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Start with the display when you ask why is my lg dryer not heating. Look at the panel before you order a heater. An lg dryer not heating up on a normal cycle, with the drum turning and the air at the door still cool, is the fault this page covers. If the panel shows an airflow warning, believe it and clear the duct. LG publishes model help at lg.com/us/support. Match the model number on the tag so you are not reading a washer code by mistake.
On many LG dryers, Flow Sense reports restricted airflow, and d80, d90, or d95 appear for the same family of restriction. Confirm those codes in the manual for the exact model. They are not a universal list for every LG product in the laundry room. A gas dryer that shows an airflow code still needs a clear duct, and it still stops short of any gas valve.
Flow Sense is a vent message
Clean the lint screen every load. Then start a heated cycle and go outside. The hood flapper should move. If it stays shut, the duct is blocked, crushed, or full of lint, and the dryer is telling the truth. The Consumer Product Safety Commission explains screen and duct care on its clothes-dryer fire page. Clear what you can reach from the screen housing and the outdoor hood. Do not push a long object through a duct you cannot see.
A thermal fuse often opens after a blocked dryer vent. Replacing the fuse without clearing the vent repeats the failure. This page does not show how to reach that fuse. Do not bypass it. After the hood moves freely, an electric LG that still blows cold air has left the home checks. The shared breaker test and the fuse warning are spelled out in the dryer not heating guide. Read that short section rather than treating every brand as the same keypad.
TrueSteam is not the heater
An lg true steam dryer not heating on a steam refresh cycle has not failed the dryer's heat test yet. TrueSteam, or the steam-refresh name printed in that manual, is built to tumble with steam. It is not a substitute for a heated dry cycle. If you expected hot drying air from a steam cycle, switch to a heated cycle the manual names and run it for several minutes with a small damp load.
If that heated cycle warms the air, the heater works and the earlier cycle was the wrong choice. If the heated cycle stays cold, ignore steam and follow the airflow and supply checks. Wiping a moisture sensor, which Samsung describes for its own dryers when clothes stay damp, does not restore a dead LG heater either. Damp clothes with plenty of heat are a different complaint from no heat at all.
Electric supply, kept short
Many U.S. electric dryers use a double-pole 240-volt breaker. If one pole opens, the drum can still turn and the heater stays cold. Reset by moving the breaker fully off, then on. If it trips again, call an electrician. Do this only after you know the tag says electric. A gas LG dryer does not get this test, and you do not adjust its valve or orifice.
Samsung's no-heat path, including tC or tE on many Samsung dryers, is in the Samsung dryer not heating guide. Whirlpool's breaker-first path is in the Whirlpool dryer not heating guide. Those pages are for those badges. An LG panel that never shows Flow Sense still gets the hood test, because a missing icon does not mean the duct is clear.
| What you notice | Likely cause | Safe check |
|---|---|---|
| Flow Sense lit, or d80, d90, or d95 on a model whose manual lists them | Restricted airflow | Clean the lint screen and confirm the outdoor hood opens |
| Steam refresh felt cool | That cycle is not a heated dry | Run a heated cycle named in the manual before you judge the heater |
| Heated cycle, electric tag, drum turns, air cold, hood opens | Open breaker pole or open heat circuit | Reset the double breaker once. If it trips again, call an electrician |
| Hood flapper never moves | Blocked duct | Clear the vent you can reach. Do not bypass a thermal fuse |
| Tag says gas and a heated cycle stays cold | Burner side | Stop. Do not adjust the gas valve. If you smell gas, leave and call the utility |
| Air is hot and the drum does not turn | Belt or motor, and a fire risk | Unplug. Do not keep the heat cycle running |
LG checks that stay outside the cabinet
Match the model on LG's site
Read the tag and open that model at LG support. Confirm whether the manual lists Flow Sense and d80, d90, or d95. If your manual does not list a code you saw on a forum, do not treat the forum as the manual.
Pick a heated cycle on purpose
Leave steam refresh for later. Start the heated cycle the manual names, with a small damp load. Wait several minutes before you decide the air is cold. A few seconds at the door is not a test.
Clean the screen and watch the hood
The screen comes out every load. Outside, the flapper should move while the drum turns. A stuck hood explains an airflow code and also explains a fuse that will open again if you only change the part.
Reset an electric breaker once
If the tag says electric, the hood moves, and the air is still cold, move the double-pole breaker fully off, then on. One reset. A second trip is an electrician's job.
Do not open the cabinet for the fuse
If the vent was restricted and the dryer is still cold, stop. Do not jump the thermal fuse and do not use a diagram drawn for a different LG. A technician tests that circuit with the dryer unplugged.
Stop for gas or for heat without tumbling
Gas models stop before the valve. If the drum is still and the air is hot, unplug the dryer. Heat without tumbling is a fire risk. A broken belt is not a no-heat repair.
After a heated cycle feels hot
Run one full load and check the clothes, not only the door rim. If the air is hot and the clothes stay soggy, go back to the hood and the duct length. If the air never warms on a heated cycle, the screen, hood, and breaker checks are finished. Use LG's model page when you book service so the technician knows it is a dryer, not a washer code from the same brand.
More dryer symptoms are listed under dryers. Screen and duct habits are repeated in maintenance and cleaning. If the drum heats and will not turn, unplug it and read dryer not spinning but heating.
Questions readers ask
What do d80, d90, and d95 mean on an LG dryer?
On many LG dryers, d80, d90, and d95 appear when airflow is restricted, and Flow Sense is LG's way of showing that restriction. Confirm the code list in the manual for your exact model, because a different series can use the display for something else. The household response is the lint screen, the duct, and the outdoor hood, not a new heater. The CPSC dryer-vent page is the reference for keeping that path clear.
I ran TrueSteam and the drum never got hot. Is the heater dead?
Not from that cycle alone. An lg true steam dryer not heating during a steam refresh can be doing what that cycle is built to do. Steam refresh is not a full heated dry. Choose a heated cycle the manual names for that model and feel the air after several minutes. If that heated cycle stays cold while the drum turns, then you have a no-heat fault and the Flow Sense and breaker checks apply.
The LG code list is clear and the air is still cold. What next?
If Flow Sense is not warning you and an electric LG still tumbles with cool air, test the double-pole breaker once: fully off, then on. Many U.S. electric dryers lose heat when one pole opens, while the motor still runs. If the breaker trips again, call an electrician. The longer version of that test, plus the thermal-fuse warning, is in the general dryer guide. Do not bypass a fuse.
How is this different from a Samsung or Whirlpool no-heat code?
Many Samsung dryers show tC or tE when a temperature sensor is involved. Many Whirlpool electric dryers show the half-breaker symptom without those letters. LG's airflow message is Flow Sense and, on many models, d80, d90, or d95. Confirm each code in that brand's manual. Use the Samsung and Whirlpool guides for those machines, and keep this page for the LG display.
Can I replace the LG thermal fuse myself from a diagram online?
This article does not give that procedure. A thermal fuse often opens after a blocked vent, and replacing it without clearing the vent repeats the failure. Do not bypass the fuse and do not follow a wiring diagram from a different model. Clear the duct you can reach, confirm the hood opens, and if the electric dryer is still cold, hire a qualified technician who uses that model's service manual with the dryer unplugged.