Proper Operation
Learn how your appliance is supposed to operate so you can determine if it is malfunctioning.


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Overtemp Thermostat

The GE and Hotpoint electric dryers are sensitive to blocked vents. Even a partially blocked vent will cause the high limit thermostat to trip open and if the temperature continues to rise, the motor overtemp thermostat on top of the heater shroud will trip open and the motor will stop. After five to ten minutes the motor and high limit thermostats will close and you can run the dryer for another five minutes. Repeated cycling of the motor overtemp thermostat will cause it to fail open.

Procedure for Gathering Failure Confirmation Data

  1. UNPLUG THE DRYER
  2. Use a No.15 Torx screwdriver to remove the 4 screws up over the door that secure the cabinet top.
  3. Pull the dryer away from the wall far enough so that you can swing the top up far enough that it will stay up.
  4. Locate the galvanized metal shroud behind the dark blue drum. Now locate the small motor overtemp thermostat off to the right and the large high limit thermostat further down to the right.
  5. Use an ohmmeter to verify that the motor overtemp and possibly the high limit thermostats are open right after the motor stops. MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNPLUG THE DRYER AFTER YOU MAKE A TEST RUN OR YOU WILL FRY YOUR OHMMETER AND TAKE SEVERAL YEARS OFF YOUR LIFE.
  6. Let the dryer cool down and confirm that the motor overtemp thermostat and the high limit thermostat both close. If the motor overtemp thermostat stays open, it must be replaced.
  7. Before you replace the motor overtemp thermostat, clear the dryer vent.

Motor Overtemp Thermostat Replacement Procedure

  1. Use your dryer model number to get a new thermostat. Don't be surprised if the new one doesn't look like the old one. GE has placed a 1/16 inch thick insulator on the base of some new thermostats to desensitize it to the wild temperature swings of a dryer working into a blocked vent and cycling its high limit thermostat.
  2. VERIFY THAT THE DRYER IS UNPLUGGED.
  3. Use a 1/4 inch nut driver to remove the screw from the thermostat and replace the old stat with the new one. Reconnect the wires.
  4. Close the top and replace the 4 top screws.
  5. Reconnect the vent, plug in the cord and verify after at least 10 minutes of operation that you have cleared the vent.