Does your appliance have a high/low temperature switch on the front panel? If so then there is a high probability that it is faulty and the timer device is ok and that is why 240 volts is not being supplied to your element. To check, you need to disconnect the wires on the back of the high/low temperature switch. (Ensure the appliance is unplugged from the Mains outlet). You will probably need to remove the top cover of the appliance to get to the back of this switch. Do not pull directly on the wires - grab them on the neck of the connecting lugs and pull. If the lugs are very tight, use a pliers to grip and pull them off. Bridge the two wires that you have disconnected together by inserting a small piece of metal like a modified lug into the ends of each disconnected wire. There must be good contact on the bridge. Make sure that the bridged contacts do not touch the appliance. Insulate them with tape if necessary. Plug the appliance into the mains and run the machine for about 2 minutes. Hopefully the air that is being blown will start to feel warm and you may even see the red glow of the element heating up. If so you know that the high/low temperature switch is faulty. The thermostat should kick in after a couple of minutes and the machine will blow cold air for a while and then heat up again and cool down again etc. Remove the old switch from the appliance and take it as a sample to an appliance spares or repair shop. This switch is not expensive to buy. If you cannot get an original new switch for your brand of machine, then get a similar type high/low temperature switch from another brand. You can always modify the recess for the switch on the front panel of the appliance to accommodate a different shape of switch.
jozi, February 2015
