The answer first
On a Criterion dryer a stalled cycle has a short list of causes, and the order is airflow, door, sensing, control. Working that order costs nothing and it explains the great majority of these before anybody opens the cabinet. The order below is what does the work on this page.
What you observe
- The cycle stops after a few minutes, every time — A thermal device opening as the cabinet heats, which points at the air path rather than the timer. If you can only do one check, make it this one.
- The drum stops when you knock the door — A worn door catch or switch interrupting the circuit without the door visibly opening. Keep an eye on whether it is getting worse, because the rate of change is itself evidence.
- The programme runs forever and never completes — The opposite of early ending, and it usually means the machine is waiting for a dryness reading it never gets. A result here decides whether the next two checks are worth doing at all.
- NEAR MISS: nothing starts at all when you press the button — That is a start fault rather than a cycle fault, and the will-not-start page is the right one.
Ranked causes for this machine
- A thermal cut-out opening on restricted airflow — First because it is what a dryer does when its duct is blocked, and because the symptom, meaning a cycle that dies a few minutes in, is unmistakable once you know it. Check whether anything changed in the house around the time it started.
- A coated moisture sensor ending the cycle early — Residue insulates the bars, the machine reads dry, and the programme finishes with a wet load in the drum.
- A failing drive belt or motor protector — A motor that cuts out on its own protector stops the drum without any code, and it usually restarts once cool. It is worth confirming twice before you act on it, since one observation can mislead.
- A control board or timer fault — Last, because every cheaper cause above produces the same stopped machine and this is the only one that needs a part on a guess.
The diagnostic order
- Note how many minutes in the machine stops — A consistent interval points at heat; a random one points at the door or the supply. Where two causes look alike from the outside, this is the one that is more often right.
- Run a timed programme rather than a sensor one — If timed works and sensor does not, the sensing chain is at fault and nothing else needs investigating yet. Give it a moment rather than glancing; the thing you are looking for is not always obvious.
- Try a half load — A machine that completes a half load and stalls on a full one is telling you about airflow through the drum. The rank is a starting point, not a verdict; what you observe outranks it.
Steps you can do yourself
- Clear the lint filter and the filter housing — Take the filter out, wash it if a film has built up, and vacuum the slot it sits in. Do it with the machine in its normal state rather than after you have already changed something.
Tools: vacuumAbout 15 min
- Check the vent hose and the outside flap — Straighten any crushed run and make sure the flap opens fully with the machine going. Leave the machine a few minutes afterwards before you decide it has not helped.
Tools: torchAbout 25 min
- Reduce the load and run the same programme — A completed cycle on a smaller load is evidence, not a coincidence, and it tells you the machine is healthy. It is the sort of check a technician does first, for the same reason.
About 20 min
- This is where the owner checks end — That is the boundary between a homeowner check and a service call, and it is not a soft one.
The safety floor
Safety
Isolate the machine at the plug or the breaker before you open it. Some components hold energy after isolation, which is why service manuals say to wait. Check that the machine is on its own circuit rather than sharing one with something you have not switched off. The switches that sense the door stay exactly as they are.
The line between a fix and a call
Here is the split as a technician would put it. The filter, the duct, the load and the sensor bars are yours; the thermostat, the cut-out, the door switch and the motor protector are not. Where the page stops is where the evidence stops being visible from the outside. Stop using it rather than finishing the load if anything about the heat or the smell has changed.
Nearby pages
Scope of this page
This page is written for the Criterion dryer as a class rather than for one family or model line.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
