets in your home at the same time. If you find your dryer is frequently tripping your circuit breaker, there could be a problem with the clothes dryer. Here are a few reasons why this might happen, and what you can do to fix it.

Motor Bearings

Your dryer's motor is fitted with small round bearings that allow the drum to turn. When they are first installed, they are lubricated and sealed inside the motor.  Over time these bearing will dry out, wear out, or become gummed up with dirt. Poorly functioning bearings prevent the motor from achieving normal operating speed, forcing the motor to draw a higher current in order to continue functioning. This higher than normal current draw occurs as a hot wire comes into contact with a grounded conductor. The breakers in your circuit panel are designed to protect against this type of current overload, and trip open as a result.

There are a couple of signs that indicate the bearings in your motor are going bad. When this happens, they need to be replaced so the dryer can operate properly. Some dryers allow access to the motor so you can easily replace the bearings. Others require the entire motor to be replaced instead. Here are three common scenarios:

1. The Dryer Starts And Stops. Your dryer may start as normal but then abruptly shut off because the motor has heated up and become too hot. Over time, the motor cools down enough so the dryer can resume working once more. This continuous cycle of start and stop could be an indication the bearings are past their prime.
2. Squeal Of Death. When bearing lose their lubrication, they heat up and slightly alter their shape. The result is an audible squeal of death – the sound of the bearings painfully making their way around their sheaths. The squeal could be intermittent or occasional, but sometimes the sound is rhythmic as the dryer drum turns.
3. Angry Buzz Of Denial. Another favored torture sound is an angry buzz within the motor. This sound manifests in denial to your request when you try to restart your dryer because it suddenly quit working. The buzz indicates the motor is still receiving power, but the bad bearings will not allow the pulley to turn.

Round Up The Usual Suspects

If the bearings are still good but your dryer is still tripping your circuit breaker, it's time to check on the two usual suspects. This refers to two important components in your clothes dryer that can fail, ultimately making the circuit trip. In these cases, both of these common dryer components need to be replaced to prevent frequent circuit trips.

1. The Start Switch. A bad start can become switch stuck in the "run" setting of your dryer's function dial. When this happens, the switch won't allow the motor to engage, obliging it to pull a higher current over an extended period of time.
2. The Heating Element. The heating element is responsible for heating the air. When it quits and goes to ground, the circuit trips.

After checking the motor bearings and the usual suspects, your dryer can be repaired so it no longer trips your circuit. If you still can't fix the problem, talk to an electrician, such as Sun Coast Electric & Networking Inc, about your dryer's cry for help.