Chosen Solution
Three times in the past 2 years I have had to replace the heating element in my dryer because it melted and broke somewhere in the middle. However, the thermal fuse and limit switch are both still fine and showing continuity. Shouldn’t the fuse be blowing before the heating element gets hot enough to actually melt? EDIT: The dryer is a Kitchenaid KEYS750LQ. I can’t get original parts for this model anymore but it appears to be just a rebranded Whirlpool? So I used Whirlpool replacement parts. The first time the heating element broke I replaced the element itself, the thermal fuse, and the high-limit thermostat, but AFAICT the originals are still in working order. The subsequent times I just replaced the heating element. I did these repairs myself, so its likely I did something to it; the original element lasted ~15 years, the subsequent 2 lasted about a year each.
@kutulumike not sure about the fuse but your hi-limit thermostat should definitely cut the power before that. Let us know what make and model your dryer is so that we can at least try to see if there is a wiring schematic etc. out for it. Make sure that nobody applied jumpers instead of a proper fuse or thermostat. Update (02/16/2020) @kutulumike I would definitely suggest that you check the continuity of the cycling thermostat and the high-limit thermostat. Either one of those could fail and thus not turn off your heating element as they should. Sometimes tech sheet provide the data for checking those components but I can’t speak for yours for sure since I do not have your tech sheet etc.
