"Smarty" wrote in message
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"John Taylor" wrote in message
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Smarty wrote:
"John Taylor" wrote in message
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I am trying to open the front panel of my Kenmore / Whirlpool 29" dryer
to service the rollers, idler pulley, and drive belt.

I have the top open and am trying to disconnect the door switch before
unscrewing the front panel. The door switch has two wires leading to
it and there is a convenient connector (3 conductor, only 2 are used) a
few inches away from the switch. I've tried pulling at that connector
as hard as I dare to unplug it, but no luck. It looks like there may
be two tiny tabs to press, but I have no way to press tabs that tiny
while pulling and trying to prevent damaging the wires. Does anyone
have any suggestions?

The door switch connector part number is Whirlpool # 3936144.

(Yes, I could remove the entire switch, but was trying to avoid that.)

Thanks for any help!


Can you compress the 2 tiny tabs with a pair of pliers / needle-nose
pliers / vise grip so as to allow you then to gently unplug the plug?

I did try that but no luck. If I had small needle nose pliers that bent
in at the end like tongs that might work, but I don't have such a tool,
if one exists. Curse the clowns that designed this connector!


Radio Shack, among other places, sells hemostats which are tong-style
needle nosed pliers which I have used to compress tabs on small and
delicate connectors. You may want to get a pair and try them. Yanking on a
connector which is still mated can easily lead to broken connector or wire
problems.


Could not find the Radio Shack item on their website but here is a cheap
Harbor Freight alternative.....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38034