An oven that won't heat always seems to pick its moment, usually an hour before guests arrive. The good news is that the cause is often one of a small number of parts, and which parts depends mostly on whether the oven burns gas or runs on electricity. Knowing the difference helps you describe the problem accurately and avoid a couple of mistakes that make things worse.
Safety comes first
- •If you smell gas, turn nothing on or off. Get everyone outside first, then call Washington Gas or 911 once you are out of the house. A faint whiff for a second when a gas oven lights can be normal; a lingering smell is not.
- •For an electric oven, switch off its breaker before removing any panel or element. Ranges and wall ovens run on 240 volts.
- •Never use an oven or range to heat a room.
Check the simple things first
Several things can stop an oven from heating that aren't failures:
- •The clock. After a power outage, some ovens won't run until the clock is set again. If yours went dark during a summer thunderstorm, start there. Our article on appliances after a power outage covers what else to check once the power returns.
- •Control lock. A lock symbol on the display means the controls are locked. The manual shows how to release it, usually by holding a button.
- •A delayed or timed bake someone set earlier.
- •Sabbath mode, which changes how the controls respond on models that have it.
- •The breaker. On an electric range, one half of the circuit can fail while the display stays lit. The cooktop might work partially while the oven doesn't heat.
- •The gas supply. For a gas range, are the cooktop burners lighting? If they aren't either, the problem is the supply, not the oven.
Gas ovens: it's usually the igniter
Most gas ovens made in the last few decades use a hot surface igniter, a small bar that glows orange-hot. It does two jobs: it lights the gas, and it opens the gas valve. The valve only opens once the igniter draws enough current, which means the igniter is hot enough to light the gas safely.
As igniters age, they weaken. A weak igniter can still glow bright orange but draw too little current to open the valve. So you see a glow, maybe for a long time, and nothing happens. This is the most common reason a gas oven stops heating.
What you can observe:
- •Remove the oven racks and floor panel if your model allows it, or look through the broiler drawer. Turn on bake.
- •Glows but no flame after a minute or two: a weak igniter is the likely cause.
- •No glow at all: the igniter may have failed completely, or the control isn't sending it power.
- •Lights, then goes out and doesn't come back: could be the igniter, the valve or the control.
If the broiler lights but bake doesn't, and your oven has separate bake and broil burners, the bake igniter is the prime suspect.
Igniters are fragile. Don't touch the glowing element, and don't poke at it.
Electric ovens: elements and relays
Electric ovens use a bake element at the bottom and a broil element at the top. Many newer ovens hide the bake element under the oven floor.
- •Visible element: turn on bake and look. A working element glows red within a few minutes. Look for a break, a blister or a spot that glowed brightly and burned through.
- •Hidden element: you won't see it glow, so compare. If broil heats the oven but bake doesn't, the bake element or its circuit is the likely problem.
- •Neither heats: a relay on the control board, a thermal fuse or a wiring fault.
A burned-out element sometimes fails with a flash and a pop. If that happened, switch off the breaker before doing anything else.
When an oven dies right after self-clean
Self-clean runs the oven far hotter than cooking does. That's hard on the parts, and ovens often fail during or just after a cleaning cycle. Common results:
- •The door stays locked. The lock motor or switch has failed, or the oven hasn't cooled down enough yet. Wait several hours before concluding it's stuck.
- •No heat and a blank display. A thermal fuse may have opened, or the control board was damaged by heat.
- •One element or igniter burned out.
A few habits reduce the risk:
- •Don't run self-clean right before a holiday or dinner party. If something fails, you want time to fix it.
- •Wipe up big spills first so the cycle doesn't have to burn through them.
- •Remove the racks unless the manual says they can stay.
- •Ventilate the kitchen. The smoke and smell can be unpleasant.
- •For light soil, some ovens have a shorter, lower-temperature steam clean that's easier on the parts.
Heats, but not to the right temperature
That's a different problem from no heat. Put an oven thermometer in the center of the oven, set 350°F and check after twenty minutes and again ten minutes later. Ovens cycle up and down, so average the readings. A steady offset can often be corrected with the temperature adjustment in the settings; an oven that swings wildly or keeps drifting further off needs its temperature sensor or controls tested.
Convection problems
If a convection setting heats but the fan doesn't turn, or you hear grinding from the back of the oven, the convection fan motor or its element may have failed. The oven may still bake normally.
Is it worth fixing?
Igniters, elements and sensors are usually straightforward repairs. Control boards and repairs on older ovens are where it makes sense to think harder. Our guide to deciding between repair and replacement walks through the questions. Wall ovens and built-in ranges, which are fitted to the cabinetry, often make repair the better choice.
When to call
Book a technician if the oven still won't heat after you've checked the clock, the locks, the breaker and the gas supply, if the igniter glows but won't light, if the door is still locked after the oven has fully cooled, or if the display is dead after self-clean.
A technician tests the igniter or elements, the sensor and the controls at your home, explains what failed and quotes the repair before any work begins. The oven repair page lists the types and brands we handle, including gas and electric ranges and wall ovens.
Common questions
Why does my gas oven smell a little when it starts?
A brief smell of gas as the burner lights can be normal. A strong or lasting smell is not. Turn the oven off, leave the house and call the gas company from outside.
Can I keep using the broiler if the bake side is out?
It's not a substitute for baking, and it heats the oven unevenly. Get the bake side repaired.
Why won't my oven door unlock after self-clean?
It usually needs to cool fully first, which can take a while. If it's still locked hours later, the lock assembly may have failed.