Ok, lets start with the model# of your dryer - Its located inside the dryer door.

We also need the part# of that thermistor you got.

Jake

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The model number is 110.72992101. According to the repair parts list, the piece is Illustration Number 42, and the part number is 3976615.
HOWEVER....I called Repair Clinic.com to see what was up with the piece they sent me, and it turns out that the part is stocked by a different distributor, and it looks a little different from the pic on the website. But the customer service rep assured me that it works just the same. And it does! (so far...)
Once again, a $23 part saved me a hundred. Thanks Jake!
(this is the part i'm talking about: http://www.repairclinic.com/referral...1265&N=1181075)

Sounds like you got it! Good job, thanks for the update.

Jake

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Hi everyone. I didn't find this cool forum, (of course), until my own "Evenheat" dryer died. Kinda glad it did, now. Seems like a nice, informative place. Anyway, I thought I might share my own experiences with this debacle with ya'll.

I'm an electronics technician at heart, doing so for the last 40-something years. I do mostly avionics for the Navy, but my love is guitar wiring. I dabble in appliances only when the need calls.

My "Evenheat" circuit board looks exactly like the one in the first post, and my symptom is the same. I did a little "reverse-engineering" of the circuit board, and here's what I find:

Note: This is purely an FYI moment. I doubt that many people will want to try to change individual components on the board, but since so many people have asked, I thought you might like some insight as to why this is happening in the first place.

Here's the basic circuit, as it applies to the "burnt" components only:



As I said, this isn't the whole circuit, just the part that fails. The three components, C2, C25, and R2 are what you see burnt & boiled on the board. Q2 is what you don't see. It's damage is internal. Sadly, Whirlpool decided to use a string of cheap zener diodes in lieu of a proper transformer. Those diodes, purchased at the volume that Whirlpool can buy, probably cost 2 or 3 cents each. A proper transformer would have been several dollars.

So, when one zener goes, (opens up), the rest of the circuit gets full voltage. The two caps, C2 and C25, which are only rated at 63 volts, get closer to 75. They boil . . . like you've seen. C25 gets its voltage through R2 and Q2. R2 burns up, while Q2 welds itself internally. The big blue "dot", (near the base of Q4), represents one of the microprocessor outputs. While the processor may still work, Q4 no longer has the voltage it needs to supply to the motor relay . . . and it doesn't turn on.

As a quick side note, holding down the PTS switch won't hurt anything, contrary to previous posts. If you look carefully at the supplied schematic, (inside the dryer panel), you'll see that that switch is simply in parallel with the motor relay contact. The only purpose of the motor relay is so that the microprocessor can "push its own switch" so to speak, for the "Wrinkle Guard" function.

The prime cause of this whole fiasco, (maybe), is that people start a dryer load, then go to bed, or go shopping, and leave the "wrinkle guard" function active. The dryer sits for hours, hitting its own PTS button. Not good.

Note: It could be good if Whirlpool hadn't scrimped on the cheesey power supply.

Anyway . . . I'm starting to ramble.

I'll continue to investigate this a bit more, and will let you know how my "component replacement" goes . . . not that you'll do that.

Peace;
Artie

Edit: R2 should be 4.6k

Thanks Artie, Good detailed information is always welcome on why components fail.

If I owned Whirlpool, I would hire you as our lead engineer and you could make the board the right way, I know cost would be abit higher, but the failure rate would be extremely low compared to what it is now, thus more satisfied customers coming back to buy more Kenmore/Whirlpool appliances.

And I wouldn't need all those millions of dollars as a CEO, and thus build things to last a long time again.

Jake

__________________
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Just a little update. I was finally able to check the components on the board more thoroughly. There's many more parts "blown" than meets the eye. It really isn't practical to try and repair the board.

Most of you probably already knew that.

Actually i *DID* repair my board by replacing the 2 caps and the resistor (mine looked identical to some of the pictures posted). That didn't fix my problem, so I looked deeper and found that indeed the motor start relay switch was bad. Swapping it with the heater one made the dryer start up and run just fine. So now I'm awaiting a new relay switch. After that it should be back to normal.

First off, thanks to all that have contributed to this thead.

Here is my issue:

We bought a Kenmore Elite Model # 110.63942101 in March of 2003. Just a couple of days ago, we experienced the infamous "Push to Start" issue. I found this thread and opened the control panel. The control board did not look fried, but I ordered a replacement anyway.

The replacement control board did not fix the issue. I have swapped the heat and motor relays, and I still have the problem. I even swapped back the original control board with the swapped relays, and still have the problem.

Where do I go from here?

TIA!

Hi,

The only other part that would cause this is the thermistor, its #42 here:
http://content.searspartsdirect.com/...3276-00003.png

It mounts on the blower wheel housing, and sits next to the white thermal fuse.

Remove the two #3 screws to take off the #45 lint duct assembly to get good access to it.

Here's the one for your model:
Manufacturer part#8577274 is RepairClinic item#1181075
8577274

The lower access panel uncilps as you can see here, two clips on each side, I use a putty knife and push-in on the two clips:

Courtesy of http://www.applianceaid.com/whirlpool-dryers.html#four

Jake

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

Look-Up & Order Parts

Shop Home Appliances

Jake - is there any way to look at the thermistor to see if it is damaged/defective?