Dryer *repaired* but now overheats

[bob drent]

Model Number: feq1442ces1
Brand: Frigidaire
Age: 1-5 years

Hello all,

I recently (last weekend) repaired my dryer, or at least I thought I did.
Original problem: The dryer had stopped heating even when set to high. I could see from the tiny holes in the back of the dryer drum that the heater coil was broken.
Solution: Replace heater coil (which I did)

However, now the dryer overheats when turned on. The back of the top panel (just above the heater coil) becomes too hot to touch just after 1 or 2 minutes of letting the dryer run (low/medium/high setting - obviously when set to "no heat" the top panel does not overheat). I haven't let the dryer run its full cycle for fear it may catch fire.
What can cause this behavior?
Error codes that the machine spits out in diagnostic mode: E9E (not listed in service manual, but according to web: low voltage/intermittent voltage alert) and E5B (heater fault, no heating according to service manual <-- ????).

Even more odd is the fact that on its initial run (after the heater coil replacement) all seemed well for quite some time (~5-10 minutes, I had left the room after 5min of observing the dryer operating well). The problem appeared gradually (5min at least), not right away.

What I may have done "wrong" while repairing the heater coil that may provide some insight:
- I replaced the drum ball bearing grease with bicycle grease (which is not high temp like lithium grease, but it was the only grease I had available). i do not think this can cause the overheating issue.

What I done so far to debug:
- Verified that the vent is lint free (vacuumed)
- Verified that the steam pushed through the vent make its ways to the outside of the building. I live in a condo and was afraid a flap may have gotten stuck in the closed position which would explain the original problem.
- Connecting and disconnecting the dryer to the vent. It seems that when connected to vent, it overheats faster.

Please advise
-Bob Drent

[Doc Ryan]

Bob,

Usually with these dryers when the top gets hot above the heating element it is caused by lack of airflow (lint build up in the dryer, clogged venting, ect). Doing what you already tried by running the dryer with the vent temporarily disconnected is an easy way to confirm this. If you have a long dryer vent, you may need to have it professionally cleaned out. Other things that can cause the dryer to overheat would be a bad main control board, bad thermistor, or a short in the element or wiring. If the dryer has an air dry (no heat) cycle, try running it on that to see if the dryer still heats on that cycle.