I haven't been around a lot lately because lots of things broke around my house and as hard as I looked, the only person around to fix them was me.
I'm not really all that handy, but I did manage to order a heating element for my dryer. I even installed it myself! After about a week of waiting on the part, I got it all put back together and the dryer still didn't work.
I need a dryer -- as you have seen, laundry is kind of a big deal around here. I couldn't afford to wait a week in between each trial repair, so I ordered something called Everything That Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong Dryer Kit. It had replacement parts for pretty much everything.
I started with what I was fairly sure was the problem -- the thermostat. Since the original thermostat is no longer available, I need to modify my dryer somewhat to fit the new one. I got this, yo. Dryer modification ain't no thang.
But then there was a problem...the new thermostat only had two pluggie innie things, whereas the old one had three. This left me with one wire hanging around with no place to go. I consulted the instructions that came with the kit. They were helpful:
"NOTE: If there is a 3/16" terminal connected to the direct connect thermostat then one end of the jumper wire must be cut off and the male/female combination must be attached to the thermostat. The 3/16' female terminal must also be cut off of the wire harness and the 1/4' female terminal crimped onto the wire. Then that wire must be attached to the male/female combination ternimal. See Fig. 2."
Figure 2 contained a giant picture of the heating element (which was already installed) and a line, representing a cord that seemed to be attached to nothing in particular and drifting off to the end of the page. It should also be noted that the only thing described that I could point out was the thermostat -- jumper wires, terminals, harnesses...I have no idea what these things are.
What is basically wanted me to do was cut some wires, put new thingies on the ends of them, install new thingies for them to plug into, and say a prayer that nothing exploded. I was hoping I didn't accidentally purchase the kit from a terrorist masquerading as a parts site, whose intention is to get people to inadvertently turn their home appliances into WMDs.
I also installed a new fuse or something, some more wires, and some little black round thing. I put the dryer back together. It didn't heat up.
I said some choice words under my breath, but out loud I just said "SHIIIIIITTTT! Eff you, you damn dryer." Little ears around here, you know. I started throwing tools, old parts, and trash into a box to deal with after a smoke. That was when I found an entirely different little black round thing that I hadn't replaced.
It was about the size of a quarter, and I knew there was no way this little thing had caused so much drama, but I decided to put it on anyway, just to say I tried.
I took the dryer apart for the millionth time, replaced the piece, and now, my dryer is heating up. It's perfectly fine that the walls are a little melty all around it and that the National Guard is stationed in my yard with radioactive testing equipment...especially when I force them to babysit.
