Category Archives: Oven Repair

GE Recalls Tens of Thousands of Combination Microwave / Conventional Wall Ovens

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: Built-in Combination Wall and Microwave Ovens

Units: About 92,000

Manufacturer: GE Consumer & Industrial, of Louisville, Ky.

Hazard: The door switch in the microwave oven can overheat and ignite plastic components in the control area, posing a fire hazard to consumers. The lower thermal oven does not pose a hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: GE is aware of 35 incidents of minor property damage and one incident in which a fire damaged adjacent kitchen cabinets. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall includes GE combination microwave and conventional built-in wall ovens sold under the following brand names: GE, GE Profile® and Kenmore. The ovens were sold in white, black, bisque and stainless steel. The brand name is printed on the lower left corner on the front of the microwave door. The following model and serial numbers can be found inside the microwave oven on the left interior wall.

Recalled Models:


GE / GE Profile 
JKP85B0A3BB, JKP85B0D1BB, JKP85W0A3WW, JKP85W0D1WW, 
JKP86B0F1BB, JKP86C0F1CC, JKP86S0F1SS, JKP86W0F1WW, 
JT965B0F1BB, JT965C0F1CC, JT965S0F1SS, JT965W0F1WW, 
JTP85B0A2BB, JTP85B0A3BB, JTP85B0A4BB, JTP85B0A5BB, 
JTP85B0D1BB, JTP85W0A2WW, JTP85W0A3WW, JTP85W0A4WW, 
JTP85W0A5WW, JTP85W0D1WW, JTP86B0F1BB, JTP86C0F1CC, 
JTP86S0F1SS, JTP86W0F1WW, JTP95B0A2BB, JTP95B0A3BB, 
JTP95B0A4BB, JTP95B0A5BB, JTP95B0D1BB, JTP95W0A2WW, 
JTP95W0A3WW, JTP95W0A4WW, JTP95W0A5WW, JTP95W0D1WW 

Serial number begins with:


AZ, DZ, FZ, GZ, HZ,
LZ, MZ, RZ, SZ, TZ, 
VZ, ZZ, AA, DA, FA, 
GA, HA, LA, MA, RA,
SA, TA, VA, ZA, AD,
DD, FD, GD, HD, LD,
MD, RD, SD, TD, VD,
ZD, AF, DF, FF, GF,
HF, LF, MF, RF, SF,
TF, VF, ZF 

Kenmore (All model numbers start with 911):


41485991, 41485992, 41485993, 41485994, 
41489991,41489992, 41489993, 41489994, 
49485992, 49489992, 47692100, 47699100,
47862100, 47869100, 47812200, 47813200, 
47814200, 47819200, 47792200, 47793200, 
47794200, 47799200 0, 1, 2, 3

Sold at: Department and appliance stores from January 2000 to December 2003 for between $1,500 and $2,000.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the microwave oven immediately. Consumers should contact GE regarding their GE/GE Profile micro-oven combo or Sears for their Kenmore unit. GE is offering a free repair or rebate on a new product, a $300 rebate toward the purchase of a new GE brand unit, or a $600 rebate toward the purchase of a new GE Profile brand unit. Sears is offering a free repair or $300 rebate toward the purchase of a new Kenmore brand unit. Consumers can continue using the lower thermal oven.

Consumer Contact: For additional information on GE /Profile units, contact General Electric toll-free at (888)-240-2745 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturday, or visit GE’s Web site at www.geappliances.com. For additional information on Kenmore units, contact Sears toll-free at (888) 679-0282 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday, or visit Sears’ Web site at www.sears.com

Oven/Range Troubleshooting and Repair Manual

Oven/Range Troubleshooting and Repair Manual

Problem Possible Solution
[Electric Only]
The bake and/or broil element never gets hot.
  • It’s not getting any power at the outlet…DUH!
  • Well, maybe it’s burned out. Attaway, Hoss, just go ahead and replace it with the assumption that nothing else could cause a no-bake condition. How ’bout checking the continuity of the element? Whoa, there’s a brain flash, ya hey? Should read in the range of 20 to 40 ohms. More help on how to troubleshoot it on this page.
  • ‘Course, it could also be a burnt or loose wire to the bake element. I’ve seen it alot.
  • Could be a bad function selector switch, too.
  • Kids and visitors are great for screwing with the mechanical clock "start" or "stop" knobs and pushing them in so the oven doesn’t work.
  • The oven sensor could be open. You’ll need to ohm it out with… wait for it… your ohm meter.
  • Your electronic range control (ERC) board could be fried. Usually, there are self tests you can do for this and the wiring diagram has the key sequence.
  • The thermal cutout switch might be open. I can help you find it if you’ll start a new topic in the Kitchen Appliance Repair Forum.
[Gas or Electric]
The oven won’t self-clean anymore.
  • Your self clean latch is bent or misaligned. Inspect for proper alignment to make sure that latch is contacting the latch switch.
  • The self clean latch switch is fried. Check continuity.
  • Function selector switch is fried.
[Gas or Electric]
The clock doesn’t work anymore.
  • If you have a mechanical clock, the clock motor winding could be open, in which case you’ll need to replace the entire clock.
  • You might be lucky and only have a burnt wire or bad connection supplying power to clock. Check voltage at the clock motor.
  • Fried ERC (on ovens with LED digital display). Nolo Contendre, compadre. Come git you a new one.
[Electric Only]
Oven works but it just doesn’t get hot enough.
  • Oven sensor is FUBAR. You’ll need to ohm it out using a good digital ohmmeter.
  • Thermostat is fried.
  • Check that oven door gasket for rips and tears. That’ll do it, too, Hoss.
  • Bad voltage at oven electrical receptacle. 240v should be measured at the oven receptacle from L1 to L2. 120v should be measured from L1 to neutral and from L2 to neutral– details on this page. Check circuit breaker to make sure it’s not tripped.
[Electric Only]
"I turn the oven on and it goes straight to balls-to-the-wall high heat. Wassup?"
  • Yo, mon, how ’bout checking that thermostat? Contacts should be open at room temp.
  • Maybe your oven relay is fried. These little gems were mainly used in ovens made by Frikidaire (no, I spelled it that way on purpose). This includes Kenmore ovens made by Frikidaire.
[Electric Only]
Oven temp is as erratic as a bat outta…well, you know.
[Gas or Electric]
"My oven door is stuck closed. I’m gonna die! HELP!"
  • You might have a fried ERC. This would mainly affect ovens that have automatic door latching in self clean (no lever), such as Jenn Air’s and some other Maytag brands. Check for error code in display. If an error code is given, check against manufacturer’s code explanations in owner’s manual or tech data sheet inside oven control panel.
  • The self clean latch is bent or someone tried to do the gorilla routine on it. You’ll need to disassemble the oven to get at it. Have fun, Homer– glad I ain’t doing it!
[Gas or Electric]
Getting an error code on the oven clock.

Appliance manufacturers (praise be their holy names), in their infinite wisdom and mercy have determined that it is in our best interest that they carefully guard the meanings of their precious fault codes. And to make our joy complete, they even vary the codes from model to model! So, even though there are no standard fault codes, even within the same brand, Allah has revealed all appliance fault codes to me in a dream. Yea verily, God bless Allah!

[Gas Only]
The bake and/or broil burner do not fire up.
  • The bake ignitor is shot. Listen, Bubba, you can’t tell it’s bad by just looking at it–you gotsta measure the amperage. Just because it glows orange, doesn’t mean it’s good. On round ignitors, look for a current draw of 2.6 to 2.8 amps. On flat ignitors, look for 3.2 to 3.6 amps. Low current draw will not allow the gas valve to open.
  • The valve is fried. If ignitor checks out OK, remove power from oven, pull the two wires off the valve and ohm test. Should read two to five ohms. If open, replace valve.
  • The pilot is out…DUH! Try reigniting the pilot. If it goes out again, check 1) gas supply (out of gas, crimped line, etc.), 2) pilot orifice clogged or dirty.
  • Pilot flame not wrapping around thermocouple. Reposition the thermocouple bulb so the upper third of the pilot flame wraps around the thermocouple bulb. Did I lose y’on that one, Bubba? If so, you better take it to the repair forum ’cause you ain’t gettin’ any smarter staring at the screen.
  • If pilot is spark ignited and you’re not getting spark to the pilot, replace the spark electrode, spark module, and the ignition wire. These parts are inexpensive enough that it’s not worth the trouble to just replace one, replace the entire ignition system as long as you’re in there.
[Gas Only]
"The oven just doesn’t get hot enough and it ruined my angel food cake. I’m just gonna die!"

Still confoosed, Grasshoppah? Browse all the FAQs for ovens and ranges. To learn more about your range/stove/oven, or to order parts, click here.

Electrical Outlets for Electric Ovens, Ranges, and Stoves

Bought a new range or planning to? Planning an addition to your house? Building a new house? These are just a few of the ways you could run into converting from a 3- to 4-wire range outlet. Whatever your situation, this illustrated anatomy of electrical outlets for ranges, ovens, and stove should help you see what’s going on.

Three-Prong Range OutletHere’s the older style, but very commonly seen 3-wire range outlet. All the terminals are identified here. Click the pic for the larger view.


Four-Prong Range OutletThis the the 4-wire outlet required by the newer editions of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Click the pic for the larger view.


More help, including parts for all brands and models, ratcheer. If you’re still confoosed, come start a new topic in the Kitchen Appliance Repair Forum.

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