Why Does My Dryer Keep Starting and Stopping?

Do you put damp clothes into your dryer, turn it on, and come back a few minutes later to find out it has stopped? Your clothes inside are still wet and you are left endlessly confused. This is a sign of a problem. Unfortunately, as to what problem, that may require a little more investigation.

Overheating

What you should check immediately is the exhaust hose in the back of your dryer. It is held on by a metal clamp and easy to remove. What you are looking for is an excess of lint that is blocking the dryer’s ability to vent. When this hose, or worse, the exhaust vent installed in your home, is blocked by lint, it causes your dryer to overheat. As such, your dryer may startup, but it will stop suddenly if it detects that things are getting too hot to prevent a fire.

Faulty Door Latch

All dryers will stop function if it detects that the door is open. Unfortunately, if your door latch is faulty, your door may not actually need to be open for it to stop function. If the door latch is faulty, motion can cause it to trigger prematurely and shut off a dryer.

Motor Relay

If your dryer starts when you hold the button, but stops immediately after, your first instinct may be to replace the button. However, more likely is that you have a faulty motor relay. This is the part that receives the signals from the button and relays it to the motor. If your dryer lasts a bit longer, but then shuts off later, it could also be a sign of a failing drive motor as well. This is the part that physically spins the dryer drum, so if there is no spin, there is usually no function.