KitchenAid oven won't shut off

Norman_G · February 22, 2011, 1:06am

Hello,

I have a 9-year-old KitchenAid range that seems to have 2 problems. About a month ago the oven wouldn’t come up to temperature. The display indicated the set temp but the oven was only lukewarm. I went to the local appliance store, described the problem and was told I had a bad bake element. They didn’t have the exact KitchenAid element but sold me a similar 1500 watt element. Sure enough, when I got it apart the old element was blistered. I installed the new element and the oven seemed to work fine for a week or so.

It was then that we noticed the oven would not turn off, even when the display was off. The only way to shut it down was to throw the breaker. We then noticed that the oven wouldn’t come back up to temperature, just like before. I was told that the control board was bad. Would a bad control board cause the element to burn out too?

I have a service manual and the mechanical ability to fix this myself but I need help with diagnosing the real problem(s) and obtaining the correct parts. A new range is not in the budget at this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Norm

Joe_APP_Team · February 22, 2011, 10:49pm

[quote=Norman G.;358939]Hello,

I have a 9-year-old KitchenAid range that seems to have 2 problems. About a month ago the oven wouldn’t come up to temperature. The display indicated the set temp but the oven was only lukewarm. I went to the local appliance store, described the problem and was told I had a bad bake element. They didn’t have the exact KitchenAid element but sold me a similar 1500 watt element. Sure enough, when I got it apart the old element was blistered. I installed the new element and the oven seemed to work fine for a week or so.

It was then that we noticed the oven would not turn off, even when the display was off. The only way to shut it down was to throw the breaker. We then noticed that the oven wouldn’t come back up to temperature, just like before. I was told that the control board was bad. Would a bad control board cause the element to burn out too?

Norman,

My first thought is,

You may have a shoted, damaged or pinched wire to the element.

When you say the oven stays on, does the element still glow red or is it dark and producing heat ?

If it’s just warm, not glowing red hot, I would think your wire is shorted to ground and running a constant 120 VAC through the element.

If it’s glowing red, you’d have a multitude of failures.

Does the broil element work properly ?

Hope this helps,

Basic bake circuit
L1 is supplied to the power relay board on connector P6/Black,
When you program a bake cycle the relay board closes a mini relay and supplies L1 to one side of the bake element, on the P2 terminal on the power relay board.

L2 is supplied to all the elements through the double line break relay.
When the relay board/ control activates the L1 relay to the element, at the same time it supplies 24 VDC to the relay, the relay closes and allows the L2/red 120 VAC through the relay and supplies the voltage to the other side of the element, you have 240 VAC at the element and it’s on and glowing red.

It is possible that the contacts on either or both relays shorted when the original element shorted out, but not a likely scenario.
( most shorted relays aren’t intermittent, since the unit worked OK for a couple of weeks).

When you cancel the cycle or the oven is shut off, there should be NO voltage at either wire terminal of the bake element, unless at least one relay is shorted closed, or you have a damaged wire.

Good Luck,

Norman_G · February 22, 2011, 11:09pm

Thanks for your reply.

Checked bake element with my meter, tested good. Put power to unit, got no voltage with oven off. Turned oven on, element glowed red, 120v on each side. Shut oven off, no voltage to element, and it cooled down.

Scratched my head, and started chasing wires looking for short. Removed rear access panel and found the plunger for the door latch solenoid partially melted and hanging from its bracket. The solenoid itself appeared to be intact. I removed the melted plunger assembly and cleaned melted plastic from where it had dripped. This was hardened plastic and had obviously not melted recently. I made sure the door latch rod was not engaging the door latch switch actuator and re-assembled the unit.

I haven’t put the oven through a complete bake and cool-down cycle yet but am wondering if this could have caused the problem? Is it ok/safe to operate the oven with the lock plunger missing? I could not find a replacement listed in your parts catalog. What are your feelings?

Thanks again for your help.

Joe_APP_Team · February 23, 2011, 3:25pm

[quote=Norman G.;359720]Thanks for your reply.

Checked bake element with my meter, tested good. Put power to unit, got no voltage with oven off. Turned oven on, element glowed red, 120v on each side. Shut oven off, no voltage to element, and it cooled down.

Scratched my head, and started chasing wires looking for short. Removed rear access panel and found the plunger for the door latch solenoid partially melted and hanging from its bracket. The solenoid itself appeared to be intact. I removed the melted plunger assembly and cleaned melted plastic from where it had dripped. This was hardened plastic and had obviously not melted recently. I made sure the door latch rod was not engaging the door latch switch actuator and re-assembled the unit.

I haven’t put the oven through a complete bake and cool-down cycle yet but am wondering if this could have caused the problem? Is it ok/safe to operate the oven with the lock plunger missing? I could not find a replacement listed in your parts catalog. What are your feelings?

Thanks again for your help.[/quote]

Norman,

Which switch assembly are we discussing ?
(I’m a little confused,sounds like the S/C latch/switch assembly)

AP3084982

AP3178818

If it is the plunger switch on the front of the oven(AP3084982), that is the circuit that controls the oven light, you could operate the range, as long as you tape off the wire terminals. The oven light should be on ?

If it’s the S/C latch switch assembly(AP3178818), that could explain the intermittent operation of the oven, and again, as long as you tape off the wire terminals, so they dont’t short out, you should be able to test and operate the range, on a temporary bassis.