6 Reasons Why Amana Dryer Not Heating [SOLVED]

Is your Amana dryer not heating? Before you call a repairman, there are a couple of things to try first. While it’s unlikely that you can fix your Amana dryer if it’s broken, you can sometimes save yourself the cost of a repair call. Follow these steps to troubleshoot the problem yourself and save some money in the long run.

When a dryer stops heating, it can be frustrating. In addition to being an inconvenience, this problem often leads people to believe that the problem is more severe than it actually is. In many cases, the issue is easy and inexpensive to fix. If you start by troubleshooting the problem yourself, you can find a solution and save money on a service call.

If your Amana dryer is not heating, it could be a variety of issues. There may be a problem with the dryer’s heat source (defective heating element or high-limit thermostat). Or there may be an electrical issue (bad thermal fuse or bad cycling thermostat), which affects gas and electric models differently. Or there might be a problem with the gas valve solenoid, which prevents behind-the-scenes communication between parts.

If your dryer has stopped heating, it could be a serious or an annoying problem: sometimes, it’s just the simple need for a repair. It’s best to know how to get started fixing your appliance before calling in professional help. This way you can avoid a trip to the repair shop and save some money!

Amana Dryer Not Heating – Troubleshoot And Diagnosis

Amana dryers like many others out there have a heated dry cycle. If one of the components are not working well, it will affect the dry cycle. They need to be diagnosed first before they can be fixed.

1. Check Dryer Settings

A clothes dryer is a helpful institution for most of us, but it can be very annoying when it stops heating or drying.

If your Amana dryer isn’t heating or drying well, there are two factors to consider. The first is the settings for timed dry and auto dry. In modern models, the auto-dry cycles may not always fully dry your load as they rely on moisture sensors, so timed dry is usually the best bet.

If your Amana dryer isn’t heating or drying properly, look at its temperature setting.

If your Amana dryer isn’t heating or drying, you’re probably using the wrong setting. To fix this, simply switch from auto-dry, which automatically regulates heat based on moisture level and fabric type, to timed dry — a mode that runs for a set amount of time without regulating heat at all. You can try this mode to see if it helps and then adjust accordingly.

Although incorrect dryer settings is the primary reason why you may be having difficulties with your Amana dryer, it can’t be solely attributed to that single issue.

2. Check the Breaker

When we talk about household appliances, a lot of problems arise because modern electricity often isn’t sufficient to power them. The current is too low for big things like dryers or dishwashers, and almost all smaller appliances also lack the juice to run.

Unfortunately, the problem lies with your home’s electrical system — not necessarily with the appliance itself. Modern houses often have a sub-panel in the garage or basement where circuits and breakers are located. The issue arises when there just aren’t enough outlets or circuits in these areas (or even if there are but they’re overloaded).

Carefully pull the dryer out of its space. Keep in mind that dryers are typically hardwired, so you will need to follow the instructions for your model to detach the dryer properly.

Check the circuit breaker box for a tripped breaker. A tripped breaker will be in the middle of the two switches; the switch on the right will be off.

First, check if the circuit breaker is tripped. If it is, flip the breaker to the off position, then back to the on position. If the circuit breaker trips again, there may be a problem with the dryer or the electrical outlet.

If the circuit breaker does not trip, the problem is most likely with the dryer.

3. Check Load

A dryer may not heat properly if the load is too large. This is because the dryer has to work harder to dry a large load, and the heating element may not be able to keep up. Try drying smaller loads to see if this solves the problem.

Try removing some clothes from the load and see if the problem persists.

4. Check For Blockages

Another common reason for a dryer that won’t heat is due to blockages. The lint trap and vents are meant to filter out the dust that accumulates over several loads. However, large amounts of lint can prevent the airflow from reaching all areas of the machine which means your clothes won’t be getting fully dried.

When the lint trap gets too clogged, it can cause a dangerous fire because the dryer heater is not working properly. That’s why many house fires start in the dryer — they’ve completely stopped drying your clothes and instead are burning them.

The dryer lint trap should be cleaned after every load of laundry. To clean the trap, remove it from the dryer and empty the lint into the garbage. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove any lint that is clinging to the trap.

Cleaning your dryer lint trap isn’t too hard – if you do it regularly and make sure to get it as clean as possible. Schedule a professional vent cleaning on a regular basis to make sure that there’s no lint build-up in the exhaust pipe, which will help your dryer run faster by keeping air flowing freely through the system.

5. Blown Thermal Fuse

The purpose of a dryer’s thermal fuse is to prevent the appliance from over-heating. If the dryer’s temperature gets too high, the fuse will “blow” or stop the electrical current from flowing to the heating element. This protects the dryer from starting a fire.

Typical dryers have a thermal fuse that can be accessed through either the blower housing or the heat source. If you have an electric dryer, then the fuse is inside the heating mechanism — otherwise, it’s generally found next to a gas-fueled flame.

The thermal fuse on the dryer is a safety device that is designed to prevent overheating. If it fails, the dryer will continue to heat up and overheat, causing significant damage in the process. Inspect your dryer exhaust venting — restricted outlets or clogged lint filters can cause the fuse to blow out. Also, take a multimeter and test for unwanted resistance in the thermal fuse.

Replacement can be done by checking the continuity of the thermal fuse with a multimeter.

6. Defective Heating Element

The purpose of the heating element in a dryer is to provide heat to the clothing so that it can evaporate the moisture.

There are a few possible reasons for a dryer’s heating element to burn out. One possibility is that the dryer is overloaded and the heating element is working overtime to try to dry the clothes. Another possibility is that the venting for the dryer is blocked, causing the dryer to overheat. Finally, a faulty thermostat can cause the heating element to stay on too long, causing it to burn out.

The heating element, if damaged or completely worn out, can cause a dryer to not heat up. However, the most likely cause of a non-heating dryer is not the heating element but rather a lint trap blockage — usually connected with either forgetting to clean it or a torn-off duct in the said lint trap. Start by checking your lint trap and air intake vents for blockage.

Here is How to test and replace the heating element in a dryer:

1.  Unplug the dryer from the power outlet.
2. Remove the back panel of the dryer to access the heating element.
3. Use a multimeter to test the heating element for continuity.
4. If there is no continuity, then the element needs to be replaced.
5. Remove the old heating element and install the new one.

7. Faulty Thermostat

A dryer’s thermostat is a small, round device with two metal terminals. It controls the dryer temperature by opening and closing the circuit to the dryer heating element. When the dryer is turned on, the thermostat turns on the heating element. As the dryer heats up, the thermostat turns off the heating element.

Once the dryer reaches the selected temperature, the thermostat turns the heating element back on to maintain the selected temperature.

If your dryer’s thermostat is damaged, then one of three things will happen: it will never turn off the heat entirely, it won’t provide a consistent heat output, or it might lead to the fuse blowing out prematurely. Either way, the thermostat would need to be replaced with a new one.

To test the thermostat in a dryer, first disconnect the power to the dryer. Next, remove the thermostat from the dryer and test it with a multimeter. If the thermostat is not working, replace it.

7. Bad Timing Motor

A dryer’s timing motor controls the intervals at which the dryer’s drums rotate. The motor activates the dryer’s drums to tumble the clothes and ensure even drying. If the motor fails, the dryer will not start.

If there’s a malfunction in the timer, your dryer won’t heat up at all.

To test the dryer timing motor, simply turn the timer to “Off” and remove it from the dryer. Test this out with a multimeter. If there is no continuity, replace the timing motor.

8. MCB Problem

If your Amana dryer is experiencing problems heating or drying clothes, it may be time to troubleshoot the control board. The control board operates through an intricate series of electrical circuits, making it a complicated part.

Electric dryers use a control board to operate all of their functions. If the control board is misbehaving, it could mimic a problem with just one element — like thermal fuse or high limit thermostat. So you’ll have to do quite a bit of troubleshooting before you can pinpoint the issue and get it repaired.

Since the control board on a dryer is so difficult to reach and you likely don’t have experience with it, you should pay a professional to diagnose and fix it. If your dryer doesn’t start up or heats but stops, you should look for signs that the control board is most likely broken — it may be warped and have burn marks around its edges.

9. Gas Valve Solenoid

The gas valve solenoid is a coil that reacts to current. In doing so, it opens up ports that let gas flow into the burner assembly.

When the dryer won’t heat, check the igniter. If it glows without igniting the gas and goes out, then the gas valve solenoid is not letting gas through or is defective. Replace it entirely as a set if one or more of them are bad.