Why does my tumble dryer keep stopping mid-cycle?

There is a useful distinction inside this fault. A dryer that stops and can be restarted immediately is usually reporting a condition — a full tank, a door that has not latched, a programme that has finished earlier than expected. A dryer that stops and refuses to restart until it has cooled for half an hour is a different thing entirely: it has overheated, and something is restricting its air.

Safety

What you'll need

• Vacuum with a crevice tool
• A bowl, for the condenser unit (optional)
• A torch (optional)
• The model number from the rating plate (optional)

Step by step

1. Check the water container.On condenser and heat pump machines a full tank stops the cycle, usually with a light or a symbol. It is by far the commonest cause and it is easy to miss because the load is simply found damp.
2. Check the door is latching properly.A worn catch, a slightly dropped door or a corner of fabric caught in the seal lets the door drift open enough to stop the drum. Press it firmly closed and listen for the click; look round the whole seal with a torch.
3. Note whether it restarts immediately or only after cooling.This is the key distinction. Immediate restart means a condition. Restart only after twenty or thirty minutes means a thermal cut-out has tripped on overheat, and that changes the whole diagnosis.
4. If it is overheating, go straight to airflow.Wash the lint filter in soapy water to strip the conditioner film, unplug and vacuum the housing beneath it, rinse the condenser unit or clean the heat pump's secondary filter and evaporator, and check the vent hose and outside flap end to end.
5. Check the machine is not shut into a hot space.Air intakes and outlets clear, a gap around the machine, and a room that can supply cool air. A dryer in a closed cupboard recirculates its own heat and trips out.
6. Reduce the load size and retest.An overfilled drum restricts airflow through the load itself, not just through the filters, and it is a common cause of overheating on an otherwise clean machine.
7. Check the electrical supply if it stops dead with no lights.A dryer that goes completely dark is more likely a plug fuse, a socket or a tripping circuit than an internal fault. Check whether anything else on the circuit went off at the same time.
8. Consider a sensor programme finishing early.If the machine stops with the load still damp but reports the cycle as complete, that is not stopping mid-cycle — it is a moisture sensor reading the load as dry. Wipe the sensor bars with a cloth and a little white vinegar.
9. Note any error code and the model number.From the rating plate, usually in the door aperture or behind the plinth. With the code, an engineer can arrive with the right part.
10. Stop at the casing.Thermostats, thermal cut-outs, heating elements, door switches and the heat pump's sealed circuit are all engineer work. In particular, a cut-out that keeps tripping is doing its job and must never be bypassed.

Tips

• If the machine stops at roughly the same point in every cycle, time it. A consistent point points at heat build-up; a random point points at a door catch or a tank.
• Many condenser and heat pump machines can be plumbed directly to a waste with a drain kit, which removes the full-tank stoppage permanently.
• A machine that has just been moved or pushed back into place may have a crushed vent hose or a blocked intake behind it. Check before assuming a fault.

Common mistakes

• Restarting repeatedly after a thermal cut-out — The cut-out is preventing an overheat. Each restart runs the machine hot again against the same restriction, and the restriction is usually flammable lint.
• Assuming a damp load at the end means the machine stopped — It may have completed a sensor programme early because the sensor bars are coated. Check whether the cycle reported completion before diagnosing a stoppage.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask