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.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp (?)
fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me it
could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!

TIA - Laurie

"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.

Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.

It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of 120vs.

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp (?)
fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me it
could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!

First thing to do is to label the circuit box. If you don't find the
breaker you will have to pay an electrician to do it.
Then you find out where the power ends; is the breaker bad, the cable, or
the outlet.

When all is done, make sure that 50a (assuming it is the dryer) is safe and
proper.

Toller wrote:
"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.

Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?

Just breakers.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.

It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of
120vs.

OK - that's good. I think I'd rather have a bad breaker than a bad dryer!

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.

I just bought the house not too long ago - I had a list going of which
breakers went where, but I didn't have the dryer id'd - at least I can
eliminate some of them.

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!

First thing to do is to label the circuit box. If you don't find the
breaker you will have to pay an electrician to do it.
Then you find out where the power ends; is the breaker bad, the
cable, or the outlet.

When all is done, make sure that 50a (assuming it is the dryer) is
safe and proper.

Yep - guess I will call an electrician. LOL - Meat Plow's advice, albeit a
bit terse, is probably right. :-) I JUST broke down and called an
electrician to hang a couple ceiling fans here last week after being totally
stymied by the wall wiring (turns out it was miswired in the first place
which was probably why the one fan burned out in the first place) and had
hoped to avoid spending the $$ on another call on its heels. Thanks for the
information and explanations!

Meat Plow wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:50:35 -0700, 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.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!


Call an electrician before you kill yourself.

Have a problem with women do we? I'm not an idiot, but thanks for your
profound advice.

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:27:28 GMT, "Laurie"
wrote:

Toller wrote:
"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.

Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?

Just breakers.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.

It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of
120vs.

OK - that's good. I think I'd rather have a bad breaker than a bad dryer!

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.

I just bought the house not too long ago - I had a list going of which
breakers went where, but I didn't have the dryer id'd - at least I can
eliminate some of them.


Then try the others. A 240V appliance is usually on a dedicated
circuit, so you should now have a breaker that doesn't control
anything.

It's a good idea to get all the breakers labeled when you can. It can
save a lot of work later.

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!

First thing to do is to label the circuit box. If you don't find the
breaker you will have to pay an electrician to do it.
Then you find out where the power ends; is the breaker bad, the
cable, or the outlet.

When all is done, make sure that 50a (assuming it is the dryer) is
safe and proper.

Yep - guess I will call an electrician. LOL - Meat Plow's advice, albeit a
bit terse, is probably right. :-) I JUST broke down and called an
electrician to hang a couple ceiling fans here last week after being totally
stymied by the wall wiring (turns out it was miswired in the first place
which was probably why the one fan burned out in the first place) and had
hoped to avoid spending the $$ on another call on its heels. Thanks for the
information and explanations!

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Never underestimate the power of stupid
people in large groups"

Meat Plow wrote:
On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:30:07 +0000, Laurie wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:50:35 -0700, 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.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords,
e.g. the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V
cord, but don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it
does, there is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it
should be either the receptacle or the fuse.

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!


Call an electrician before you kill yourself.

Have a problem with women do we? I'm not an idiot, but thanks for
your profound advice.

I have no problem with women but thanks for that asinine comment and
introducing the gender card in this. I would tell anyone that knows as
little as you do the same thing about lethal voltages.

I had no intention of playing with the voltage, all I'm trying to do is
decide between an electrician and a dryer repair person, and advice rather
than your useless comment might have facilitated my ability to deduce the
source of the problem. Fortunately others on this board have been a bit more
helpful and actually increased my knowledge by sharing theirs.

Laurie wrote:

Toller wrote:

"Laurie" wrote in message
groups.com...

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.


Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?


Just breakers.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords, e.g.
the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V cord, but
don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it does, there
is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it should be either
the receptacle or the fuse.


It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of
120vs.


OK - that's good. I think I'd rather have a bad breaker than a bad dryer!


Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?


First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.


I just bought the house not too long ago - I had a list going of which
breakers went where, but I didn't have the dryer id'd - at least I can
eliminate some of them.


I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!


First thing to do is to label the circuit box. If you don't find the
breaker you will have to pay an electrician to do it.
Then you find out where the power ends; is the breaker bad, the
cable, or the outlet.

When all is done, make sure that 50a (assuming it is the dryer) is
safe and proper.


Yep - guess I will call an electrician. LOL - Meat Plow's advice, albeit a
bit terse, is probably right. :-) I JUST broke down and called an
electrician to hang a couple ceiling fans here last week after being totally
stymied by the wall wiring (turns out it was miswired in the first place
which was probably why the one fan burned out in the first place) and had
hoped to avoid spending the $$ on another call on its heels. Thanks for the
information and explanations!



My curious mind would like to hear what the electrician finds and/or
corrects if you do call him/her in.

The fact that in your OP you said you heard that "pop" noise while you
were turning the dryer dial makes me lean in the direction of thinking
something went west inside the dryer.

On the off chance that you didn't get a voltmeter measurement because
both of your voltmeter probes didn't touch the female contacts when you
tested for voltage at the socket (because perhaps they were too short)
you might try this:

Pluc the dryer cord into the socket but leave it about 1/8 inch shy of
fully in and then see if you can SAFELY touch the two unbent male plug
blades with the voltmeter probes. If you can, and your meter still
doesn''t indicate that there's approximately 220 volts then call the
electrician. If you do measure 220 volts call an appliance repairman or
consider checking the price of a new dryer if yours is more than a few
years old.

And fer gosh sakes, please don't get set off by my using the industry
standard gender specific terms for plug and socket contacts. G

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Jeff Wisnia wrote:
Laurie wrote:

Toller wrote:

"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...

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.

Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?


Just breakers.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords,
e.g. the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V
cord, but don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it
does, there is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it
should be either the receptacle or the fuse.


It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of
120vs.


OK - that's good. I think I'd rather have a bad breaker than a bad
dryer!
Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?


First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.


I just bought the house not too long ago - I had a list going of
which breakers went where, but I didn't have the dryer id'd - at
least I can eliminate some of them.


I hate to call an electrician for a simple problem, but 220V scares
the crap out of me - I'm barely conversant in 110V!


First thing to do is to label the circuit box. If you don't find
the breaker you will have to pay an electrician to do it.
Then you find out where the power ends; is the breaker bad, the
cable, or the outlet.

When all is done, make sure that 50a (assuming it is the dryer) is
safe and proper.


Yep - guess I will call an electrician. LOL - Meat Plow's advice,
albeit a bit terse, is probably right. :-) I JUST broke down and
called an electrician to hang a couple ceiling fans here last week
after being totally stymied by the wall wiring (turns out it was
miswired in the first place which was probably why the one fan
burned out in the first place) and had hoped to avoid spending the
$$ on another call on its heels. Thanks for the information and
explanations!

My curious mind would like to hear what the electrician finds and/or
corrects if you do call him/her in.

He's coming in tomorrow afternoon, and I'm really interested as well!

The fact that in your OP you said you heard that "pop" noise while you
were turning the dryer dial makes me lean in the direction of thinking
something went west inside the dryer.

I would think so too, but it just seems weird that nothing would work (i.e.
the light in the dryer) - but a friend at the office suggested I change out
the bulb just to make sure I didn't fry the light bulb. Duh - that is kind
of a basic thing I should've thought of!! I wish I knew where the pop sound
really came from - it all happened a little quickly and I just *knew* it was
a Bad Thing.

On the off chance that you didn't get a voltmeter measurement because
both of your voltmeter probes didn't touch the female contacts when
you tested for voltage at the socket (because perhaps they were too
short) you might try this:

Pluc the dryer cord into the socket but leave it about 1/8 inch shy of
fully in and then see if you can SAFELY touch the two unbent male plug
blades with the voltmeter probes. If you can, and your meter still
doesn''t indicate that there's approximately 220 volts then call the
electrician. If you do measure 220 volts call an appliance repairman
or consider checking the price of a new dryer if yours is more than a
few years old.

Great idea! I was able to do that, and there was still no reading
whatsoever, so it looks again like the electrician is the right call! Yeah!

And fer gosh sakes, please don't get set off by my using the industry
standard gender specific terms for plug and socket contacts. G

ROFL - I spent 25+ years in the computer tech industry and still remember
blushing furiously and the raucous laughter that followed the explanation to
my oh-so-innocent question as to how you could tell the male end of the
cable from the female end...

Hehehe - it was only a few years later I was teaching tech classes and
giving definitions of Reliability, Availability and Serviceability in a way
that STILL make me blush!

ANYway - I'll let you know what the electrician says tomorrow.

Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:27:28 GMT, "Laurie"
wrote:

Toller wrote:
"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.

Do you have fuses or breakers, or both?

Just breakers.

I have a volage sensor that detects voltage in 110V power cords,
e.g. the washer cord - I presume it ought to sense it in a 220V
cord, but don't really know if it works the same way on 220. If it
does, there is no current in the dryer cord - which tells me it
should be either the receptacle or the fuse.

It will pick up 240v just as well as 120v; 240v is just a pair of
120vs.

OK - that's good. I think I'd rather have a bad breaker than a bad
dryer!

Problem is, the fuse box isn't labeled, and I don't know which fuse
goes to the dryer. There are 20, 40 (2-20's) and 100 (2-50's) amp
(?) fuses in there - is there a standard which would indicate to me
it could be attached to the dryer receptacle?

First of all, label your box to avoid problems like this.
It is much easier to do when things are working.
A dryer is usually 30a.
The 20 sounds too small, and the 50 is too big.

I just bought the house not too long ago - I had a list going of
which breakers went where, but I didn't have the dryer id'd - at
least I can eliminate some of them.


Then try the others. A 240V appliance is usually on a dedicated
circuit, so you should now have a breaker that doesn't control
anything.

It's a good idea to get all the breakers labeled when you can. It can
save a lot of work later.

Yikes, don't I know it now! The electrician will have his challenge I think!

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:38:41 GMT, "Laurie"
wrote:


ROFL - I spent 25+ years in the computer tech industry and still remember
blushing furiously and the raucous laughter that followed the explanation to
my oh-so-innocent question as to how you could tell the male end of the
cable from the female end...

When I was in the 8th grade, there was a girl in our Health and Safety
class who just couldn't understand why a boy and a girl couldn't be
identical twins.

I guess if you dress them alike and do their hair the same, they do
look the same.

"Laurie" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.


For some perverse reasons, just about ALL dryers use the neutral to power
the motor that drives and drum and the timer motor. Compared to the two
HOT wires, the neutral carries little current.

If your only tool is a hammer, most problems look like nails. Thus, you
might want to un-plug the dryer and see whether 2 or the 3 slots are "live."

The next test of the outlet is to connect a lamp (so that there is a small
load) between the neutral and one of the "HOTS."

If the outlet has juice, the problem is inside the dryer. If the dryer is
more than 7 years old just get a new one. There is a small chance that the
neutral connection or one of the other small guage wires in the dryer got
loose. It will be quite obvious as the wire will be burned.

If you trust you skills, repair/replace the burned wires, but everything
back together and see if it works.

mm wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:38:41 GMT, "Laurie"
wrote:


ROFL - I spent 25+ years in the computer tech industry and still
remember blushing furiously and the raucous laughter that followed
the explanation to my oh-so-innocent question as to how you could
tell the male end of the cable from the female end...

When I was in the 8th grade, there was a girl in our Health and Safety
class who just couldn't understand why a boy and a girl couldn't be
identical twins.

I guess if you dress them alike and do their hair the same, they do
look the same.

Key Word: dress! ;-)