Imagine the following scenario: You’re in the middle of trying to bake a delicious cake or cook a nice roast beef dinner, and then your electric range stops heating up at all, right when you need it most! But the worst part is that it gave you no signs that it was going to break down, and you have no idea why it isn’t generating any heat.
One of the most likely culprits of an electric range not heating up is that one of the heating elements has gone bad.
Before attempting to troubleshoot the condition of your electric range or make any repairs, always first make sure to turn off the power supply to the appliance, unplug it from the wall socket, and turn off the circuit breaker that sends power to the appliance.
Insufficient Power Supply
If you are not getting any power out of the range, always start by checking the appliance’s power supply. The most obvious place to start is to make sure the power cord is, in fact, plugged into the wall socket securely and that the outlet is receiving power. This outlet will also be wired to a dedicated circuit breaker, which can be located on your home’s main electrical panel. In some cases, the breaker may have been tripped by a power surge, which means that you’ll simply need to switch the breaker back on to get power back to your unit.
However, if you notice that you continue to trip the breaker, there may be a short circuit somewhere in your range that’s causing the problem.
Broken Heating Element
An electric range usually has four or five heating elements located on the top of the unit. With older models, you’ll have coils, which can easily be replaced when one of them starts to malfunction. However, on newer electric range models, you’ll often have glass top burners, which are a bit more complicated to replace when they malfunction.
Regardless, if you see any blistering, cracks or burns on your range’s heating elements, you should replace the element immediately even if it’s still working. Replacing burnt elements is easy. However, it’s important to make sure that you purchase the right replacement parts. If you need help finding parts or repair near you, don’t hesitate to contact Orange County Appliance Pros today.
Damaged Control Board
All-electric ranges have a main control board that works in conjunction with the unit’s temperature sensors and controls.
When the control board starts to malfunction, it might cause issues with your elements not reaching the desired temperatures, or not heating up at all. However, some indicators of a broken control board are not always obvious. If the range’s timer or displayed clock isn’t working, it’s only a minor problem, but it also says that there may be an issue with the unit’s control board.
While it’s easy to diagnose a faulty control board, replacing one isn’t so simple and should only be done by a trained appliance technician.
Problems With The Controls
Many things can go wrong with the various controls of an electric range, especially on newer models which have all sorts of extra features. These issues could either be caused by the control board malfunctioning, but most often, it’s an issue with the appliance thermostat or the control knobs themselves. If you have broken control knobs, you can easily find replacement parts at your local appliance repair store.
If controls such as the timer and lights work but all elements won’t heat, it might also be possible that a fuse has failed, or the wiring of the range’s main terminal block is not secure. On a newer range, there may be a fault code shown.
Either way, to easily diagnose and repair your appliance as quickly as possible, Orange County Repair Pros are only a quick call away!
