Old timer told me to never trust a dryer thermistor reading until you check the duct first

I started doing appliance repair about 8 years ago and this guy named Ed who had been in the game since the 70s gave me that advice. I thought I knew better and spent a solid 45 minutes chasing a bad thermistor on a Samsung dryer only to find a lint clog the size of my fist in the duct behind the machine. After I cleared it, the thermistor reading was fine and the dryer worked perfect. Now I always pop the vent off and do a quick visual before I break out the multimeter. Has anyone else had a simple duct check save them from a wild goose chase?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_ramirez19d ago

Oh man, that Ed sounds like he knew his stuff. I had a similar thing happen with a Whirlpool dryer last year where I was about to order a new thermistor and control board because the readings were all over the place. Then I remembered some advice I got from a guy at the parts counter and just pulled the vent hose off first. There was this weird nest of dryer sheet lint and birdseed or something jammed right where the hose connects to the wall. Cleared it out, put everything back, and the thermistor read perfectly fine. These dryers are so sensitive to airflow that a little restriction can make the sensors go haywire and throw off your whole diagnosis.

nina_hall4819d ago

Wait, so you're telling me a clogged vent can actually mess with the sensor readings that bad? I always figured those thermistors just failed on their own and you had to swap them out. But that story about the birdseed and lint nest makes a lot of sense now. I had a similar thing happen with my old Maytag where I kept getting error codes for overheat, but I swore the vent wasn't blocked. Finally pulled the hose off and found a giant wad of what looked like dog hair and dust stuck right at the wall connection. Cleared it out and the dryer ran fine for another two years. Guess I was wrong about just blaming the parts.

xena58219d ago

Hear me out though, sometimes a sensor really does just crap out on its own. I've swapped enough thermistors on dryers where the vent was perfectly clean to know it does happen. Chasing airflow issues is smart, but don't write off a bad part every single time either.