Safety Precautions

• Home appliance troubleshooting can be dangerous for the homeowner if the proper safety precautions are not observed. Fortunately, the precautions that keep you safe from harm are so simple that there's absolutely no reason or excuse not to employ them during the appliance troubleshooting and repair process. For residential electric dryers such as the LHE5800N1, simply unplug the appliance from its power source until your repairs are complete.
  
  

Tools Needed

• Some homeowners shy away from performing repairs on their major appliances because they assume that they require special or expensive tools. While this may be true in some instances, locating and replacing the heating element in a residential Whirlpool electric dryer requires a simple tool you probably already have in your house. The only tool you need is standard-size Phillips-head screwdriver. It's helpful to have a small cup or magnet handy to hold any removed screws.
  
  

Dryer Disassembly

• Pull your Whirlpool LHE5800N1 dryer 3 to 5 feet away from the wall so that you can access the rear panel comfortably. You might have to disconnect the vent hose to do this. Unscrew and remove the four screws that hold the rear panel to the back of the dryer cabinet. Place the removed screws in a cup or on the magnet to prevent them from rolling away while you're locating the heating element. Remove the rear dryer panel and lean it against the wall.
  
  

Locate Heating Element

• Once you have removed the rear dryer panel, you can peer into the back of the dryer cabinet. Look for a rectangle metal box; this is the housing for the dryer's heating element. This box is oriented vertically and positioned on the right side of the cabinet. There are three wires connected to the heating element housing; pull gently on the wires to disconnect them. Take out the screws that hold the housing; once you've removed the screws, lift the housing up and pull it toward you. Raise the lid on the housing to reveal the heating element, which looks like a row of metal coils. To replace the heating element, remove the screw that holds it in its housing, insert a new element and reverse the disassembly instructions.