Appliances

Troubleshooting Electric Oven Problems

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Learn how to troubleshoot your electrical oven with this article.

Electrical ovens last on average for 13 years. Although they last for more than a decade, sometimes problems crop up that homeowners may not know how to fix. If you are experiencing strange problems with your electric oven, this article can walk you through what may be the cause and if you need to call a repair technician or your home warranty company, or if you can fix it yourself! 

Do you have a gas oven? Click here for our guide on troubleshooting gas oven problems.

How does an electronic oven work?

It’s always helpful to understand how your electric oven works before trying to understand why it may be having problems. You can use the following animations to understand how your electric oven operates.

Want to skip to the troubleshooting?

Click on the problem you're having to jump to the troubleshooting guide below:

One Coil Isn't Heating

None of the Burners are Heating

Coils Over Heating

Coils Working Sporadically

How an Electronic Stovetop Works

Whether you have radiant coils or conventional coils, each heating element is operated by its own switch. When the switch is turned to the desired temperature, electric current travels to the heating element, which begins to warm up. Once the correct temperature has been reached, the switch turns off the electric current. The switch turns the electrical current on and off to keep the heating element at the correct temperature.

Learn how an electrical stovetop works with this animation.

If you have a radiant coil, it has a built-in monitor. This monitor will turn the heating element on and off more frequently to keep the right temperature.

Troubleshooting your Electric Stovetop

Nothing is Operating

Check to see if a fuse has tripped, or if your oven is plugged in. This is a common cause for oven problems.

One Coil Isn’t Heating

Is only one of your burners not working on your electrical oven? Learn how to fix that here.

If just one coil isn’t heating up, the problem may be located in the coil itself. Make sure the other coils on your electric oven are operating correctly. If you have a home warranty, call your company to open a service request. They can test to see if the coil has failed, or if it has continuity. If you don’t have a home warranty, you can do this yourself by purchasing a multimeter tool.

If the coil has failed, you will need to replace it. If you have a home warranty, this will be covered if it has failed from normal wear and tear. If you do not have a home warranty, look at your oven manual to find parts online, or call your oven manufacturer for a replacement part. Then, simply remove the original coil and plug in the new coil. It's more economical to have the coil replaced than replace the entire oven. A new coil can be $11-$100 depending on the model of oven you have. 

If the coil itself hasn’t failed, the problem is most likely the switch has failed. It will also need to be replaced. Again, the cost for parts and labor are much less than replacing the entire oven, so you will want to call a technician or your home warranty company to repair this part of the oven.

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None of the Burners are Heating

None of the burners on your electrical oven are working.

If all of your coils aren’t heating, check first to make sure that the oven is plugged in, and is receiving electricity. If your oven is plugged in, it may not be an oven issue at all. It may be that your electrical outlet isn’t giving the oven enough voltage for the oven to operate. You can call your home warranty company and ask for an electrician to come out to your home and diagnose this outlet for a small service call fee.

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Coils Over Heat

One of your burners is overheating and causing you to burn your food.

Are you burning your food consistently when you use one specific burner? It’s probably because the switch isn’t regulating the temperature properly. In this case, the switch will need to be replaced. If you have a home warranty, you can call your company and pay a service call fee for diagnosis and repair for an overheating coil if it failed from normal wear and tear.

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Coils Work Sporadically

If your electrical oven's burners are working sporadically, you will need to inspect them for rust or corrosion.

If your heating coils work on and off, sometimes heating up and sometimes not, it could be caused by rust or corrosion. This generally happens only on conventional coils. Rust and corrosion are caused by spills that aren't cleaned up after you finish cooking. You can visually inspect the burner to see if you can find any rust or corrosion by removing the heating element. If you do see rust or corrosion, you will need to replace the element.

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How an Electronic Oven Works

Want to skip to the troubleshooting?

Click on the problem you're having to jump to the troubleshooting guide below:

Heating Element Sparking

One Heating Element isn't Heating

Both Heating Elements Aren't Heating

Temperature is Too Hot or Cool

There are four main parts of an electronic oven:

  • Bake element
  • Broil element
  • Oven Control
  • Thermostat/ Temperature Sensor

When you turn on the bake or broil element, and select the temperature, the dial (or switch) sends an electric current to the heating element which begins to warm up. The thermostat or oven sensor will shut off the electric current when the oven has reached the correct temperature. The heating element will turn on and off to keep the temperature consistent throughout the oven.

Heating Element Sparking

If you see sparking in your oven when you turn it on, immediately turn it off.

If you see sparking coming from your heating element, turn off the power to your oven as soon as possible, and replace the heating element. Do not use your oven until it is replaced, as it could cause a fire. If you see pitting or burn marks on the heating element, you should replace it as well because it could easily begin sparking.

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One of the Heating Elements Isn’t Heating

If your heating element isn't working, you may need to call a registered technician.

If your broil or burner heating element doesn’t glow and get warm when the oven is turned on, it most likely needs to be replaced. Call a registered technician or your home warranty company to test and see if your heating element has continuity is able to create an electric current. If it doesn’t, it needs to be replaced.

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Both Heating Elements Aren’t Heating

There is a very small chance that both heating elements would be broken at the same time. Instead, this probably means that there is a faulty plug on your oven and it’s not receiving enough electricity. Call your home warranty company or a registered electrician to diagnose the problem.

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Temperature is Off

Electric oven temperature too hot or cold 

If your oven is sporadically heating, or the temperature is off by more than 40 degrees (so you keep undercooking or burning food), it could be your thermostat oven sensor. You can test to see if the actual temperature and the temperature the oven sensor is registering are different, by using your oven controls following the instructions in your user manual. You can call your home warranty company and open a service request to get the sensor repaired.

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If you want to protect your oven from common problems with a home warranty, you can get a free personalized quote for your home here. You can also compare Landmark's plans to customize what is covered in your home with our home warranty plans compare page. 

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