Dryer runs but clothes don't dry

Here is the quick checks you can do to troubleshoot almost any dryer unit but more specifically for the Maytag bravos. First thing you should check is whether or not you have airflow from your unit. You can remove the vent duct from the back or feel the duct for flow. Removing the duct will help if you have issues with heating. If you have airflow then you need to check the heating components. There are 2 thermostats which serve as safety switches. One is at the bottom of heater bundle and on about a foot above it just before the airflow enters the dryer barrel. You will need a multimeter to check these. While cold they should read short or very close to 0 ohms as you read your multimeter. If both of these are good you will need to check the control thermostat which turns the heaters off and on. It looks like the two previous thermostats but slightly larger. It will have to red wires going in to top and bottom and two purple wires going into the back of it. The purple wires go to the temp switch on the control panel portion of the dryer. You can read the resistance across the purple wires to check this switch. It's resistance should be short or 0 ohms as read on your multimeter, resistance will go up as you increase temp setting. Mine was 4.5k for low 5.5k for medium and 6.5k for high. If you check the thermostat it should be short when cold. Lastly you can check the thermal fuse. It is mounted right next to the control thermostat and is a slender white piece with two terminals. This should be shorted or 0 ohms on your multimeter. This checks all components aside from the heater bundle. You can take resistance check for the heater across the terminals of the heater termi also. On my unit the lower safety thermostat was placed on one of the terminals of the heaters. Make sure you remove this prior to checking. I do not have a specific value for the heaters but should be relatively low. If they are broke to the point of not getting hot enough or at all they will read open or extremely high. Most normally read below 5 to 10 ohms usually, not uncommon to be slightly higher on different types. This checks all components which impact ability of the unit to produce heat. Parts are cheap to get and easy to replace. The hard part is what I discussed above. Hope this helps in saving you all some money in not having to deal with shotty techs.

I had the exact same problem.  I took the dryer apart and vacuumed out every bit of dust I could find.  I also replaced the belt, because it had a kink in it.  I then put it all back together.  It now dries like new.

Something else you should do: Get an analog multimeter, and set the dial to the lowest number in the OHM section.  Now touch the two probes together - the needle should move all the way (or most of the way) to the right, because when you touch the probes together, you have a complete circuit, with no resistance to the flow of electricity.

Now unplug the dryer, and remove the back cover.  Look for the electrical parts - each one has two (or maybe four) wires plugged into it. Checking one part at a time, unplug the two wires and put the multimeter probes on the two terminals of the electrical part.  If the part is good, the needle will move to the right - probably at least halfway across the dial.  Reconnect the wires to the electrical part just like they were connected.  If there is a part where the needle doesn’t move, or if it moves just a little, then that part is likely bad and should be replaced.  Make sure you also check the heating element - it is approx. 3” by 6”, and there will be two wires plugged into it.

If you remove a part, make sure you take lots of pictures of it while it is still hooked up and installed, so that you will be able to correctly install the new part.  And take lots of descriptive notes.  Also, take a picture of the label which shows the dryer’s model and serial number - you will need that information when you go to the appliance parts store.

I have had dryers which didn’t heat, or didn’t heat sufficiently, for both of the above reasons — a bad electrical part, or the dryer was clogged with dust.  Either (or both) could be the cause of this problem with your dryer.

Here are some examples of analog multimeters - any will do:

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=an...

The thing you want is a needle that moves when there is a complete circuit.  It is very simple to watch a needle for movement; it is more complicated to look at the numbers which are displayed on a digital multimeter; this is why I prefer an analog multimeter.

Part 1: (they dont allow enough characters for threads like these!)

Ours will do this too. I will 1st try to make sure the lint trap is clean and pushed in tight. I find that if the "clean lint trap" light is flashing, (I can't remember exactly what it says and I'm too lazy to go check. Lol) but if it's flashing the clothes won't dry.

It will spin, go through all the motions, then stop, but the clothes are still damp. There probably is a safety in there to not turn on the element when the lint is built up, or not in tight, to prevent a fire.

Another thing I do is do a really deep clean of the moisture sensor (those metal strips) on the front of the lint trap. I use a "magic eraser" or a bit of fine sand paper, and give the moisture sensor a bit of a scrub to get any grime or film that had built up on it from the drier sheets, fabric softener or hard water deposits etc.

Part 2:

And because we live near the beach, have a dog and my oldest son is a mechanic, and my middle son works as a rod-buster our drier is always full of extra dirt, fur etc, and has work clothes covered in mud, grease and rebar rust in it I sometimes need to do a really deep clean out of the trap.

I unplug the drier and completely remove & disassemble the lint trap by unscrewing the two deep set Phillips screws in the front of the lint trap. Plug any sensitive ears because there will be some swearing while dealing with these awkward screws! (Especially when putting them back in! Lol)

You then can then pull out the trap and disconnect the wires to the sensor strip, (take photos as you go for re-assemby) Make sure they don't fall back into the drier. You can tape them to one side if there is a risk of them going back in. Then you can really scrub l the dirt out of the lint trap and it's housing. I used a pipe-cleaner type round bristle brush for cleaning out metal reusable straws and bottle necks to get some of the (PITA) holes clean.

For some reason the plastic casing on my lint trap has warped a bit over the years. It leaves a gap. So I took a heat gun and tried to soften up the plastic a bit to reshape it, but it didn't really go completely back to where it was before. So I often wonder if the lint is actually all getting trapped on the screen when it doesn't seal up tightly.

Maybe that is why people have said there has been fire hazards/lint built up in the hose? But I'm not sure if that is the same drier as mine, because my lint trap is in in the front of the drier. When you open the door, its at the bottom. (Knee height) It's not at the top so I'm not sure if they are talking about this same drier model as the one in this thread. (Mine is the same as the one in the diagram someone had posted.)

Hope this helps someone. I love beating Planned Obsolescence!

Fix it. Don't replace it! Is my motto!