Category Archives: Oven Repair

Light inside GE range oven goes out when the oven gets hot

Your Name: Ricky

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: GE electric range

Model Number: JB700SNSS

Your Precious Words:
The inside oven light seems to turn off when the oven gets hot. You can leave oven light on all night without using the oven and it stays on all night. Any ideas?

What’s happening is that the oven light socket is warping as it heats up, causing the bulb to lose electrical contact. Replacing the light socket is easy and inexpensive. Watch a video on how to replace the oven light socket. You can also buy the new light socket there, too.

Preference for Kenmore Brand Appliances?

Your Name: Araceli

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: Kenmore

Model Number: 911.46569096

Your Precious Words:
Dear Appliance Samurai,

My parents are looking to replace their Kenmore slide in range which is now 10+ years old and have asked me to research brands/prices of electric ranges. They prefer Kenmore, but which brands are the higher end quality while still staying in their $800 budget? Any suggestions on brand comparison sites?

Thanks for your time and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sincerely,

Araceli

Click the play button below to hear my enlightening and inspiring reply:

Appliantology Newsletter: Keep Your Oven Cooking for Thanksgiving

Appliantology Newsletter
Keep Your Oven Cooking for Thanksgiving
November 1, 2012
Presents
Running Your Oven’s Self-Clean Could Mean Cold Turkey on Thanksgiving Day
Professional Appliantologists mark the seasons by the mix of service calls we get. We’re just now coming out of refrigerator season and getting into the thick of oven season. Every year, in the few days leading up to Thanksgiving Day, I can always count on a ton of last-minute, panicked service calls.

“Why is that, Samurai?” you ask.

Well, I’ll tell you. For some reason, people always wait until the last few days before Thanksgiving Day to run the self-clean feature on their oven. Some folks may be thinking the oven should be clean before they cook the communal turkey in it. Others may be anticipating the meddlesome mother-in-law oven inspection. The problem is not “why” you run the self-clean, but “when.” Lemme explain…

During self-clean, the temperatures inside the oven cell can exceed 900F. This is very stressful on the oven’s sensor, door lock assembly, and electronic control board. If anything is on the verge of breaking, it will usually happen during the self-clean cycle. This means that if you think you’re going to run the self-clean cycle in your oven, don’t wait until a few days before before Thanksgiving Day, when you’ll need it to cook that big turkey for a house full of guests, do it now! Then, if something does break in the oven, you’ll have time to get it repaired and won’t end up in a last-minute panic trying to get your oven fixed.

According to Rob Marriott, National Technical Manager for Dacor, a manufacturer of high-end ranges and ovens, “If you’re going to use the self-clean feature, use it a lot or don’t use it at all.” The reason for this is that the most common thing to fail in an oven during self-clean is the door lock assembly. On many modern ovens, the door lock assembly has a little motor that locks and unlocks the door. This motor is controlled by the oven’s electronic control board (the control panel with the digital display). If this motor isn’t used on a regular basis, the accumulated grease that collects in the motor during normal use will coagulate and harden during self-clean and bind the motor so that it can’t unlock the door.

The oven temperature sensor is also stressed during self-clean and is the second-most common thing to fail during or after running the self-clean cycle. Less commonly, yet still prevalent, the oven’s electronic control board can fail due the extra heat it receives during self-clean.

Personally, we never run the oven self-clean cycle at the Samurai’s dojo. But, I understand there are lots of valid reasons why someone would want to, two of which I mentioned above. So, if you’re planning on running the self-clean in your oven, here are some…
Handy Links In Case Something Goes Wrong
Post your question, get your answer at our DIY appliance repair forums, The Samurai Appliance Repair Academy:

Get parts FAST– even overnight and Saturday delivery– for any brand and model of oven with a one-year return policy. Just enter your model number in the search box at the top of the page at Appliantology.org.

This picture shows you the most common places to look on your oven or range to find the model number tag.:

Happy Thanksgiving!
… and thanks for reading.
Samurai Appliance Repair Man, www.Appliantology.org

Appliantology Newsletter: Home on the Range

Appliantology Newsletter
Home on the Range
July 8, 2012
Electric Range Tips
An electric range has two main working parts: the stove or cooktop elements and the oven elements. The most common problem with stove elements is the receptacles get sloppy and stop making good, tight electrical contact with the element resulting in poor heating. The most common (and simplest) problem with the oven is that the bake or broil element self-destructs, sometimes in spectacular fashion. In this issue of Appliantology, ol’ Samurai’s gonna show you how to whup up on both of these common and easily-repairable problems.
Putting the Heat Back into Your Stove Burners
Replacing an Oven Bake or Broil Element Safely
And Remember…
I’m always uploading new videos to my YouTube channel from my various appliance service calls as The Appliance Guru. You can keep up with ’em by subscribing to Samurai’s YouTube Channel.
You can find whatever appliance part you need through the parts search box at Fixitnow.com or Appliantology.org. No harm in buying and trying with our 365-day, no-hassle return policy, even on electrical parts that were installed!
Subscribe to the Appliantology Newsletter.
Samurai Appliance Repair Man, www.Fixitnow.com

Replacing an Electric Oven Bake Element with a Burnt Wire Connection

Replacing the bake or broil heating element in an electric oven is one of the easiest appliance repairs you’ll ever do… IF you unplug or kill power to range first. If you don’t kill power before you try to remove the element, you’ll turn a simple, plug n’ chug job that only requires a screwdriver into job that requires wire repair tools. That’s because you’re probably going to arc or burn one of the terminals attached to the heating element as shown in this video. Watch with amazed bewilderment as The Appliance Guru expertly replaces the burnt wire terminal and completes the job that the client started but couldn’t finish:

You can buy the replacement element for any brand or model of electric oven or range here with a 365-day return policy ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/Range-Stove-Oven-Heating-Element-Parts

And this video shows you the correct way to replace the element:

You can find whatever appliance part you need through the parts search box at Fixitnow.com. No harm in buying and trying with our 365-day, no-hassle return policy, even on electrical parts that were installed!

The Appliance Guru provides prompt, convenient service in the following towns in New Hampshire: New London, Elkins, Wilmot, Springfield, Georges Mills, Sunapee, Mt. Sunapee, Newbury, Sutton, Bradford, Warner, Grantham, and the Eastman Community. Visit our website for more info and a discount coupon on your next service call ==> http://applianceguru.com

Subscribe to our FREE, award-winning newsletter, Appliantology: The Oracle of Appliance Enlightenment ==> http://newsletter.fixitnow.com and download your free report on appliance brand recommendations! Every issue is jam-packed with appliance repair tips and inside information direct from the Samurai’s fingertips to your engorged and tingling eyeballs.

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Replaced touchpanel on Maytag range now none of the keys are working

Your Name: Dacy

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: Maytag

Model Number: mew5530ddb

Your Precious Words:
Certain numbers on my oven have not been working, then last week the bake button also stopped working. I replaced the control panel and now none of the keys are working. Could I have done something wrong in the installation or do I also need the computer behind the control panel? Do you have some installation instructions so that I can see if I missed any steps.

Hi Dacy,

First off, recheck all your connections to make sure they’re in the right place. Also, make sure the ribbon connector for the touchpanel you replaced is firmly seated all the way down in the receptacle on the control board computer. Disconnect it and reconnect it.

If all that checks out good, then probably what’s going on is that static electricity on your body took out the control board (the computer behind the touchpanel) when you were installing the new touchpanel. Based on your original problem description, replacing the touchpanel was the right thing to do but it may not have been done correctly.

The assembly and access to the touchpanel and control board are usually pretty straightforward– if you can replace the touchpanel, you can replace the control board. The most important installation instructions for installing the new touchpanel and/or control board is to ground out static electricity on your body!

These control boards contain very sensitive electronic components that are easily damaged by static electricity. Most people don’t realize just how susceptible to damage from static electricity they really are. This is why the installation instructions that come with the control boards will always have big notices about static electricity grounding from your body. In this regard, the most important step you can take is to wear a ground strap from your body to a grounded surface to ground out any static electricity you may be carrying. You can purchase the ground strap from your local radio shack store, they’re not expensive at all.

You can buy the new control board here with a 365 day return policy; return it even if you install it and it doesn’t fix the problem ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Oven-Control-Board/74008960/1035219?modelNumber=MEW5530DDB?RCAID=24038

You can find whatever appliance part you need through the parts search box at here at Fixitnow.com. No harm in buying and trying with our 365-day, no-hassle return policy, even on electrical parts that were installed!

Subscribe to our FREE, award-winning newsletter, Appliantology: The Oracle of Appliance Enlightenment ==> http://newsletter.fixitnow.com and download your free report on appliance brand recommendations! Every issue is jam-packed with appliance repair tips and inside information direct from the Samurai’s fingertips to your engorged and tingling eyeballs.

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Maytag Gemini range control panel stopped working, does not respond to key presses but the clock still works. How to fix?

Your Name: Verne

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: Gemini

Model Number: MGR6772BDB

Your Precious Words:
The oven was working fine, then our ability to use the control panel stopped. We are now unable to use any useage functions, but the clock works and the oven lights remain on.

Hi Verne,

Thanks for your email! The key telling point here is that you are no longer able to use any of the functions via the control panel, yet the clock still works. This tells me that there’s either a bad connection on the ribbon connector from the touch pad to the control board or the touch pad itself is bad. Try this trick first:

Maytag Gemini Range Control Board

Looking up your model number, the touchpad and control board are sold as a combined unit. If the trick shown above fails to fix the problem, you’ll needs to replace the control board & touch pad assembly ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Oven-Control-Board/5701M57660/1488609?modelNumber=MGR6772BDB?RCAID=24038

You can find whatever appliance part you need through the parts search box at www.fixitnow.com. No harm in buying and trying with our 365-day, no-hassle return policy, even on electrical parts that were installed!

Subscribe to our FREE, award-winning newsletter, Appliantology: The Oracle of Appliance Enlightenment ==> http://newsletter.fixitnow.com and download your free report on appliance brand recommendations! Every issue is jam-packed with appliance repair tips and inside information direct from the Samurai’s fingertips to your engorged and tingling eyeballs.

Oven bake element sparked and arced! How to replace it safely? [video]

Your Name: Linda

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: GE

Model Number: JBP26GS2WH

Your Precious Words: Where to begin my oven on Easter burn and arc so we shut the power off to it and we are wondering how to take the old one out..thank you so much.
Linda

Hi Linda, thanks for your email! Yes, these calrod elements used in all electric ovens can fail in dramatic and spectacular fashion. This video probably shows something like what you saw (just don’t do what this guy did):

Anyway, you can buy the replacement element you need for your range with a 365-day return policy right here ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Bake-Element/WB44X5082/3358?modelNumber=JBP26GS2?RCAID=24038

For others reading this with a different brand or model number range or oven, you find your replacement elements with the same 365-day return policy on this page ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/Range-Stove-Oven-Parts

As for replacing the bake element in your GE range, this video shows you how to do it safely and correctly:

You can find whatever appliance part you need through the parts search box at www.fixitnow.com. No harm in buying and trying with our 365-day, no-hassle return policy, even on electrical parts that were installed!

Subscribe to our FREE, award-winning newsletter, Appliantology: The Oracle of Appliance Enlightenment ==> http://newsletter.fixitnow.com and download your free report on appliance brand recommendations! Every issue is jam-packed with appliance repair tips and inside information direct from the Samurai’s fingertips to your engorged and tingling eyeballs.

Converting a gas range from Natural Gas to LP or vice versa

All gas ranges come from the manufacturer set up to burn Natural Gas (NG). If you’re set up to burn Liquid Propane (LP) in your house, you’ll need to convert the range for this. Most gas ranges come with instructions for doing this but sometimes they get lost or “borrowed” by a sticky-fingered tech who worked on your range.

These instructions below are for a Frigidaire gas range, FPDF4085KF, but the same idea applies to all gas ranges. If you have some other model, you can use this as a guide for the general concept of converting your gas range to burn a different fuel.

http://fixitnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/L0205223.pdf

To learn more about your range/stove/oven, or to order parts, click here.

Which capacitors to replace on a range control board to fix a dim display?

Your Name: mark

Type of Appliance: Oven/Range/Stove

Brand: kitchen aid

Model Number: kesc300bwh6

Your Precious Words:
your advise to replace capacitors for dim display sound good but this board has a total of ten. which ones control the lights?

Click the play button in the player below to hear my reply:

Testing a gas range or oven ignitor and safety valve [videos]

The ignitor and gas safety valve are the two key workhorse components in a gas oven or range. They’re also the two most common fail items that will stop an oven from working; ignitor is number one, safety valve is number two. These two videos show you how to test each one to determine if they’re bad. You can buy the replacement parts right here with a 365-day return policy– just enter your model number in the pretty orange parts search box at the top of the page.

To learn more about your range/stove/oven, or to order parts, click here.

James says his gas oven stopped working but the stove still works (I think)

James wrote:

ge gas, model jgbs20bea1wh, oven ing. lites up gas valve has 2.8 ac. oven worked fine till removed painted wall installed gas line top works fine oven stoped

Hi, James. Well, I am trying to understand your cryptic e-mail to me made even more difficult to understand by your sparse use of punctuation. But if I am interpreting it correctly it sounds like maybe you’re getting 2.8 amps of current to the igniter? You did not say what you were actually measuring, you just said “2.8 ac”, I don’t know whether that is current or voltage. “AC” stands for “alternating current” which is a common type of household electrical supply. But AC can be measured in watts (power), voltage, current (amps), usage over time (kw-hours), etc.

I will assume that you measured current since what you reported is a typical under current reading thru a gas range ignitor. Assuming that this is the case, the solution would be to replace the igniter. Here’s the part link to the ignitor you need to fix your oven ==> http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Oven-Igniter/WB13K21/2494?modelNumber=JGBS20BEA1WH

A good igniter will draw a minimum current of at least 3.2 amps. Since yours is well below that, this would indicate that there is insufficient current flowing through the igniter to open the gas valve and let gas through to the bake burner tube.

I’m not sure about your reference to a painted wall. I will assume that you are referring to cabinetry around the oven that was changed or modified. If so, this in itself should have no effect whatsoever on the operation of the oven bake ignitor. It could however have an affect on the cooling of the oven if there were insufficient ventilation. But again, this does not affect the ignition of the bake burner.

Warning: Using the self-clean feature on your oven may be hazardous to your health

Dennis wrote:

my neigbors fridgidaire oven caught on fire during selfcleaning, the fire totally destroy their house and my house, do you have any information about any fridgidaire range malfunctioning during self cleaning mode?

Using the self-clean feature on ANY oven or range is just asking for trouble. What happened with your neighbor’s Frigidaire range is one of the worst-case scenarios. More commonly, something just breaks in the oven: door lock motors seize up and won’t unlock the door, shoddily-made (but expensively-priced) electronic range control boards fail from being exposed to high temperature and humidity that they were never designed to withstand, even though they are included in self-cleaning ranges. Idiotic? You betcha! Welcome to the low-budget underworld of appliance manufacturing.

If you spend any time at all reading topics in the Kitchen Forum at the Appliantology Academy, you’ll see warning after warning to never ever ever use self-clean on your oven… unless you just like fixing broken stuff and buying appliance parts, which I have no problem with as long you’re buying your parts here! 8)

As to your specific question about Frigidaire ranges blowing up during self-clean, I don’t know of any repeating pattern of this problem unique to Frigidaire-built ranges. However, as I’ve said, ANY range is vulnerable to this during self-clean. Fun fact to know and tell: oven temperatures can exceed 900F during self-clean. At those temperatures, the volatilized carbon from the food soils would explode on contact if they were to mix with ambient air if, for example, the door was opened during self-clean. It is for this very reason that the door locks during this process. So I’m wondering if the door lock was disabled on this oven or if the door gasket was badly damaged or missing, allowing enough ambient air in to fuel an explosion.

If your oven is broken from using the self-clean or for some other reason, we can help you fix it in the Kitchen Forum. Just create a free account at the Appliantology Academy and start a new topic. We’ll help you whup up on it.

To learn more about your range or oven or to order parts, click here.