How to disconnect a thermal fuse?

March 29, 2005 7:58 PM

My dryer is dead, and based on some google searching I suspect it may be my thermal fuse. I want to test it with a multimeter, but I can not figure out how on earth to disconnect the leads. I am guessing there is some trick, but I can't figure it out and I don't want to keep yanking on the wires and have them break on me. Is there a trick to disconnecting the leads, based on the second picture on this page?
posted by AhBook to home & garden (6 comments total)

The leads on the picture you reference appear to be standard spade lugs, and should yield to a bit of side to side wiggling and tugging. They are often difficult to get off with bare fingers, in which case a pair of pliers will give a good enough grip to allow you to work with them. Gentle but firm persuasion is the best way to describe the action needed.
posted by pjern at 8:27 PM on March 29, 2005

It may seem obvious, but I just wanted to bring up the rule of thumb that one should always pull on the plug, not on the wire.
posted by michaelkuznet at 8:43 PM on March 29, 2005

Pliers on the neck of the connector (where the wire meets the connector, that is) and a little bit of twisting and tugging.

That type of connector is most commonly called a faston, I think.
posted by Chuckles at 9:25 PM on March 29, 2005

It may seem obvious, but I want to bring up another rule:

Throw the Breaker.

Seriously, the voltage and amperage used by your dryer is enough to kill you, not merely shock you.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:12 PM on March 29, 2005

You guys are superstars. Thanks a lot. I got it off. Unfortunately the thermal fuse tested fine with my ohm meter so I guess that's not the problem. Back to square one. Thanks though!
posted by AhBook at 8:09 AM on March 30, 2005

not to ignore the obvious, but have you tested the door latch cutoff switch?
posted by daddymax at 6:00 PM on March 30, 2005