No heat, gas or electric
On an electric dryer, no heat at all with the drum still turning points at the heating element, the thermal fuse or one leg of the 240 volt supply. A tripped breaker that only takes out one leg gives you a dryer that tumbles and never warms, which confuses a lot of people.
On a gas dryer the sequence is the igniter, the flame sensor and the gas valve coils. Gas is where the free advice stops. We are happy to talk through the electric side, but nobody should be testing gas valve coils in their laundry room.
The vent is the real story
Most "my dryer is dying" calls in the Valley are a packed vent line. Long runs through a wall or up through a roof collect lint at every elbow, and once airflow drops the machine runs longer, the high-limit thermostat starts cutting out, and the element eventually fails from the heat it cannot dump.
- Pull the duct off the back and check for a solid plug of lint
- Check the exterior flap actually opens when the dryer runs
- Time a normal load. Over 60 minutes for a regular load means airflow, not heat
This is worth doing before the fire season, not after.
Questions we get
How often should a dryer vent be cleared?
Once a year for a short straight run, twice a year for long runs with elbows or a roof termination.
Burning smell but everything works. Ignore it?
No. A hot lint smell is the one symptom in this trade worth reacting to immediately. Stop using it and get the vent line opened up.