Samsung Dryer - Shrill noise after replacing the Heating Element

[JumpinJackFlash]

Hello,

The Heating Element went out on my ~ 7 year old Samsung Dryer - sorry, I don't have access to the Model #, but I think this is more of a generic question.

Ever since installing the new heater assembly, the dryer makes a shrill, almost vibration type of noise.....think "heat-bug" in the middle of summer.   It's not super loud, but it's not 'right' and it didn't make the noise prior to the repair.

I assume the noise is actually coming from the heater element itself.    Is this somewhat common and what typically causes this.....and can it be corrected?   
The location of the dryer makes it a challenge to access and I have to pull the matching front-load washer in order to gain access to the dryer.    For that reason, I wanted to get some insight before I attempt any repair.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Pete

[schleven]

Did you replace just the element, or the entire heater housing assembly?
Did you use a Samsung part?
I have seen many cheap aftermarket ones bought off amazon and eBay that are not samsung parts.

[JumpinJackFlash]

Thanks,
It is the heater Element Assembly : Samsung Heating Element Dc47-00019A - the coiled element attached to the sheet metal frame.
I'm almost positive it was an actual Samsung part and it was labeled as such, not an after market unit.
It works fine - the clothes get dry, but the noise is annoying if you're in the same room and unfortunately, the washer and dryer are in the kitchen.

I'm surprised others haven't run into this and know exactly what it is / what causes it.

I'm assuming the coils are somehow vibrating against the sheet metal, but if they are, I'm not sure if they can be successfully moved or bent so that they don't touch.   But I'm just guessing that's the issue.

[schleven]

If you paid $60-70 at a reputable place like repairclinic.com or appliancepartspros.com you probably got a real one. If you paid 20 bucks, you probably got a knockoff.
Regardless, it may be that the screws disinterested get tightened back up.
if the coils were touching the sheet metal, it would create a direct short and not make noise for long...
I would pull it apart. Make sure everything was put in right, and test it again.

[JumpinJackFlash]

Thank you for your suggestions.

I will take another look at it soon and let you know what I find.

[AJ]

What did you find?

[JumpinJackFlash]

Hi AJ - unfortunately I haven't had a chance to look at this yet.   I'm hoping to do so later next month (April) - it's at a location I don't visit very often - but I will share my findings when I do.

[AJ]

Sounds good, thanks!

[JumpinJackFlash]

I know, this is an old topic, ...but I've been just putting up with the noise for the past 2+ years.   I did take another look at this after the last post, but unfortunately, once I pulled the dryer out, it wouldn't make the noise when I had the top and front off, so I was unable to verify the source of the noise.   Once I reinstalled it, the noise returned and I just gave up.   


The noise continued to annoy me every time we used the dryer and I recently decided to try (again) to fix this so I went ahead and ordered a new Heater Assembly to have on hand.   So I decided today was the day and pulled the dryer out.  Popped the top and front covers, and shorted the door switch so I could run it.  Thankfully, the noise was there this time so I knew I would have a better chance of figuring this out.   At first, I thought the noise was coming from the heater assembly, but I when I was poking things with a wooden ruler, I couldn't get the noise to stop or the 'pitch' to change, so I kept looking.  I removed the dryer lint duct to get a better view inside and that's when I spotted the metal Spring for the Idler Pulley.   Sure enough, when I poked the spring with my ruler, the noise changed and I was eventually able to get the noise to stop. 


It seems the noise starting up after the Heater replacement was just a coincidence or possibly a result of the spring moving slightly as I moved the dryer around.  The spring appeared to be resting against the edge of the sheet metal bracket for idler.  Although moving the spring away from the bracket stopped the noise, I didn't want to leave it like that and just hope that it didn't return, so I decided to secure a piece of 'insulating material' between the spring and the bracket with a cable-tie.

So far, so good!   I don't know how (un)common this issue, but I wanted to share what I found just in case anyone else runs into this.....just sorry it took me 2 1/2 years to figure it out!

[Thorning]

I have not had this on a Samsung dryer but did have this type of problem on an older Maytag unit and had to secure the spring  on to the bracket with a Tywrap. Needless to say sometimes it is very difficult to get everything just right to stop a rattle .

[johnstamos]

I know this is likely a dead thread. But you described my exact problem, and I figured it out. The bracket that holds the front end of the element casing was loose on the backside of it, where it "clips" in to the base of the dryer. I thought I had effed up the belt, or ruined something jamming the housing back in there. So before I got carried away dismantling the dryer more, I unscrewed the bracket, restretched it so that it would have a tighter tension in the clippy part, and voila! I thought for sure I'd be fixing tensioners and belts and all that, but my heat bug in summer was dead as soon as I did that. Thing purrs like a kitten. Thought I'd share, since you and I had the exact same thing going on!

[AJ]

Hi,

Hard to believe this topic is 5 years in the making haha. Glad you got it figured out. Thanks for posting an update!