The drum turns but your clothes come out wet — this almost always traces to a few inexpensive causes, usually tied to airflow or one heating part. Below are the causes in the order we check them, the actual tests (with readings), the parts and honest prices, and the safe checks you can do first. The #1 thing: clean the vent — it's about drying AND fire safety.
New to multimeter testing? Read how to diagnose any appliance — power → switch → load first — the tests below all use it.
Poor airflow makes the dryer overheat and trip its safety devices; then it tumbles with no heat. Most common — and most dangerous.
Test it yourself: Clean the lint screen and the entire vent duct to the outside. Run the dryer and check that the exterior wall flap opens with strong airflow. Weak or no airflow outside = still blocked.
🔩 Likely part: no part — cleaning (or a vent duct if crushed) — $0–20
A one-time safety fuse that blows from overheating (usually caused by a blocked vent). Once blown, the drum turns but there's no heat.
Test it yourself: With the dryer unplugged, put a multimeter on the thermal fuse: a good fuse reads continuity (near 0 ohms). Open (OL) = blown — replace it AND clear the vent, or the new one blows too.
🔩 Likely part: thermal fuse — $5–15
An electric element burns out, or a gas igniter weakens and can't open the gas valve — so you get air but no heat.
How a tech tests it: Electric: multimeter across the element reads roughly 10–50 ohms; open = burned out (you may also see a visible break). Gas: watch the igniter — it glows, then should ignite the burner; glows-but-no-flame usually means a weak igniter (a tech confirms with an amp/flame-sensor check).
🔩 Likely part: heating element (electric) or igniter (gas) — $25–60
Electric dryers use 240V (two 120V legs). If one leg trips, the drum spins on the remaining 120V but the element gets no power — so no heat.
Test it yourself: Fully switch the dryer's double-pole breaker OFF, then back ON. Still no heat after that means the problem is inside the dryer. (A tester at the outlet showing only ~120V confirms a lost leg.)
🔩 Likely part: no part (breaker reset) — unless the breaker/outlet is faulty — $0
These regulate and cap the temperature; a failed one can also cut the heat.
How a tech tests it: With power off, a tech tests each thermostat for continuity at room temperature (should read closed/continuity); open = replace. Usually checked alongside the thermal fuse.
🔩 Likely part: thermostat — $10–25
Fuses, thermostats, elements, and igniters are all cheap — typically $5–60 in parts — so a no-heat dryer is almost always worth fixing. The one rule: fix the vent blockage too, or the new part fails again. If a no-heat is paired with a bad motor or drum, we'll give you the honest repair-vs-replace call.
In Middle Tennessee or the Baton Rouge area? We'll come to you, same-day. Anywhere else in the U.S.? Send a 10-second video, a real technician tells you exactly what's wrong for $50 (credited toward the repair), and we ship you the exact part — or walk you through the DIY fix. 24/7 — text, call, or upload anytime.
Almost always airflow or one heating part: a blocked vent that overheated and blew the thermal fuse, a burned-out element (electric) or weak igniter (gas), or a lost 240V leg. Clean the vent first.
Unplug the dryer and put a multimeter on the fuse — a good one reads continuity (near 0 ohms); an open (OL) reading means it's blown. Always clear the vent when you replace it.
Yes. Electric dryers need both 240V legs. Fully cycle the double-pole breaker off and on. If it's still cold, the issue is inside — usually the element or thermal fuse.
Element = electric dryers (test ~10–50 ohms; open = bad). Igniter = gas dryers (glows but won't light the burner). Tell us if it's gas or electric and we'll point you right.
Almost always — the parts are inexpensive. Send a 10-second video and we'll name the exact part and confirm it's worth it before you spend.