Note whether heat appears at all, ever
Run a cycle with your hand near the drum at intervals. Heat present at the start and gone later, or heat on a short load and none on a long one, is intermittent. No warmth at any point in any cycle is total. They lead to different parts and different conversations, and the distinction is free to make.
What you find
- The drum is warm early in the cycle and cold later — Intermittent, which points at a cycling control or a developing restriction.
- Short loads dry and long ones do not — The same pattern seen another way, since long loads run hotter for longer.
- No warmth at any point on any programme — Total, which points at protection or supply.
- Drying has been getting slower for months — The restriction that produces both patterns eventually.
- The machine stops heating and later works again — Something resetting, which narrows it to a self-resetting control.
- NEAR MISS: the cool-down phase at the end of a cycle — Designed behaviour and often mistaken for heat failing.
Ranked by pattern
- A restricted duct or filter — First for both patterns. It raises temperatures until a cycling control opens early or a protective one opens permanently.
- A failing cycling thermostat — First specifically for intermittent heat. It opens too early or does not close again reliably.
- A protective device that has operated — First for total absence of heat. It is a one-time device and it does not reset.
- A failed element or part of the supply missing — Last, and it produces total absence of heat with everything else working normally.
Classify, then clear the air path
- Feel the drum at intervals through one cycle — It classifies the fault, which decides everything after it.
- Wash the filter and confirm water passes through the mesh — The invisible restriction, and it underlies both patterns.
- Check the duct behind the machine and the vent outside — The rest of the air path, and it is the real cause more often than not.
- Then call with the pattern described — Intermittent and total lead to different parts.
Owner steps
- Run a full cycle and feel the drum every so often — Note when heat is present and when it is not; that record is the diagnosis.
Tools: notepadAbout 60 min
- Take out the lint filter and run water onto the mesh — If water pools rather than passing through, softener film is blocking air.
Tools: warm waterAbout 10 min
- Ease the machine out and check the duct is not crushed. Get a second person before you pull the cabinet out or tilt it. — The first bend behind the appliance carries most restrictions.
Tools: flashlightAbout 20 min
- Watch the outside vent flap while the machine runs — It confirms the far end of the run is open, which nothing else will show.
About 15 min
- STOP before the rear panel, a thermostat or the element is touched — Mains voltage and a heater circuit sit behind them, and that is the boundary.
Before opening anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a dryer sits on a branch circuit protected at fifteen or twenty amperes and holds a stored charge in places after the power is off. Lint is combustible and a restricted duct on a heated machine is a fire risk. Never run the machine with a panel off, and stop at once for any scorched smell.
When to call
Call with the pattern described: intermittent heat points at a cycling control, and no heat at all points at protection, an element or the supply. Call immediately for a scorched smell. Say that the filter and duct have been cleared if they have, so the technician does not simply fit a part into the same restriction.
Nearest pages of this class
Scope of this page
Written for the Hotpoint dryer class rather than one model line. Thermostat positions and protective device arrangements differ by family, and the duct run belongs to the installation rather than the appliance.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
