What this usually means
A dryer that does nothing when you press start is either not being given power, or is being stopped by one of the two switches designed to stop it — the door switch and the start switch itself. No power reaching the cabinet is the first thing to suspect on a Criterion, because these units are frequently owner-installed in a closet, a garage or a basement corner, so what feeds the machine is as suspect as the machine. The outlet, the breaker and the door catch are owner checks; anything behind the console is not.
What it looks like from the front
- You hear a hum or a click but the drum does not turn — That is a motor or drive complaint, not a supply one, and it sounds different from silence.
- It starts only if you push the door hard while pressing start — That is the door switch telling you it is barely making contact.
- Nothing at all happens — no light, no click, no hum — A completely dead cabinet points at supply rather than at anything internal.
- NEAR MISS — It starts and then stops after a few seconds — That is a cycle fault or a thermal cut-out, and it is covered on the cycle page rather than here.
The causes and their order
- No power reaching the cabinet — First on this brand: these units are frequently owner-installed in a closet, a garage or a basement corner, so what feeds the machine is as suspect as the machine. A tripped breaker, a half-tripped double breaker or an outlet on the same circuit as something else that trips accounts for most completely dead dryers.
- A damaged cord or a loose terminal at the block — Second: A cord that has been pinched behind the cabinet, or a terminal block screw that was never fully tightened at installation, gives an intermittently dead machine.
- A door switch that is no longer being made — Third, and the last to suspect: The switch only closes when the catch pulls the door fully home; a sagging catch or a strike worn at the edges leaves it a fraction short and the control simply waits. The door hardware is light, so it goes out of adjustment before anything electrical does.
Working order
- Switch the breaker fully off and back on, and test the outlet with something else — A breaker handle that looks set can still be tripped on one side; taking it fully off and on is the only way to reset it. Start here: on this platform it is both the most likely finding and the quickest to confirm.
- Look for heat marks or a cord trapped behind the cabinet — Discolouration at the plug or at the cabinet entry is a finding, not a coincidence, and it needs a technician rather than a retry.
- Press the door firmly closed and hold it while you press start — A machine that starts under hand pressure and not otherwise has told you exactly where the fault is.
What an owner can safely check
- Reset the breaker properly and test the receptacle — Off, pause, on — not a nudge.
About 5 min
- Clean the catch and strike, and check the door closes without lifting — Lint and softener residue build up in the catch.
Tools: cloth, screwdriverAbout 15 min
- Stop here if the next move needs a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Lint is the fire hazard here, and a dryer is never run with its vent disconnected.
When to call a technician
Call once the outlet is proven live, the breaker has been properly cycled, the door latches firmly and the console still refuses to start the drum — beyond that point the checks are on mains terminals inside the console.
Nearest pages of this class
The limits of this page
Everything above is generalized across the Criterion dryer range rather than tied to a model. There is no per-model page under this one today. Where one appears it is linked from this block and it is the page to trust for a specific cabinet. Deliberately not here: wiring colours, resistance values, torque figures and part numbers, which differ between families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
