South Korean dryer brand LG has become a global market leader as well as in North America. If you have an LG dryer in your house that won’t start, then you’ve come to the right place.
An LG dryer will not start if it has a drum belt problem. The belt might have slipped off, or either the belt or idler pulley could have broken. A blown thermal fuse in the blower housing, broken door switch, or failed control board could also cause the same outcome. However, if there is no power to the dryer, check that the breaker hasn’t tripped.
This article will explore the possible reasons why your LG dryer won’t start and what you can do to fix the issue.
Drum Belt Is Broken
The drum belt (or ‘drive belt’) connects the dryer motor and its drum. When the dryer motor turns, it will transfer its energy to the drum through the belt. As a result, the clothes inside the dryer can tumble freely during the drying cycle.
The drum belt is made of rubber and wraps around a part of the motor and the drum. Along the way, the belt also wraps around a tensioner and one or more pulleys. These parts keep the belt under tension at all times so that it can turn the drum effectively.
How it fails:
Over time, the drum belt’s materials will slowly deteriorate and wear out. Not only is that because of the friction from turning the drum but also because it’s continually under a lot of tension.
Related: Dryer Is Making A Squeaking Noise? – How To Fix It?
If the belt isn’t changed in time, it will eventually break off entirely. When that happens, there will be nothing connecting the motor to the drum. So even though the motor and the rest of the dryer work fine, the dryer won’t start because the drum will not turn.
How to fix:
To fix this problem, you’ll need to put in a new drum belt.
Caution!
Before performing any repairs on your dryer, disconnect it from its power source. That will eliminate any risk of electrocution and also help to prevent injuries.
- Firstly, remove the dryer’s front panel and front bulkhead to gain access to the drum. This may involve unthreading any screws or bolts holding these parts in place.
- Then, carefully remove the broken belt and any of its parts from under the drum.
- To install the new belt, slide it over the drum while keeping the ribbed side facing down.
- Then, in a zig-zag pattern, loop the belt around the idler pulley and motor pulley.
- The belt needs to be correctly aligned, which you can do by rotating the drum manually.
- Turning the drum will also be helpful to align the front of the drum on its rollers.
- When that’s done, you can work backwards by replacing the front bulkhead and front panel that you removed earlier.
Idler Pulley Broke Or Drum Belt Slipped Off
As mentioned above, the drive belt is designed to turn the drum and tumble the clothes inside. Besides wrapping around the drum, the belt also goes through a series of pulleys that keep it aligned and under tension.
How it fails:
Another belt-related reason your LG dryer won’t start is that the drive belt has slipped off the drum . That could happen if the belt is not kept under tension or if it becomes misaligned while the dryer is in use.
A drum belt that slips off is a symptom and not the root cause. For example, the failure could be with a broken idler pulley that fails to keep the belt aligned and under tension.
Related: Dryer Makes Noise When Tumbling – Troubleshooting Guide
How to fix:
If the belt has slipped off, it simply needs to be wrapped around the drum correctly. However, if the root cause is a broken idler pulley, that part needs to be replaced.
- Start by removing the front and top panels of the dryer.
- Next, you’ll need to remove the drum out of the machine to gain easy access to where the pulleys are located.
- With pliers, you can remove the Tri Ring that keeps the idler pulley in place.
- Then, you’ll be able to slide off the broken idler pulley with ease and replace it with a new one.
- Once the new pulley is in place, you can replace the drum and wrap the belt around it.
- Again, remember to keep the ribbed side of the belt facing down and to wrap the belt in a zig-zag pattern around the pulleys.
- Lastly, replace and secure the panels that you removed in the beginning.
Thermal Fuse On The Blower Assembly Blown
LG dryers rely on one or more thermal fuses located in parts like the blower assembly or nearby heat sources.
Like regular fuses, thermal fuses are known as ‘sacrificial devices’. This type of fuse will blow if the dryer temperature gets too high. In doing so, it cuts off power to the dryer and prevents it from damaging itself further, or even worse, catching fire.
How it fails:
If your LG dryer won’t start because of a blown thermal fuse, that means something is causing the dryer to overheat. To get your dryer working again, you’ll need to replace the thermal fuse first.
Then, the next step would be to troubleshoot the dryer and find the root cause for why it’s overheating in the first place.
How to fix:
Since the affected thermal fuse is located in the blower assembly, you’ll be able to access it through the dryer’s back panel.
- Remove the back panel and look for the blower wheel. You’ll see the thermal fuse mounted with electrical connectors attached to it in that section of the dryer.
- Unthread the screws or bolts holding the thermal fuse in place and disconnect its electrical connector.
- Then, replace it with the new fuse and secure it in place.
Door Switch Failed Or Door Not Closed Properly
Your LG dryer will only start once the door is closed correctly. The dryer senses whether or not the door is closed fully with a door switch. So as long as the door is closed correctly, the switch will allow the dryer to begin the drying cycle you’ve selected.
How it fails:
Over time, you would have opened and closed your dryer door dozens if not hundreds of times. That can cause a lot of wear on the door switch, causing it to fail. When that happens, the switch will mistakenly sense that the dryer door is still open and prevent the machine from starting.
Related: Dryer Won’t Turn OFF Unless Door Is Open. What Cause This Issue?
How to fix:
To fix this, you’ll need to replace the dryer door switch. As the name suggests, the switch is located right around the door, making it very straightforward to access and replace.
- Open the dryer door and look around it for the door switch.
- Once you’ve located it, you can remove the screws that hold it in place and pull it out from behind the front panel.
- Disconnect it from its electrical connector, then replace it with a new door switch.
Dryer Breaker Is Tripped
In some households, dryers are hard-wired to the electrical system instead of being plugged into a wall socket. That means the dryer is wired directly to a dedicated circuit breaker somewhere in the house.
How it fails:
If the dryer doesn’t start because it’s not receiving any power, then the dryer breaker might have tripped. A breaker might trip for many reasons, such as a sudden surge in your household power supply or if there’s an electrical fault with your dryer.
How to fix:
To fix this, you’ll simply need to identify the dedicated dryer breaker and flip the switch back on. If the breaker stays on without any problems, then it may have tripped because of external factors like a power surge during a thunderstorm.
However, if the breaker continues to trip, then you must troubleshoot the dryer further as it likely has an electrical fault . If you do not know how to do that safely, then it’s best to call a qualified technician.
Control Board Failed
The control board is the brain of your LG dryer. It has plenty of electrical and electronic components that coordinate every part of your dryer to run a successful drying cycle.
How it fails:
Some components on the control board might fail. So, even though the dryer is receiving power and can turn on, it might not be able to start the drying cycle.
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Upon closer inspection, you might find burn marks or smells coming from the dryer’s control board. These are clear signs that the board has been damaged, perhaps by an electrical surge or prolonged wear and tear.
How to fix:
The most straightforward solution to this problem would be to replace the control board entirely. Refer to your LG dryer user manual or technical sheet to locate and identify the control board. You’ll need to remove specific panels to access the board.
Once there, take a picture of the board to use as a reference later. That will come in handy when you mount the new control board and replace all electrical connectors the same way as before.
