Chosen Solution
About a year ago my dryer breaker started to catch fire. We caught it before any damage was done. At that time we replaced the dryer and the breaker. Since that time I have gone through 2 dryers. Each will only work intermittently. There is power to the machine but when the start button is pressed it will not always run. My current machine is 1 week old. We have replaced all wires between the breaker and the dryer and have 120/240 volts with a voltmeter. I am at a loss for what to do next.
Power to the dryer is drawing a minimal load on the 120V connection. Dryer running is drawing a max load on the 240V connection. It is possible. 1 - both 240V leads are wired to the same phase so it isn’t getting 1240V 2- there is a high resistance connection which is very fire prone. Measure the 240V line to verify you have 240V at the plug. Measure line to neutral to verify you have 120V. Measure the 240V line under load - you will have to get to the connections on the back of the unit for that. If the 240 drops at the back of the unit when you turn it on, you have a bad connection to the panel If it drops at the panel yo have a problem that may require calling the power company. Trace it back as far as you can.
