element not staying on

I think it is a Maytag drier and it not drying the clothes
I pressed down the button with the door open and the element turned red for about 20-30 seconds then it turned off…….
The drier is only 3-4 years old
The clothes have to run about 3 times to get them dry and still not even completely dry
Any help would be great

 

The problem you're describing is called short cycling. That simply means the heating element is cycling off too quickly. Several things could be causing this-improper air flow-is your vent plugged, are you using plastic flex vent? If the dryer is not getting rid of the air inside the drum fast enough it will cause the problem you are describing. Check the vent.
You could have a bad cycling thermostat or bad hi limit thermostat. The way to check is to bypass those thermostats one at a time and see if the element cycles properly.

 

I have a flex metal vent hose and just cleaned it out you can feel it blowing outside when you place you hand near the vent exit.

You could have a bad cycling thermostat or bad hi limit thermostat. The way to check is to bypass those thermostats one at a time and see if the element cycles properly.

how do I go about bypassing the thermostats
and how many are there and what am I looking for

thanks for the help

 

Not knowing model number I'll speak in general terms. The thermostats are about the size of 4 or 5 quarters stacked. There should be 2 wires going to each. Here is the problem--you must be very cautious if you are going to bypass. You will be dealing with live 110 volts. I repeat if you are not familiar with this type of work I would strongly recommend you not do it. Take a jumper wire and hook to both connections of the thermostat where the wires attach- making a pathway for the current to run around the thermostat. Run the dryer and see if the element cycles properly. If so replace the thermostat. Again I strongly emphasize if you have not done this you must be very cautious.
You said you have flex vent on the dryer and recently cleaned it out. If you have plastic flex vent that may be the root of your problem. You should not use plastic flex vent, if so change it to metal flex vent or ideally rigid metal vent or you may continue to have problems.