Kitchens everywhere require a working oven to ensure you have the necessary baking and broiling power to make delicious meals or desserts. Like many other kitchen appliances, your oven goes through repeated use, day after day. This can eventually lead to some common oven problems that you begin to notice.
There are things to look out for when it comes to your oven. However, you may want to know what it is you should be aware of regarding the functionality of your oven. This way, you’ll be able to determine if it’s an easy fix that you can accomplish yourself or something more complex that requires specialized appliance repair.
We’ll be going over the most common oven problems that may arise in your kitchen:
What To Watch Out For
Burners
Your kitchen may have a gas or electric stove. With gas stoves, you need to light the range burner with a match if the electric ignition isn’t working. If the burners don’t light, there are some quick tip fixes:
- Lift the burner grate, cap, and base off the stove.
- Clean the grate, cap, and base.
- Clean any food or debris that might be stuck around the burner. Use a toothpick or compressed air.
- Check on the wires connected to the igniter and control board. Tighten any loose connections.
If the burner doesn’t light, you may need to replace the igniter.
For electric stoves, the burners need electricity to begin heating up. If they don’t heat up, you can follow these steps:
- Switch the burner with a working one by unplugging it from the burner socket.
- If the burner works, the problem was with the original burner.
- If the burner doesn’t work, the problem could be the burner socket or the infinite switch.
- If the burner doesn’t work again, test it, and swap out the infinite switch.
Oven Won’t Heat to the Right Temperature
An oven with an incorrect temperature can mess with your cooking time and produce over or undercooked food. This can be a result of a faulty temperature sensor. However, some simple maintenance may fix this problem:
- Check to make sure the temperature sensor isn’t touching the inside wall of the oven.
- Use an ohmmeter to see if the sensor is functioning.
- Replace the sensor if it isn’t working.
- Also, check if the heating element and igniter are working.
- Once everything has been checked or replaced, recalibrate the oven.
To recalibrate the oven, read the owner’s manual, as it should instruct you on how to increase and decrease the temperatures by holding specific buttons on the control pad.
Oven Won’t Turn On
If your oven simply doesn’t turn on, you can check the junction box in your home to see if any breakers have been tripped. If the breaker isn’t the issue, this problem with electric ovens could be due to a broken wire, bad control board, faulty elements, or the wrong power coming through to the unit. With gas ovens, the issue could be due to a faulty gas control, igniter, or valve.
The Interior Light Won’t Turn On
Like any light bulb, the one located in your oven can burn out. The first step is to replace the bulb. Make sure you shut off the power before removing the bulb. However, if that doesn’t work, the problem could be with a faulty light switch, control, or connecting wires.
Oven Door Won’t Open/Close
Every oven needs a properly functioning door to cook your meals. Thankfully, an oven door that won’t open or close is an easy fix.
- Start by unplugging the oven and turning off the gas if it’s a gas-powered appliance.
- Unscrew the oven door from its hinges. Some ovens have the option to pull the door straight up and out to remove it.
- Inspect the hinges and replace them if they’re the cause of the faulty door.
- If there are any broken oven door springs, remove them with pliers and replace them with new springs.
- Replace the silicone or rubber around the door if necessary.
- If you’re still having problems with the door, it may need a new oven door sensor.
Oven Won’t Self-Clean
Most ovens today have a feature for self-cleaning, which saves time when it comes to maintenance and cleaning. During a regular self-cleaning cycle, your door lock motor will activate to ensure the oven stays closed during the self-clean process. If the door lock and motor aren’t functioning properly, that could be why the self-cleaning feature isn’t working. However, if that’s not the case, then it could be due to the temperature control thermostat, oven control board, fuse, or wiring.
You need specific skills to test and repair the components involved in the self-cleaning feature. You should call an appliance repair specialist to ensure the job gets done safely.
Conclusion
Oven problems are a common occurrence in the kitchen, especially if you’re always cooking. If the quick fixes aren’t solving your issues, you can always turn to the most reliable specialists in oven repair in Ottawa. We can perform the necessary repairs to get your appliance up and running again quickly. Give us a call today and schedule an appointment to fix that appliance!