Appliance repair question - electric dryer shutting off early

We have a Frigidaire Affinity electric dryer that never seems to dry clothes all the way without multiple cycles - regardless of what setting it's on. For example, if I set it on "Normal" the timer shows 45(minutes, I presume), but it will usually stop in 20-30 minutes leaving the laundry still damp. At that point I can run another cycle set for "Towels" or "Heavy Duty" - which is 105 minutes - and it will shut off again in as little as 10-minutes...with the clothes still damp.

It's never given us any error messages, and I've cleaned the vent multiple time. I presume there must be a moisture sensor somewhere that isn't working properly? The problem seems to be getting worse over time, so a sensor getting plugged/dirty/whatever would seem to make sense, but I haven't found any useful information via google.

Any ideas? FWIW the dryer is less than 3-years old, but we're a family of 6 so it gets almost continual use.

Interested in this as well. Our dryer is doing a similar thing. I haven't tried to fix it yet though since it's normally not me who is inconvenienced by having to restart it over and over throughout the day.

You've cleaned the vent but you probably want to disassemble the dryer and clean it's internal pathways and such. Mine was of a similar vintage and I was stunned by the amount of lint everywhere inside it. A sensor with stuff on it won't read properly.

I'd suggest starting with that. Good luck, and remember to unplug it before rooting around inside it.

Google the model number and the moisture sensor. It's surprisingly easy to find appliance parts online. If it's cheap, throw one in and see if it fixes it. I'm betting something is getting confused in the brain, but I bet a new brain isn't terribly cheap.

In reply to KyAllroad:

Interesting, I'll do that. I have one of those flexible vent cleaner brushes that I run through periodically(as far as it will go), but there's a strong possibility I'm not getting it all.

In reply to Datsun1500:

It seems like it's always on auto-dry, regardless of what mode we set it for. I'll try to locate/clean those sensor when I pull it apart and see if that helps. Hopefully it's not a logic/control problem.

I took an eye bolt and bent coat hanger tines around it to make a vent cleaner. I attached a nut to a string and pulled it thru my vent. Lots of old lint came out. Dryer problem fixed.

petegossett wrote: In reply to KyAllroad: Interesting, I'll do that. I have one of those flexible vent cleaner brushes that I run through periodically(as far as it will go), but there's a strong possibility I'm not getting it all. In reply to Datsun1500: It seems like it's *always* on auto-dry, regardless of what mode we set it for. I'll try to locate/clean those sensor when I pull it apart and see if that helps. Hopefully it's not a logic/control problem.

Vents can be hard to clean out, especially long ones. A good way to check is to see what the flow is like exiting your house. I can't think of anything exactly like the flow should be, probably the high setting on a hair drier? A strong hair drier, not a small crappy one. If it isn't blowing much at all, you have a plug somewhere.

One thing you can do is blast it clean with a high powered leaf blower. Stick the blower in the pipe at the drier's end, put a towel in there to seal it up and let it fly (Edit: also be sure to remove whatever is covering the vent on the outside- it will get messed up). But, if you have the white plastic vent stuff anywhere, DO NOT do this. Also, replace that e36m3 with some metal stuff, preferably the aluminum stuff, not the flexible stuff, but the flexy metal stuff isn't so bad. Think of it like a car exhaust- you want straight, not internally lumpy, and as short as possible. The flexible stuff plugs up with lint faster, and causes turbulence which is restrictive. If it is plugged enough, it will mess with your sensors, too (things never get dry, everything inside gets super hot, thermal fuses can go).

The plastic stuff will actually shrink with age. the wire keeps the outer diameter 4" but the plastic will pull in, making things really bad. The plastic stuff is also a fire hazard, so it's terrible all around. Unfortunately many homes (mine included) were built with the plastic stuff inside a wall, so the leaf blower idea is risky unless you know whats in the wall.

Our Whirlpool duet does this too. No mode finishes drying clothes except the timer mode, which works most of the time. Adding electronic controls to simple appliances (ensuring their rapid obsolescence) has got to be the most profitable decision these big corporations have ever made.

If cleaning the vent doesn't improve things, it could be a thermo sensor. My dryer was doing similar things. Try here, for starters, then go to your local appliance parts dealer and talk to the counter guy. He's usually well versed in a lot of different makes and models, and can help narrow your focus. My guy has even saved me from spending any money on my dishwasher, when it wasn't draining, by telling me what to check, before throwing a new part at it.

When I say clean the inside, i wasn't talking just a brush or just the easy bits. I used an air compressor, a 6 horse shop vac, and the better part of three hours taking it apart to get to all the books and crannies.

Seriously, so much lint I'm surprised more of these things don't burst into flames.