Why Electric Oven Not Working But Stove Top Is? 7 easy tips to troubleshoot

Electric oven not working but stove top is? These might be some of the primary reasons and fixes for the problems.

Check the Oven First: Some Knobs/Switches Might be in the Wrong Position

Before you go opening the oven up, changing or replacing parts, or spending a couple of hundred dollars calling a repair technician, do a quick check of the oven.

Especially with self-cleaning ovens, it might be a lot simpler than you think.

1. Check if broil element will heat up (set the oven for broil and wait 5 min. If broil will heat up, then most likely bake element burnt out)
2. Make sure all controls are set correctly broil/bake settings
3. Make sure the door is in the unlocked position if it’s a self-cleaning oven
4. If your oven has knobs and they were removed before cleaning the oven, make sure to reattach them; make sure all knobs are in the proper location
5. Check the bake element for continuity (turn the power off first); a manual check might indicate if there are any cracks/breaks which suggests it needs to be replaced
6. The main control board is out (this is obvious if nothing turns on/the oven doesn’t power on at all) in this case it has to be replaced

If you’ve done the manual check of your electric oven, and everything is where it has to be, you’ll want to consider a few of these additional problems that might be causing it ‘s malfunction.

Oven Thermal Cut-Off Fuse Burnt Out

If you recently used SELF-CLEAN mode on your oven and then, after that, neither bake or broil doesn’t work, most likely your thermal fuse just burnt out.

The Temperature Sensor is Out

With many electric ovens, there’s a temperature sensor that monitors the oven’s temperature constantly.

When the sensor isn’t working or burns out, this might cause the oven to stall or stop working altogether.

With most modern ovens, there’s a digital sensor; before you remove and replace it, first check to see all wires are properly connected, to ensure that’s not what’s causing the problem.

If the oven doesn’t have a digital sensor, there’s a temperature-sensing bulb that controls the oven’s temperature.

If the bulb is burnt out or if it is loose, adjust or replace it, and this will likely resolve the issue.

Thermostat or Selector Switch Have Burnt Out

A quick check of the thermostat selector switch might indicate the reason behind your oven’s failure to operate. The switch:

• May be sticking or is defective, which would stop the oven from functioning
• May not be changing settings properly; the selector switch changes oven settings (bake, broil, etc) so if it’s not working or is defective, it has to be replaced

To replace the switch you’ll have to

• Open the panel which is usually at the back of your oven (check the manual as positioning and panel open/close instructions vary)
• Remove the selector switch by pulling off the knob (you’ll pull the knob off from the front of the oven)
• Once removed, purchase the replacement thermostat, and replace the selector switch accordingly
• Once replaced, cover the back panel on your oven (back of the oven)

If this was causing the defect, replacement of these faulty parts should usually get your oven to start operating normally once again.

Defective Heating Element(s)

This is the most likely cause of an oven not heating, one or more of the heating elements are defective.

Electric ovens have two heating elements. You’ll easily know if the element is not working, as it will glow a bright red, indicating it is burnt out and needs to be replaced, or is faulty and required repair work.

When the oven is warm, but not reaching the correct temperature, to check the heating elements you will

1. Check the heating element you want to use. Set it to prebake, if one of the heating elements glows bright red, you know what you’re dealing with
2. If the heating element or both aren’t working, you’ll need to replace them
3. If neither turns red on prebake, you’ll set the oven to bake, then to broil, to see if either of the two isn’t functioning (if either turns red, you know it’s faulty)
4. Another indicator that the elements are defective is if the outside coil appears rusty (so check this as well)

If a visual inspection doesn’t indicate one of the elements is out, you’ll need an ohm meter to check the voltage. To perform this check you will

• Disconnect the power and remove the back panel on the range
• Check both wires running from the bake and broil elements in the oven
• Remove one wire from the broil element and with an ohm meter check the resistance element (this should fall between 15 to 30 ohms resistance)
• Perform the same check with the bake element and perform a check with the ohm meter
• If one or both of the elements isn’t at the appropriate level, you’ll want to replace these elements

When performing these inspections, you’ll also obviously check to make sure all wiring is properly connected, nothing is loose, and that the power cord is properly connected on your oven (sometimes the solution is right in front of you).

The Oven Temperature Needs to be Calibrated

If your oven isn’t working (not reaching the correct temperature or getting too hot), it might need to be calibrated.

The calibration dial is at the back of your temperature knob on most ovens.

The adjustment screw dial allows you to adjust the temperature settings.

You’ll turn the dial clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on whether you want to increase or decrease the temperature settings when calibrating it.

Turning the dial about 1/2 turn, will adjust the temperature anywhere between 20 to 25 degrees.

If your oven is over or under heating, calibration might make a big difference in helping adjust temperatures back to their correct range. Here is link

The Relays in Your Oven Needs to be Repaired or Replaced

A bad relay can also cause your oven to stop functioning or for temperatures not to reach the appropriate level when trying to use your oven.

Ovens with two heating elements, typically have two relays. To gain access to the relay you’ll need to check your oven’s owner manual.

In order to perform a check and see if this is causing the malfunction you’ll want to

• Turn off electricity
• Remove the back panel of your oven (probably the same location as the heating elements or close by)
• Using a Vohm you’ll check the ohm reading by removing the wires connected to the relays and attaching them to the ohm testing terminals
• If there’s no reading or it’s below the suggested range (every oven varies, check the owner’s manual), you might need to replace the control board

electric oven not working but stove top is