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Writer's pictureJames Berg

7 reasons your oven or range isn't working

Ovens and ranges are some of the more complex appliances you can have in your home and usually require some professional attention. In this article we are going to be looking at some of the easier repairs like replacing a light bulb vs some of the more complicated repairs that may require you to call out an appliance repairman.



The Gas Stove Won't Light


If you have a gas stove and the electric ignition isn't working, you can always light your burners with a match most of the time. If the burners still won't light, then it's not the electric ignition that is the issue.


Troubleshooting:

  • Lift off the burner grate, cap and base

  • Clean any debris or food out of the burner with a toothpick

  • Clean the burner grate, cap and base

  • Check the wires connecting the ignitor to the control module and make sure there is a good connection.

If this doesn't solve your issue, then you are either looking at replacing the oven igniter or a kink in the gas line. Any time you are dealing with a potential problem that has to do with gas lines, it's probably a good idea to reach out to one of our appliance repairmen.


Range Burners Won't Heat Up


With an electric stove, the most important thing is electricity. I know it seems pretty obvious but the first thing on the checklist should always be making sure that your range is getting power. If you range is getting power, we start to investigate the burners. Some questions you can ask yourself, are all the burners not working or is it just one of the burners that won't heat up? If it's just one burner then follow these steps:

  1. Switch out the faulty burner with one that you know works. Unplug the old burner and plug in the new.

  2. If the burner heats up, then you know it's just that one burner that is the issue.

  3. If the working burner doesn't heat up then you may have an issue with the socket. Does the socket look burned or corroded? It may need replacing.

  4. Test the burner again. If the burner doesn't work with the new socket, your issue is probably the infinite switch. Replace it if needed.

If all your burners aren't working, you have an electric problem and should reach out to an appliance repair technician to investigate further.


The Oven Door Doesn't Shut


There is a couple things you can do when your oven door isn't shutting in order to troubleshoot the issue. First, let's point out the main problems we could be dealing with:

  1. Check the oven lock - if engaged, it could be preventing the oven door from closing.

  2. Push back the oven racks - sometimes when you pull pans out of the oven, the oven racks will get pulled out as well and can prevent the oven door from closing.

  3. Obstructions in the door frame - Check the door frame. If there is any grime or grit on the oven door and door frame, use a scrubbing sponge to remove any of it.

  4. Grime or rust on the oven hinges - if this is happening, we would recommend replacing the hinges

  5. Old door springs - if the springs are the issues then we would recommend replacing these as well.

The Interior Light is Out


If your oven light isn't working, it could very well be more than just the bulb being out (but let's hope not). Here are a couple things you can troubleshoot:

  1. Light Assembly - if the oven light is out, the entire light assembly could need to be replaced. Most of the times, the light assembly components are not sold separately.

  2. Light Bulb - check the lightbulb with a multimeter for continuity, or install the bulb into an identical socket to test it out.

  3. Light Switch - to figure out if the light switch is the issue, use a multimeter for this as well. If the light switch doesn't have continuity, replace it.

  4. Light Socket - back to the multimeter we go! If the light socket is getting power but the oven light won't work, this tells us that the light socket is defective and needs replacing.

You could also be having issues with your touchpad, control panel or transformer. Getting an appliance repairman out to your house to diagnose the issue is probably your best bet in this case.


The Oven Won't Self Clean


We understand that your oven self-cleaning is a luxury that most homeowners would not like to give up. Who wants to get down on their hands and knees to clean it themselves? Nobody. Below we will looks at the some of the common issues you could be experiencing:

  1. Issues with the door lock motor and switch assembly - When you put your oven in the self-cleaning mode, the door lock motor engages to prevent anyone from opening up the oven. If this motor or switch are defective, the oven door won't unlock after a self cleaning cycle.

  2. Oven control board - The oven control board is the brain of your appliance. If the control board is defective, it may not be sending voltage to the heating components necessary to run a self-cleaning cycle.

  3. Temperature control thermostat - The oven thermostat regulates the temperature of the oven during the self-cleaning process. It is possible that the thermostat functions properly for broiling and baking but not for the cleaning cycle. It's difficult to test the oven thermostat and it's probably best to get an appliance repair technician out if you suspect this is the issue.


The Oven Won't Heat to the Right Temperature


If your oven isn't heating to the right temperature, it could be for a couple different reasons:

  1. The heating element is faulty - The bake element should turn bright orange. If it doesn't, then we know where the issue resides. Check to see if the coils have visible signs of wear and tear, such as cracks or burns.

  2. The oven temperature sensor is defective - To troubleshoot... make sure that the sensor is not touching the walls of the oven. If this doesn't solve the problem, use a multimeter to test the temperature sensor for continuity.

  3. The temperature control thermostat is broken -the temperature control thermostat is hard to diagnose. You can use a multimeter to check for continuity or call a professional appliance repair company out to look into this.

  4. The oven needs calibration - refer to the owners manual for calibration as all models are going to be a little different.

The Oven Won't Heat At All


If your oven isn't heating at all, there is 6 reasons why that could be:

  1. The electric heating elements

  2. The electric temperature sensor or bulb

  3. The gas ignitor at the back of the oven compartment

  4. Thermostat or selector switch

  5. Calibration dials

  6. The relays


Conclusion


Everyone is going to have different stomachs for DIY type of solutions so we wanted to provide as much information as possible for those who do like to take these tasks on themselves. But for those who would rather leave it to the professionals. Please reach out to call us or fill out a form here.





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