The Peculiar Problem with My GE Dryer's Dial
As I was trying to troubleshoot the issue with my GE dryer, I discovered a peculiar problem that made me question its feasibility. The problem lay in the fact that we were unable to turn the dial of the dryer, and when I tried to pull it off, I realized that the shaft wouldn't budge even with pliers. This led to breaking the knob, which had to be replaced along with the timing unit behind it.
To get around this problem, I visited our local appliance store, fortunate enough to find a replacement for the broken parts. The new unit cost $13 (or $85 Canadian) and was purchased at a reasonable price of $75 American dollars. With the help of some standard Phillips screws and a nut driver, I began to disassemble the dryer.
Disassembling the Dryer
To start the process, I pulled out the panel from the back of the dryer, which revealed the inner workings of the machine. The first step was to remove the screws that held the unit in place. Using a standard Phillips screwdriver, I carefully took out the screws and set them aside. Next, I pulled out the ground wire, as it wasn't connected to anything else. By taking these steps, I was able to access the inner components of the dryer.
Accessing the Inner Components
Once I had removed the panel and ground wire, I could see the unit that housed the timing unit and switch. To get a better view, I took some pictures or videos to help keep track of the wires. However, I soon realized that the screws that held the unit in place were not Phillips but Torx. Using a small Torx screwdriver, I managed to remove the screws and access the inner components.
Removing and Replacing the Timing Unit
The timing unit was a crucial part of the dryer's mechanism, and replacing it required some care. To avoid any mistakes, I decided to pull all the wires off the old unit before disassembling it further. This allowed me to work on the new unit more easily. By twisting out the old unit, I was able to slide in the new one.
Installing the New Unit
With the timing unit replaced, I began to reassemble the dryer. To make the process easier, I decided to pull all the wires onto the new unit before reinstalling it. This allowed me to work on the unit more efficiently and avoid any mistakes. By twisting in the new unit, I was able to secure it properly.
Reassembling the Dryer
After installing the new timing unit, I began to reassemble the dryer. To do this, I put the back panel back on, followed by the dial. However, I soon realized that the flat spot on the bottom of the dial was in a different location than my own model. Despite this, I was able to fit it into place and test its functionality.
Final Tips and Precautions
Before finishing the repair, I wanted to emphasize the importance of unplugging the dryer while working on it. This is crucial, as using a live dryer can be hazardous and may result in serious injury or even death. Additionally, I recommended shopping around for parts, as different models may have varying prices.
Conclusion
In conclusion, fixing the timer switch on a GE dryer requires some technical expertise and caution. By following these steps, you should be able to replace the timing unit and switch successfully. Remember to unplug the dryer while working on it and shop around for parts to ensure you get the best price.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso here we have a ge dryer and it has a peculiar problem i would have said isn't well i shouldn't say it's not possible but it's incredibly unlikely which is we're unable to turn the dial uh and in fact uh when you pull the dial off and you take a look at it you can try to turn the shaft with pliers and it won't turn and as a result we actually broke the knob uh in the shaft and so that has to be replaced this part has to be replaced now as does the timing unit behind it and that's what we're going to do so i've gone to our local appliance store fortunately this is a common problem and i was able to purchase these this was uh thirteen dollars that's what the actual unit was uh 85 that's canadian so that's probably more like 75 canadian or sorry 75 american um there's our dollars in the tank at this moment um so let's figure out how to disassemble this and change those parts so let's go around the back and you will see that there's a panel so it's actually not very hard to replace so i'm going to pull out that nut that nut so and so forth around and i can't do that and hold the camera but suffice it to say that it's a standard phillips or you can just use a nut driver on it and i'll just pull those out so as i said it's standard phillips screwdriver take the screws out clip them down they're all the same so you don't have to be particularly careful with them this lifts up i think ah does yay and out there we go that's just a ground wire so we don't have to worry about that and let's just take a look at what's inside all right there's the unit so we have to take that out and the easiest way to figure out what uh screws in where is to take a new one and look for connections loud much there we go so it looks like it just slides in here and here it looks like there's a screw there and let's just take a look around here and see if that seems to be correct and the easiest way to keep track of the wires is to take some pictures or a video now if you're going to take a video make sure you move it around get the different angles because otherwise you might not know where that third blue cable goes by the way there isn't three could be and as you can see here the only screw that's holding this in right there is not phillips it is in fact a torx so i'm going to go get a small torx to take that out so i managed to get that screw out but in the end i ended up using some it tools that i had because it's a t8 torx 8 and it needed to be very short the handle so even this was quite long and but anyway i did manage to get it out and uh yeah so let's now see how i'm gonna move these wires and instead of i'm gonna take a shortcut here one way to install the new one is to pull all the wires off and remove the unit one way to go the other way to go is just to remove the unit and then to put the wires on the new one before uh disassembling so let's just take a look at that so i'm just gonna twist this out there we go come on there we go so that just slid down this will slide just up there we go oh easy okay great now can i pull this back i can let's see if i can get the new one in and then i can just move the wires over that's the easiest way to go then i don't have to pay any attention at all to what wires are what so let's see that slides in there that clips in and then on this side i have to i know it's hard to see but i have to slide that up push that in a bit and slide it up all right so as you can see the new one is in and before i go any further i want to go around and make sure that the shaft is in the dead center and it is now i'm just going to start moving wires over so as you can see i've taken this one off this is a double so here you can see i've pulled off four or five of the wires and i put four or five of them on and i'm just going to continue to work my way around pull one off put it on now i should point out that these are more than finger tight so i'm having to use needle nose pliers to pull these things out so you're probably gonna have to do the same so that's all wired up now i just need to put that screw back in now i realize it's awfully hard to see but anyway i can't do that and hold the camera so i'm going to have to do that on my own but it's very small and again it's a torx so it's a bit of a problem but i'll get it done there we go now the new switch is in and we're on our way the new timer unit i should say i guess it's really not much of a switch although it's a switch timer so there you go anyway to get that uh screw in i misspoke it's not it didn't misspeak i was just wrong it's not a t8 it's a t10 however to get a screwdriver in on the angle i was at i had to use an eight and that worked i also used needle nose pliers to get it out it was a it was a pain but other than that it's this is pretty straightforward so i'm going to put the back back on now and i'll put the dial on let's see what happens okay so let's take the dial out i've already torn the bag so just fall out because i have one hand it's not very handy to do with two hand there we go now you'll notice there's a flat spot on here to go into the shaft there with the flat spot flat spots on the bottom ish in my case will definitely be in a different place in yours but anyway that's where it is and see if it spins look at that like a glove okay now the only other thing i didn't mention which is obvious but critical so i'll mention it is unplug it do not work on this while it is live 110 probably won't kill you but it isn't going to feel nice and you'll end up going to the hospital so unplug the stupid thing and that is how you fix the timer switch on a ge dryer now just one more thing that i should mention these parts are available uh all over the place but you can shop them around because they really do make a difference sometimes in the pricing so in my case if you're looking for parts the thing you need to have is the model number so in my case it is right there and in most ge cases it's right inside the door in yours it might be on the back or on the front door or something but that's mine so yeah if you have any questions or concerns please get a hold of us at www.urtech.ca thank you bye\n"
