How to Fix an Electric Stove and Oven Not Working

If your electric oven and stove stop working, it can really put a halt to your cooking plans, limiting you to microwave meals and takeout. Fortunately, when a cooking appliance fails, it doesn’t always require a big, expensive repair. Sometimes, simple troubleshooting steps are all that’s needed to get things heating up again.

This article will explore the possible causes of your electric oven and stove not working, from easy fixes to more complex repairs. Keep reading to learn what might be going wrong with your appliance and what steps you can take to address the issue.

How to Fix an Electric Oven and Stove Not Working

Below are some common issues that may cause your electric stove or oven to stop working.

There’s a Power Issue

If both the electric stove and oven on your range stop working simultaneously, there could well be a power issue causing the problem. The most likely culprits include a blown fuse or a tripped circuit breaker. However, it could also be as simple as the appliance not being plugged in properly or not being connected to a 240-volt outlet.

Electric stoves and ovens require a 240-volt power supply, which is delivered through two separate 120-volt lines. If one of these lines is disrupted, due to a tripped breaker or blown fuse, your appliance will lose power and won’t work.

You can resolve power issues like this by:

• Locate your oven’s dedicated circuit breaker, then reset it by flipping it off, waiting 1 minute, then flipping it back on.
• If your home has a fuse box, look for any blown fuses, which will appear brown or darkened. Turn off the power and replace it with a fuse of the same amperage.
• Unplug the oven or stove and inspect the power cord, plug, and outlet for burn marks. Replace any damaged parts.
• Use a multimeter to confirm the outlet is delivering the correct 240 volts.

You Have a Faulty Heating Element

If one of the heating elements in your stove or oven stops working, it will no longer produce heat. However, this failure will only affect the specific part of the appliance where the element is located. For example, if the oven’s heating element fails, the stove burners will still work, and if a stove burner fails, the oven will continue to function as usual.

Replacing a burned-out heating element is one of the most common repairs needed for ovens and stoves.

Follow these steps to check an oven’s heating elements:

1. Unplug the oven.
2. Locate the bake element at the bottom of the oven interior and the broil element at the top. You may need to remove a panel to access the bake element.
3. Inspect the heating elements for signs of damage such as blisters or cracks.
4. Plug the oven back in, set it to bake mode, and check if the element glows red. Then, repeat this process for the broil element.
5. If a heating element is damaged or doesn’t glow red, remove it by unscrewing it and disconnecting the wires. Then, replace it with a new element.

Follow these steps to check a stove’s heating elements:

1. Turn on each burner on the stove to see if they heat up. Make a note of those that don’t.
2. Unplug the stove.
3. Lift the stove top to access the heating elements.
4. Inspect each element for visible damage such as cracks, blisters, or burnt spots.
5. If an element is damaged or doesn’t heat up, remove it by disconnecting its wires, removing any screws, and lifting it out. Then, replace it with a new element.

There’s a Faulty Selector Switch

On electric stoves with control knobs, each burner or heating element has a selector switch that controls its power level, allowing users to adjust the heat by controlling the voltage sent to the burner. If a selector switch is faulty, the specific burner it controls will no longer heat.

You can check for faulty selector switches by following these steps:

1. Turn on the stove and identify which burners are not working; these may have faulty selector switches.
2. Unplug the stove.
3. Remove the control knobs from the front of the stove by pulling them off.
4. Remove the top panel or back panel to access the selector switches.
5. Perform a swap test by switching the selector switch from the non-working burner with one from a working burner.
6. You can remove a selector switch by disconnecting its wires and carefully pulling it out.
7. Replace any selector switches confirmed to be faulty by the test.

The Temperature Sensor is Faulty

The temperature sensor monitors the temperature inside the oven and sends signals to the control board to turn the heating elements on and off so that the desired cooking temperature is maintained.

However, if the temperature sensor fails, the electric oven may not heat properly, or not heat at all. You can check if the temperature sensor is faulty by following these steps:

1. Unplug the oven.
2. Locate the temperature sensor protruding through the back wall of the oven cavity.
3. Unfasten the screw attaching it to the back panel.
4. Pull the temperature sensor through the back panel and unplug its wire harness.
5. Use a multimeter set to ohms to test the temperature sensor.
6. At room temperature, it should read between 1,000 and 1,100 ohms, and the reading should rise as the sensor heats up.
7. Use a hair dryer to apply heat to the sensor.
8. If the reading does not increase or falls outside the normal range at room temperature, replace the sensor with a new one.

The Main Control Board is Faulty

You can think of the main control board as the brain of the oven. When it malfunctions, it may not send power to the heating elements or burners, preventing the oven, stove, or both from working properly.

Checking and fixing a faulty control board on your own can be challenging, so it’s usually best to have a professional handle it. Control boards contain multiple connections and relays that require testing, along with numerous wires that must be disconnected and reconnected accurately.