Fix-it-Yourself--Major Appliances: ELECTRIC RANGES

Although the heart of an electric range seems a tangle of wires and switches, most repairs are based on simple deductive reasoning. An electric range operates on a 240/120-volt circuit— 240 volts for the heating elements and 120 volts for the accessories (clock, lights and appliance receptacle). The range draws power though two separate fuses or breakers; if you suspect an electrical problem, check both fuses or breakers first.

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Oven door--Should close firmly and evenly ‘across the top, or heat will escape.

Oven light -- Install only a 40-watt appliance bulb designated for ranges.

Oven gasket

Controls the flow of air and moisture for proper baking.

Mounted on the range cabinet or n the oven door; some ovens none.

Surface element control switch

May be rotary or pushbutton.

Oven light switch

Clock

May be mechanical or electronic, and may have a — timer for automatic baking.

Control panel

The range’s wiring diagram may be inside.

Surface element

May be coil or solid. On newer models, coil elements plug into receptacles and are easily removed. The elements on older ranges must be disconnected.

Drip pan from their wiring.

Oven temperature control

A thermostat; in some models, it also turns the oven on and off.

Oven selector switch

Range fuse

Turns oven on and off, and controls the oven settings: bake, timed bake, broil or clean.

Appliance receptacle

Element trim ring

Prevents overload on the 120- volt circuit inside the range.

Usually rated at 15 amps. In Canada, there may be fuses for all the heating elements as well.

Oven vent -- Allows hot air to exit under one of the surface elements. Usually covered by a metal duct. Self-cleaning ovens have a smoke eliminator in the vent; don’t remove it.

Capillary tube

Senses oven temperature. For proper readings, it should not — touch the oven wall. Don’t handle or clean it.

Door hinge; Power cord

Standard electric range has a 240-volt cord with three wires and three prongs. In mobile homes and apartments, and in Canada, ranges may have a — four-wire, four-prong cord. Some ranges are wired permanently to the service panel.

Bake element

Storage drawer

May contain the wiring diagram.

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The heating elements are controlled by electrical switches. A thermostat senses and regulates oven temperature. Self-cleaning ovens use extremely high temperatures—about 900°F—to bum food residue off the oven walls. A special door-lock mechanism prevents the oven door from being opened until the cleaning cycle is completed.

Electric ranges are made in a variety of styles—freestanding, slide-in, double-oven, cooktop or wall oven—but all operate in much the same way and use similar components. Once you understand the basic repair procedures, you can adapt them to your own range. Most of the repairs on the following pages are shown with a freestanding range.

The Troubleshooting Guide at right lists the most common malfunctions in order from most to least likely. Before deciding that your range needs repair, check that the problem is not due to incorrect use. Follow the use and care recommendations in your owner’s manual. Keeping your range clean is the most effective way to avoid breakdowns, but be careful not to get cleaning liquids inside the range where they can cause short circuits. Don’t use foil to line the drip pans under the burners or oven element—it can short the electrical connections. Using burners without drip pans can also harm the wiring. Never wash the gasket of a self-cleaning oven.

Most range repairs are electrical in nature, but they are not complex. Many malfunctions are caused by loose connections or burned wires; always check for these first. Clues to a loose connection are a metallic odor or a soft hissing or buzzing. A sharp odor of burning plastic indicates overheating in a switch or terminal block. When replacing wires, use the same gauge insulated wire used by the manufacturer. For some repairs, you must refer to your range’s circuit diagram, located on the back panel, in the storage drawer or inside the control panel.

Before starting repairs, unplug the range or turn off the power at the service panel. Check that you’ve disconnected the right fuses or breakers by turning on the heating elements—they should not warm up. While unplugging the range, don’t touch the back panel; a loose wire inside could shock you. Before reconnecting the power, make sure that no uninsulated wires or terminals touch the cabinet, and that wiring is away from sharp edges and moving parts.

Many ranges, electric or gas, are topped by a venting range hood. Most range hoods have a fan or a “squirrel-cage” blower wheel that pulls smoke and grease through an aluminum mesh filter and out an exhaust duct. Common range hood problems are listed at the end of the Troubleshooting Guide.

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE:

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: D Easy Moderate U Complex

ESTIMATED TIME: 0 Less than 1 hour 1 to 3 hours •Over 3 hours

A Multitester required

ACCESS TO THE RANGE

Removing the oven door. Many oven doors slide off their hinges, facilitating work inside the oven or on the door itself. (The door hinges of a self-cleaning range must be unscrewed). Open the door to its first stop, the broil position. Grip each side as shown, maintaining the door’s angle, and pull the door straight off it hinges. Close the hinge arms against the oven for safety.

Removing the back of a freestanding range. The wiring and controls of a free standing range are reached from the back. Unplug the range or turn off power at the service panel. Rock the range away from the wall. Supporting the back panel with a free hand or knee, remove the screws from around the panel’s edges. Some ranges have a single panel (above); others have a lower panel covering the terminal block where the power cord is attached, and one or more upper panels covering the wiring and controls.

Reaching front-mounted controls. This type of control panel is attached with screws at each end. After disconnecting power to the range, remove them with a screwdriver. The panel may be held by a spring clip as well; pull up the panel to release it from the clip. Tilt the panel forward to expose the controls and wiring (above); rest it on the lop of the range or the edge of the door while working.

Removing the backsplash of a built-in range. Although similar in style to a freestanding range, the controls of a built-in range often can be serviced from the front, without moving the range from the wall. Disconnect power to the range and remove the screws from each end cap of the backsplash. Spread a towel on the cooktop to protect it. Pull the backsplash forward and rest it on the towel. To reach the range switches and controls, unscrew the rear panel of the backsplash, as shown, and set it aside.

Removing the control panel from an upper oven or a wall oven. Disconnect power to the appliance and remove the screws at each end of the control panel. ( You may have to open the door of a recessed wall oven to remove the screws from inside.) Pull out the oven rack, ease the panel forward, and rest it on the rack. If the control panel is hinged at the bottom, simply open it toward you. If your upper oven has a range hood built above it, you may have to move it out of the way to free the panel, by releasing a latch pin under the hood.

REPAIRING PLUG-IN BURNER ELEMENTS

1 Checking a plug-in burner element. Most modern ranges have sheathed coil elements with terminals that plug into an electrical receptacle within the burner opening. If a plug-in element doesn’t heat, disconnect power to the range, grasp the element and reseat its terminals securely in the receptacle. If the problem persists, lift the element up about an inch and pull it out, as shown. Inspect the element for damage; if the terminals are corroded, buff them with fine steel wool and reinstall the element. If it’s burned or pit ted, replace it. If the element shows no visible damage, test it by plugging it into the receptacle of a working element; if it still does not heat, replace it. If the element does heat, check its receptacle.

2 Examining an element receptacle. Lift out the drip pan and its chrome ring. Unscrew the receptacle from the range, as shown.

Pull out the receptacle, taking care not to strain the wiring, and examine the metal contacts inside (inset). If the contacts appear bent, burned or oxidized, replace the receptacle. Examine the terminals at the back of the receptacle where the wires are connected ( you may first have to snap off two clips and remove a card-like insulator). If the wire terminals are burned, cut them off and splice on new terminals (136). On some ranges, you must lift and prop the cooktop to work on the receptacles. If screws secure the front edge of the cook- top, remove these before raising the top.

3 Testing the receptacle. Since damage to a receptacle is not always visible, test it for continuity. With the power disconnected, gain access to the range switches and controls (44). Trace the wires from the receptacle to the corresponding terminals on the burner switch (usually marked H1 and H2). Clip one probe of a multi-tester to a terminal (inset), and touch the other to each of the receptacle contacts in turn, as shown. Only one contact should show continuity. Repeat with a probe on the second switch terminal. The other contact should show continuity.

4 Replacing the receptacle. Use long-nose pliers to pull the wire connectors from the receptacle terminals, as shown. To install a new receptacle, reattach a connector wire to each terminal and screw the receptacle firmly to the range. On some models, you must cut the wires leading to the receptacle and splice a new one in place (136). If the receptacle’s wiring connections are covered by a card-like insulator, snap off the clip with a screwdriver to remove the insulator, then unscrew the wires (inset). Screw the wires to the new receptacle and clip on the insulator.

REPAIRING WIRED BURNER ELEMENTS

1 Disconnecting a wired element. The burners on some ranges, rather than plugging into a receptacle, are connected directly to the burner switch wires; this connection is protected by a glass or ceramic block. Lift the element and inspect its coils for burns or holes, and replace if damaged. To remove the element, turn off power to the range, remove the drip pan and unscrew the element and block from the range (above). Use a screwdriver to pry off the clips joining the two halves of the block (inset), and pull them apart to expose the screws that connect the wires. Tighten loose connections or repair burned wiring (136). To test the element, unscrew the wires with out bending the terminals. If there are more than two wires, label their positions with masking tape.

2 Testing a wired element. With a multitester set at RX1, touch one probe to each element terminal (above); the meter should show only partial resistance. Next, test for a ground with one probe on a terminal and the other on the coil sheathing. The multitester needle should not move. If the element has several terminals, half of them lead to a common terminal. Clip one probe to the common terminal and touch the other to each terminal in turn (inset); the multitester should show partial resistance. Test for a ground by touching one probe to the coil sheathing and the other to each terminal in turn; there should be no continuity. To install a new element, screw the wires to the proper terminals, clip the insulating block in place and screw the element securely to the range. (cont.)