Dryer Blows Circuit

Greetings.

My 2-year-old Frigidaire stack-unit electric dryer partially (?) blows the circuit every time it's plugged in. The dryer won't work at all but the washer (washer and dryer run off of same cord) works fine. When the breaker is reset, the receptacle registers 240 on the electrical reader-thing. The breaker is two 120s connected together.

Several months ago, the dryer would spin but with no heat. An appliance company fixed it (with no mention of the house electrical wiring), it worked fine for a while and now nothing.

The service warranty from the appliance company has expired so my big question is this ... should I call an electrician or should I call an appliance company? I'd prefer to pay the house call fee only once!

Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

How many prongs on the plug?

 

Three prongs ... two flats and one best descibed as V-shaped. The V-shaped one is burnt black on its tip.

 

So does the breaker actually trip? And what did you mean by "partially"?

Please post the model number of the appliance.

 

Frigidaire Crown Series Model # FLEB43RGS3

The breakers that control the receptacle are numbered 14 and 15 (connected by a little piece of silver I-Don't-Know-What) in the breaker box. When the washer/dryer unit is plugged in, 14 goes soft, but 15 stays put.

 

That's strange. If that handle tie is doing its job, it's not supposed to let one half trip without the other half. Are you saying that the washing machine still works while this is partially tripped?

 

Yep. The washer works fine, even though the washer and dryer run on the same cord. Pardon my ignorance as to electrical terminology but when the breaker is reset and nothing is plugged in, the receptacle ports go "beep beep" when you touch them with the electricity gauge thing and the guy with the gauge says "Yeah, this is good." But when you plug the cord in, a big spark sparks. Then when you unplug the plug and touch the ports with the gauge again, one of them doesn't beep anymore and the guy with the gauge says "Hmm. That's really weird," and goes home because he's stumped
(He's a friend with basic skills, not a hired pro).

I don't know which wires still responded after the spark.

 

I'm cross-posting this over to the appliances forum to see if they can help.

 

Well I agree with John this is rather strange. However, I have seen this before where a handle tie breaker wasnt tripping out both hot wires. The problem causing the breaker to trip in that situation was a faulty surface mount receptacle. I didnt dismantle the breaker to see if it was defective I just replaced it.

 

2 problems in one:

First, the dryer element is likely shorted to ground. You need to call an appliance repair person to fix it (or attempt diagnosis and repair yourself with the help of the appliance forum). Since the plug is now damaged as well (from experimentation?), it would be wise to replace the cord set.

Second, the breaker controlling this appliance is not functioning properly (although, in this case it was rather handy, but not real safe) and needs to be replaced by an electrician. Have them replace the receptical too if it looks like it has any damage. Do you, by any chance see the letters FPE anywhere on the circuit breaker panel.

Doug M.

 

Roger and dougm,

Thank you both for your input. Roger, when you said you replaced "it," is it the surface mount receptacle? Is the surface mount receptacle the outlet the unit plugs into (dumb question?)? I had considered replacing the receptacle in hopes it would make the problem go away, but haven't done anything yet, besides lug wet clothes to the laundromat!

dougm, I don't see the letters FPE anywhere in the breaker box. Do you know, by chance, if the dryer element is shorted to ground (I have no idea what that means) ... is that something that would be discovered by looking in the back of the unit or in the front? At any rate, I will have the breaker tie issue taken care of, it hadn't occurred to me that it was unsafe, though since you mentioned it, it makes sense.

 

hi stellabird,
- something in the dryer is shorting to ground, and it's really difficult to deal with those problems here. You really need someone competent to check out the terminal block where the wire enters the dryer, the element or heater, and the motor. A good appliance repairman should be able to track this down quite quickly.

Do it Right - Do it once.

 

I'm wondering if both those breakers happen to be on the same bus bar (Stab-lok panel for example). The handle tie sounds like something crimped on by an appliance installer. Then the receptacle ports would go "beep beep" when you touch them with the electricity gauge thing and the guy with the gauge would say "Yeah, this is good."

But in that case the dryer wouldn't have worked ever?

 

Kobuchi- that's a very good point that you raised. I've just gone back and noted that in the first post, the poster says it would spin (110v) but no heat (220v) . That would suggest it's not getting both legs of power.

stellabird, -is it possible that this dryer has NEVER heated up ? Please post back with name printed on electrical panel ( also if any ID inside it)

Do it Right - Do it once.

 

nomind,

The dryer spun and heated properly when bought new, less than two years ago. Then the heat quit working, but it still spun. An appliance company fixed it (there was no mention of the house wiring having anything to do with the problem). It worked perfectly (spinning and heating) again for about four months. Then, one day it quit working altogether mid-cycle and has been blowing the circuit ever since. Now it won't come on at all.

I hope I answer your next question correctly. The panel is labelled Westinghouse
WMBIO 1224 S
1224 F
There are six breakers labelled Westinghouse. Each breaker is assigned two numbers vertically to the left (the first says 1,2; the second says 3,4; and so on so the seventh breaker is actually labelled 13)There is one breaker per labelled rectangle.

Breakers 13 and 14 are doubled up in a rectangle labelled Bryant Type BRD 80230-2120 CU-AL. Breakers 15 and 16 are doubled up in a rectangle that says Non common trip. Breakers 14 and 15 are the ones that are connected together and run the washer/dryer unit. They are green and say "30", while 13 and 16 are red and say "20". 14 feels soft, 15 feels fine. The washer works, the dryer doesn't -- they both operate on the same cord.

Is some of that the information you were asking for?

 

Hi Stellabird,
-I think the breaker question is a 'red herring' . They may well be uncommon, but not the cause of your problem. Now that you've given us more info, I think it's almost certain that the heater element or its connection is the root of the problem. If the 'appliance company' fixed it less than a year ago, then you should call them back for a look at it. If longer then you may be better unplugging the unit and doing a visual and meter check of the element yourself. Look for any broken wire, anything touching the casing or frame, and any burnt areas.

Do it Right - Do it once,