"Below freezilng" outside should have nothing to do with your dryer failure unless something on the vent outlet itself froze and obstructed it -- which may be a possibility. Is there a flap on the external outlet that may have frozen and failed to open?

Assuming vent is clear, something's gone wrong with the machine. Most common is the element itself, but could be sensors also.

Make sure the vent isnt frozen shut like asolo said and check your circuit breakers to see if it tripped one causing the heater not to work.

Then set your machine for a load of drying and start the cycle. Then push the help and back buttons SIMULTANEOUSLY AND HOLD for 3 seconds. When you hear the beep after 3 seconds release the buttons and you will be in service mode. Push the system check selection and you will have a display of all the output and input status of the control board. You will be able to tell if the machine is commanding the heat to come on and what temperatures are being detected for ambient temp and drum temp. You will have varying degrees of information depending on how old your machines firmware is. They updated the machine control board in these several times.

Thank you asolo and fordtech.

I got all excited. DH and I opened the window and he stuck his hand down the vent and extracted a golf ball size lint ball. Wasn't magic. There is plently of (cold) air going through the vent when the dryer is on.

Then we tried fordtech's plan. Alas, there is no option "system check". There is a choice: "Before you call for help". I already did that today and the choices for an electric dryer are to check the circuits (I did) and check the vent (see above).

Any other hints from anyone are welcome.

Via internet sign-up, Sears can come for 65.00 in another 12 days. A city-wide outfit I clicked on-line can come tomorrow (if I can have them) for 89.00. Money isn't the issue for that difference but I am wondering about the skill level of all these people. Everyone seems to service everything so how deep could their knowledge be.

(On the other hand Time-Warner fixed the Turner Movie Channel today that has been broken ever since I can remember, even pre-renovation. Turns out a little tiny part of the wire in the splitter had not been stripped. Doesn't sound right to me since pre-and post-renovation would have had to be the same problem. But channel works now so I can't complain.)

Thanks.

You simply didnt get it into service mode. I tried it on my 7500s and both go into service mode in the described manner.

You probably need a service tech anyway since there is likely a bad heater coil but that test would at least give you some hints.

If you manage to get it into service mode check the codes set... here are a couple that may be present..

1 Dryer Thermistor
Short Sensed
The
thermistor
resistance is
very low,
with a
temperature
> 175
degrees.
Check for:
- Clogged lint
screen.
- Restricted
vent system.
Failed thermistor.
2 Thermistor Open
Sensed
The
thermistor
resistance is
very high
Check for:
- Low ambient
temperature in
room (Below
50oF/10oC).
- Outside vent
damper is stuck
open in
wintertime.
Loose or open wire
terminals

Thank you Fordtech -- that list is helpful. THe ambient temperature in the room WAS under 50. But room got taped up shortly before the dryer died. Today the room is warmer and I just tested dryer. No heat. Dryer repair man off internet is due in 20 minutes. Their system of scheduling worked like a dream.

Actually this is the cheapest housecall I've had recently -- the going rate is 140 -- which I had to pay 18 months ago when the GC forgot to turn the water on in the washer. (And even with the GC on the phone this 140 per house call guy wouldn't touch the water controls. GC had to come himself which he did an hour later.) You helped me through that one and because of you I didn't let that repair guy put a new motherboard in--which was his first knee jerk solution.

I'll post when the dryer works again. Thanks.

Done. Dryer is working. It was: The Plug!!!!! Probably the guy who installed the Maytag Dryer 5 years ago didn't change the "additional" old plug for the 220 line and one line of it was burned out. So no problem with the Maytag. Cost me but I am relieved that it isn't the machine itself. (Oddly enough the dryer went off at the very minute the vacuum cleaner was returned with a new plug because the old one broke off in the wall. Karma.

Glad it was an easy inexpensive fix.