How to Replace a Dryer Heating Element — Step-by-Step Instructions
ELECTRIC DRYERS ONLY — this guide is not for gas burners. Unplug the dryer; a 240V circuit is unforgiving. Confirm zero continuity assumptions with a multimeter, not guesses. If your dryer is GAS, stop here and use a pro.
Tools
- Nut driver / socket set
- Multimeter
- Shop vac
- Phone camera
Parts
- Heating element (or element kit with thermostats/fuse) for your model
Step by step
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1 Test before you buy
Unplug, open the rear or lower access panel, and put a multimeter across the element terminals: around 8–15 ohms = good element (look elsewhere); infinite/open = burned out.
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2 Photograph the wiring
Two or three spade terminals plus thermostat wires — one photo saves twenty minutes of head-scratching later.
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3 Remove the element housing
On most designs the element lives in a metal can beside or behind the drum: remove the mounting screws, disconnect the terminals, and slide the housing out.
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4 Swap the element
Transfer the element into the housing (or swap the whole can if your kit includes it), being careful not to nick the new coil — it’s fragile before its first heat cycle.
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5 Replace the guards while you’re in there
If your kit includes the thermal fuse, hi-limit, and cycling thermostat, install them — a shorted element often weakens them, and they’re $10 parts sitting right next to it.
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6 Vacuum, reassemble, and test
Shop-vac every lint drift you can see (this is why the element died), reconnect per your photo, close up, and run a timed-dry cycle: heat within a minute, no burning smell after the first dust burn-off.
A new element that dies quickly means an airflow problem is cooking it — if your vent run is long, on a roof, or you can’t find the restriction, get a pro with a vent rig before buying element number three. If you'd rather skip it entirely, find a dryer repair pro near you →
Sources
Where the safety, regulatory and warranty claims on this page come from. Repair costs are our own figures based on Arizona market rates and OEM parts pricing.
- Home Fires Involving Clothes Dryers and Washing Machines National Fire Protection Association Dryer fire incidence, and failure to clean as the leading contributing factor.
- Carbon Monoxide Safety Guide U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Carbon monoxide risk from gas cooking and heating appliances.
Step-by-step instructions for your exact model
The same repair, tailored with your machine's error codes, known quirks, and typical costs.
What this repair costs professionally
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