There is a design issue with the Kenmore HE4 dryer, and this is likely similar to the HE3 line. The HE4 (correct me if the HE3 is different..) has it's air exhaust below the front door. What happens is, clothes will tend to block this vent as they slump around. Moisture will build up in the cabinet , which isnt a big issue in itself, as you did put wet clothes in... but enough of this moisture makes its way thru the cabinet onto the two control boards., causing issues. On mine, it would intermittently refuse to start (no lights , no response to buttons). This turned out to be one of the front panel microswitches.. it had corrosion around the pin connectors. The chipset does a self-check before startup and it found the switch apparently in the fully pressed mode (the corrosion). Replacing the small switch ($2) solved the issue.
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The design fault can be worked around. All you have to do is make sure the clothes dont block the vent too much. One way to do this is do only dry very small loads. The better way, IMHO, is to elevate the front of the machine a little (1" etc). You can do this with the adjustable feet, or a simple bit of wood block etc.
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The design fault can be worked around. All you have to do is make sure the clothes dont block the vent too much. One way to do this is do only dry very small loads. The better way, IMHO, is to elevate the front of the machine a little (1" etc). You can do this with the adjustable feet, or a simple bit of wood block etc. Now, the clothes will tend to 'walk' towards the rear of the drum , allowing proper airflow.
I found our HE4 dryer at the local dump (small rural community).. I presume the previous owner refused to pay the $400 cost of new circuit boards and instead tossed it. Appliance repair guys just swap boards nowadays.. no one wants to replace cheap electronic switches etc.
As a bonus.. we discovered another HE4 a coupla years later, also at the dump (no, these were not in the 'pit' with the regular garbage.. ick.. theres a separate place for scrap metal etc), so now I have a box of spare parts for mine !
If you have an HE3/4 and dont suspect you will have an issue.. check out your dryer vent while it's running a full load. If the vent flow is very erratic , you will have a circuit board problem eventually !
There is a design issue with the Kenmore HE4 dryer, and this is likely similar to the HE3 line. The HE4 (correct me if the HE3 is different..) has it's air exhaust below the front door. What happens is, clothes will tend to block this vent as they slump around. Moisture will build up in the cabinet , which isnt a big issue in itself, as you did put wet clothes in... but enough of this moisture makes its way thru the cabinet onto the two control boards., causing issues. On mine, it would intermittently refuse to start (no lights , no response to buttons). This turned out to be one of the front panel microswitches.. it had corrosion around the pin connectors. The chipset does a self-check before startup and it found the switch apparently in the fully pressed mode (the corrosion). Replacing the small switch ($2) solved the issue.
The design fault can be worked around. All you have to do is make sure the clothes dont block the vent too much. One way to do this is do only dry very small loads. The better way, IMHO, is to elevate the front of the machine a little (1" etc). You can do this with the adjustable feet, or a simple bit of wood block etc.
I found our HE4 dryer at the local dump (small rural community).. I presume the previous owner refused to pay the $400 cost of new circuit boards and instead tossed it. Appliance repair guys just swap boards nowadays.. no one wants to replace cheap electronic switches etc.
As a bonus.. we discovered another HE4 a coupla years later, also at the dump (no, these were not in the 'pit' with the regular garbage.. ick.. theres a separate place for scrap metal etc), so now I have a box of spare parts for mine !
If you have an HE3/4 and dont suspect you will have an issue.. check out your dryer vent while it's running a full load. If the vent flow is very erratic , you will have a circuit board problem eventually !