Altimo tumble dryer not heating: causes & fix

What is actually happening

On a conventional dryer this is usually a failed element or a tripped thermal cut-out, and the cut-out normally trips because airflow was restricted — so replacing the part without clearing the fluff simply repeats the fault. On a heat pump dryer there is no element at all, and a dryer that runs a full cycle without heat and reports nothing is a different diagnosis entirely.

The Altimo fault codes that point at this

A Altimo tumble dryer will usually tell you what it thinks is wrong before anyone opens it up. These are the codes we hold for this make that relate to not heating:

E01 — The machine cannot confirm the door is shut and locked, so it refuses to run — or it lost the locked signal partway through a cycle and stopped.
E07 — The control board has lost or is disagreeing with the settings that tell it which machine it is fitted to, so it won't run the cycle.
E08 — The control board's motor switching circuit has failed, so the machine can't drive the drum motor properly and shuts the cycle down.
E09 — The dryer has decided the electricity reaching it is outside the range it will run on, so it has stopped and flagged a voltage fault.
E11 — The main control board has lost contact with the separate board that runs the drying side of the machine.
E15 — The machine has detected that the drying air has got too hot, so it has shut the drying cycle down to protect itself and your laundry.
E16 — The machine has measured a temperature higher than it should ever reach during drying, so it has cut the cycle short to protect itself.
E17 — The temperature sensor that watches the air on the drying side has stopped giving the control board a sensible reading, so the machine won't run a drying cycle.

If yours is showing one of those, that is a much shorter conversation than a general fault — tell us the code when you book and the engineer can often carry the part.

The usual causes on a Altimo tumble dryer

A failed heating element
A tripped thermal cut-out, usually caused by blocked airflow
A blocked lint filter, condenser or vent hose restricting air
On heat pump models, a refrigerant or compressor fault rather than an element
A failed thermostat or sensor

What you can safely check yourself

Clean the lint filter, and on a condenser model pull out and rinse the condenser block
Check the vent hose is not crushed, kinked or full of fluff
Note whether it is a heat pump model — the diagnosis and the cost are quite different

Still not heating?

Most of these need an engineer once the checks above are done. £66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.

Our engineers work on Altimo machines week in, week out, so they arrive knowing the machine rather than reading the back of it. Local engineers across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

Call 0115 648 0929 Book online — postcode and number is all we need

Common questions

Why is my Altimo tumble dryer not heating?

The drum turns and the cycle runs, but the clothes come out cold and damp. On a conventional dryer this is usually a failed element or a tripped thermal cut-out, and the cut-out normally trips because airflow was restricted — so replacing the part without clearing the fluff simply repeats the fault. On a heat pump dryer there is no element at all, and a dryer that runs a full cycle without heat and reports nothing is a different diagnosis entirely.

Can I fix a Altimo tumble dryer not heating myself?

Clean the lint filter, and on a condenser model pull out and rinse the condenser block. Check the vent hose is not crushed, kinked or full of fluff. Note whether it is a heat pump model — the diagnosis and the cost are quite different. Beyond those checks this one normally needs an engineer.

What Altimo error codes mean not heating?

Altimo tumble dryers report this through their own fault codes. The ones that point at not heating are E01, E07, E08, E09, E11, E15. If your machine is showing one of those, that narrows it down considerably — each has its own guide on this site.

How much does a Altimo tumble dryer repair cost?

£66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.

Other Altimo tumble dryer faults

Repairs we cover near you

Written by the engineers at ASAP Repairs from our own repair notes. See also our general guide to tumble dryers not heating and our Altimo repairs page.

Altimo tumble dryer not heating