Need advice on fixing my Mum's clothes dryer

[brad hays]

I'm not sure what brand it is, she might've said Hotpoint, but her dryer is a fairly simple design and it's begging to have starting problems. When it's set to go and the start button is pressed the heating element heats up but the bin doesn't turn. If you open the door and rotate the bin by hand then apparently that loosens it up enough to start when you press the button again. If you run a second load of clothes after the first it'll start up ok with just the start button, but if left sitting for much time it requires a hand start. Once it gets going it runs just fine.

I'm hoping this symptom is enough to diagnose what parts going bad and go in to do the swap. I don't have any experience working on a clothes dryer but I've changed out electric motors and bad capacitors on other equipment so I figure I should be able to get this done.

461906

[Lee Schierer]

It sounds like the belt is worn out and needs to be replaced. There are also pads that the drum rides on that should be replaced while you have it apart. According to the label, it is a GE dryer. The model number is in the upper left corner of the label you posted. Belt wear is increased by loading too much weight into the drum.

[Bill Dufour]

Is the motor turning while the drum is sitting still. If so sounds like a bad belt or bad bearings. Do home owner dryers even have a rear bearing or is all rub pads.
Bill D

[Jim Koepke]

Is the motor turning while the drum is sitting still. If so sounds like a bad belt or bad bearings. Do home owner dryers even have a rear bearing or is all rub pads.
Bill D

Mine has a spindle and bearing in the back that needs replacing every few years. It starts making noise, the wife squawks, it get replaced, life is good again.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

Hotpoint appliances are made by GE. A quick Google search shows that model number is indeed a Hotpoint dryer.

[Barry McFadden]

Is it possible that the start capacitor needs replacing??

[Ken Fitzgerald]

When it's ready for use and you press the "Start" button, can you hear the motor running to turn the drum?

With the symptom that if it sets too long it has to be turned manually, I would check the belt, the idler spring arm and idler pulley. The idler pulley and spring arm are supposed to properly tension the belt.

Looking at the parts manual, there isn't a motor start capacitor unless it's internal to the motor.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I'm not sure what brand it is, she might've said Hotpoint, but her dryer is a fairly simple design and it's begging to have starting problems. When it's set to go and the start button is pressed the heating element heats up but the bin doesn't turn. If you open the door and rotate the bin by hand then apparently that loosens it up enough to start when you press the button again. If you run a second load of clothes after the first it'll start up ok with just the start button, but if left sitting for much time it requires a hand start. Once it gets going it runs just fine.

I'm hoping this symptom is enough to diagnose what parts going bad and go in to do the swap. I don't have any experience working on a clothes dryer but I've changed out electric motors and bad capacitors on other equipment so I figure I should be able to get this done.

461906Replace the belt. Key thing is you said it "heats up." Dryer elements won't come on unless motor is up to speed. (There is an on/off switch for heating element built into the motor.) Because the fan is direct connected to the motor, this prevents element from over heating, and causing a fire. This function is what makes dryer motors perfect for starter motor on a RPC.

[Jim Koepke]

Because the fan is direct connected to the motor, this prevents element from over heating, and causing a fire. This function is what makes dryer motors perfect for starter motor on a RPC.

Not being sure about what an RPC might be, Dr Google was consulted:

Acronym Definition
RPC Remote Procedure Call
RPC Request the Pleasure of your Company
RPC Reflected Power Canceler
RPC Rules of Professional Conduct (court rules; various locations)
RPC Regional Planning Commission
RPC Régime de Pensions du Canada (Canada Pension Plan)
RPC Rohnert Park (Amtrak station code; Rohnert Park, CA)
RPC Revised Penal Code (Philippines)
RPC Role Play Convention
RPC Reformed Presbyterian Church
RPC Racing Pigeon Club (various locations)
RPC Remote Power Control
RPC Regulatory Policy Committee (London, England, UK)
RPC République Populaire de Chine (French: People's Republic of China)
RPC Renta per Capita (Spanish: Income per Capita)
RPC Radio Port Controller
RPC Remote Power Controller
RPC Real Proxy C
RPC Remote Printer Console
RPC Remote Pc
RPC Regional Programming Center
RPC Rich Photorealistic Content
RPC Remote Process Control
RPC Regional Playback Control
RPC Reverse Park Control
RPC Regional Programming Contest
RPC Region Protection Code
RPC Regents Park College (UK)
RPC Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (law firm; UK)
RPC Rail Passengers Council (UK)
RPC Rainbow Power Company (Australia)
RPC Recommandations pour la Pratique Clinique (French: Guidelines for Clinical Practice)
RPC Regional Planning Council
RPC Riverside Presbyterian Church (various locations)
RPC Rich Photorealistic Content (3D graphics content file type)
RPC Regional Plantation Company (Sri Lanka)
RPC Royal Parks Constabulary (UK)
RPC Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
RPC Readers Per Copy
RPC Revenue Per Click (internet advertising)
RPC Research Program Coordinator (various organizations)
RPC Reverse-Phase Chromatography
RPC Retirement Planning Center
RPC Resistive Plate Chamber
RPC Rigid Plastic Container
RPC Research Planning Committee (various schools)
RPC Reentry Policy Council (est. 2001)
RPC Respecting Patient Choices
RPC Regional Processing Center
RPC Recreation, Parks & Culture (Canada)
RPC Right Party Contact
RPC Role Playing Chat
RPC Rockland Psychiatric Center (Orangeburg, NY)
RPC Reverse Proxy Cache
RPC Recurrent Pyogenic Cholangitis (disease)
RPC Regional Psychiatric Center (Canada)
RPC Refined Petroleum Coke
RPC Radio Port Controller (PHS)
RPC Remote Power Cycling (application)
RPC Réseau de Protection du Consommateur (French: Consumer Protection Network; Canada)
RPC Rapid Positioning Capability
RPC Restrictive Practices Court
RPC Restricted Path Consistency (graph theory)
RPC Reorganization Planning Committee (Maine)
RPC Recycled Products Cooperative (California)
RPC Research and Publications Committee
RPC Rijksplanologische Commissie
RPC Role Playing Character
RPC Real Procedure Call
RPC Random Partial Checking (voting algorithm)
RPC Reverse Phase Control (theatrical dimmers)
RPC Reactive Perforating Collagenosis
RPC Rapid Prototyping Center, Ltd.
RPC Réseau des Professionnels Chrétiens (French: Christian Business Network)
RPC Revenue per Call
RPC Remote Printer Control
RPC Regional Preparedness Committee
RPC Rockford Products Corporation
RPC Relative Percent Difference
RPC Royal Patrons Circle (Royal Ontario Museum, Canada)
RPC Recursive Path Contraction
RPC Remittance Processing Center (GE Capital)
RPC Rapid Prototyping Capacity
RPC Randomized Parallel Computing
RPC Radar Processing Control
RPC Regional Play Control (DVD)
RPC Rapid Product Creation (strategic planning)
RPC Radiation Policy Council
RPC Radiation Protection Council
RPC Recognized Air Picture Production Center
RPC Rapeseed Phosphatidylcholine
RPC Remote Power Converter/Controller
RPC Registration and Product Control
RPC Registered Publication Clerk (US Navy)
RPC Radioanalytical Project Coordinator
RPC Recruiting Partnership Council
RPC Repair Part Catalog
RPC Rigid Plastic Card
RPC Return Postcard (printing and paper industries)
RPC Reporting to Commander
RPC Resource Plans Chief (Fabrication Flight, Logistics Support Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE)
RPC Record Player Collector
RPC Reliability Prediction Committee (IEEE Reliability Society)
RPC Reinforcement Physical Conditioning
RPC Registered Product Code
RPC Returnable Product Container
RPC Redd Phoenix Clan (gaming clan)
RPC Red PAS Controller
RPC Requisition Processing Cycle
RPC Rosslyn Packing Company (Virginia)
RPC Refit Planning Conference
RPC Repair Parts Cost
RPC RISC-based Personal Computer
RPC Resource Planning & Coordination
RPC Request for Preauthorized Checking
RPC Regina Peace Council (Canada)

Still not sure…

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Dit dit dit - - - sad news. The fight for acronym accuracy is lost. Acronym was coined to mean initials that could be pronounced as a word.
Well, ….I knew we were losing… nothing to be done now but stack arms, and go home and use my acronym stickers for duct tape.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Not being sure about what an RPC might be, Dr Google was consulted:

Still not sure…

jtk Rotary Phase Converter, used to make three phase from single phase power. Pony motor gets three phase motor spinning, and then power is applied, with 3 phase being generated by 3 phase motor.

[brad hays]

Thanks for the advice Lee Bill Jim Bryan Barry Ken Bruce and Mel. Lots of things to check out now.

Ron Fitzgerald, I asked Mom about the motor running and she said she's been using the dryer a lot more over the past few weeks and it's starting like it should now, which probably points to some kind of mechanical problem v. electrical I would guess.

[Rollie Meyers]

If the motor is spinning but the drum is not, as others have said replace the belt, not hard to do on a Whirlpool, or Maytag, but should not be bad on a GE product either & not really that expensive.

[brad hays]

Right on, thanks Rollie.