Terry wrote:
On Jun 24, 9:48 pm, "Laurie" wrote:
Terry wrote:
On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:53:42 GMT, "Laurie"
wrote:

Bob wrote:
Laurie wrote:
I have an Amana dryer on a 220V 3-prong receptacle. I was turning
the timer dial and suddenly there was a pop! and then nothing -
there is no power at the dryer - the light doesn't even come on.
I checked the fuse box and rthere were no tripped breakers, but
just the same I went ahead and flipped them all off and on.
Still nothing.

In simple terms a 240 volt 3-wire circuit consists of two 120 volt
circuits with opposite polarity. The L-shaped contact is both the
neutral and ground. Measuring from there to each of the hot
contacts should show 120 volts, and there should be 240 volts
between the hot contacts.

Great - that makes sense and is helpful. I will check to see what
it shows.

The fuses or breakers for this outlet should somehow be ganged
together. If cartridge fuses are used, typically the fuseholder
has two fuses. Pull it out and check the fuses with an ohmmeter.
Often, dryers are protected with two plug fuses in a separate
enclosure with a big on-off lever on the outside.

I used the term fuse when I should have said breaker - sorry.
Toller said it should be a 30a - don't have one of those, just
20's, 2-20's together (is "ganged" the right word?) and then 50's
and 2-50's.

I appreciate the help. I was looking for something separate in the
garage that might control the dryer circuit, but didn't see
anything.

If all the breakers are on, it sounds like the problem is in your
dryer. Call an appliance repairman.

You can make sure with a voltage tester first.

I have one, just reading the directions on how to use it. :-) Thanks
- bottom line, that's what I was trying to decide - appliance repair
vs. electrician and now I feel confident enough to test the
receptacle to see if it's working or not - and then call the one or
the other depending on how it turns out!

Take your tester and try it on a regular receptacle. Put the tester
on AC Volts using the highest setting you have. You should get 120V.

When you test the dryer outlet it should be 240V. If you have 240V
then you should call a repairman. If you don't have 240V then call an
electrician.

The multimeter went up to 400V, so I did test a regular outlet first to be
sure I was using the multimeter correctly - and I got 119.6 - so I was
confident it was working and accurate. I got nothing at the 240V outlet -
the leads are pretty short though, so I'm not 100% sure I made contact, but
I'm convinced enough to go ahead and call the electrician first.

Thanks to all for the assistance and education!