Your Cooker Trips The RCD Or Circuit Breaker

Just like any other appliance, a cooker can cause the power to trip. This can be quite an annoying problem, especially if you use your cooker a lot. Here we explain what might be causing you to have this issue.

THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT:

• There is an issue with the electricity supply to the appliance

• The circuit breaker has tripped

• The terminal block is not properly tightened

• The grill element is faulty

• The base element is faulty

• The circular element is faulty

• The door element has broken

• The convection fan has failed

• The cooling fan is damaged

• The oven-light housing is short circuiting

• Damage has occurred to electrical cables/wires

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of getting cut or injured.

There is an issue with the electricity supply to the appliance

If you oven is causing the power to trip, the first think to check is your plug and socket. These might have melted, making it difficult for you to unplug the plug from the socket. If this has happened in your case, switch the current off and try unplugging the plug to check it. If you have any terminal connectors fitted, you will need to check that they're properly tightened and the electric wires are in good condition. After you've done this, next check there's definitely current at the wall socket with the help of a multimeter in voltmeter mode (set to the highest AC voltage range). Place the meter's two probes in the socket's live and neutral slots (the lower two holes on a UK 3-pin plug socket). You should get a reading of around 230 V.

The circuit breaker has tripped

It is important to be able to differentiate between the two kinds of electrical tripping that may occur, as this makes a difference to the way the fault is diagnosed. You could have either the master circuit breaker on your circuit tripping or just a differential circuit breaker (30 mA) on one part of it. If it's the master circuit breaker, this means there's either a short circuit or your mains circuit is overloaded (you are consuming more current than it's designed to cope with). If, on the other hand, it's a differential circuit breaker that's tripping, this means there's a current leak on one of the electrically powered parts of your oven.

The terminal block is not properly tightened

The terminal block is located on the back of your oven and serves to connect the cooker's internal wiring to its external cabling. If the terminal block is not properly tightened, this will create a faulty contact. This faulty contact could overheat the terminal block, and may even cause it to melt. Should this occur, it will trip the power.

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The grill element is faulty

The grill element is located inside your oven, at the top. It enables your oven to operate in grill mode. Over time and with use, the grill element can wear out and end up causing the power to trip. If you want to check whether this is the source of the issue, first disconnect the appliance from the electricity, then unplug the grill element from its connectors and insulate them with electrical tape. Next turn your oven on to see whether it works or not. If the power no longer trips, you will need to replace this element.

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The base element is faulty

The base element is located inside your oven, at the bottom. It generates heat in the lower part of your appliance. With use, base elements can develop faults and end up tripping the power. If you want to check whether it's working properly or not, first disconnect the appliance from the electricity supply, then unplug the base element from its connectors and insulate them using electrical tape. Switch your oven on to see if it now works as normal. If the power no longer trips, you will need to replace this element.

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The circular element is faulty

The circular element enables your oven to operate in convection mode. If your oven makes regular use of this element in its various cooking programmes, it can end up wearing out, causing the power to trip. If you want to check whether it's working properly or not, first disconnect the appliance from the electricity supply, then unplug the wires from the circular element and insulate them with electrical tape. Switch your oven on to see if it now works as normal. If the power no longer trips, you will probably need to replace this element.

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The door element has broken

If you have an older type oven that has a self-clean mode (pyrolysis), it may be fitted with a door element. This will be installed around the internal face of your oven. As with your appliance's other heating elements, the door element can end up developing a fault, causing it to trip the power. To check and test it, disconnect the appliance from the electricity supply, then disconnect the connectors from the door element and insulate them with electrical tape. Switch your oven on to see if it now works. If the power no longer trips, you will need to replace this element. Warning: door elements are difficult to access!

The convection fan has failed

The purpose of the convection fan is to circulate the heat generated by your oven's heating elements. If the fan's electric coil is damaged, it could cause the power to trip. To check the convection fan, first disconnect the appliance from the electricity, then disconnect the wires from the fan and insulate them using electrical tape. If the power no longer trips when you turn the oven back on, you will need to replace the fan.

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The cooling fan is damaged

The cooling fan will normally be located somewhere at the top of your oven's interior. If the fan's electric coil is damaged, it could cause the power to trip. To check and test the cooling fan, disconnect the appliance from the electricity; disconnect the fan connectors, and insulate them with electrical tape; then turn the oven on again. If it no longer trips the power, you will need to replace the fan.

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The oven-light housing is short circuiting

Oven-light housings can wear over time, or get gunged up with fat and grease from your oven. When this happens, it can cause the power to trip. To check and test it, turn off the power to the oven and disconnect the wires from the light housing, then insulate them with electrical tape. Turn the oven on to see if the power no longer trips. If it doesn't, you will need to replace the light housing.

Damage has occurred to electrical cables/wires

All the functional parts of your cooker are connected by electrical wires. Each of these wires has connectors at both ends, and these can sometimes get damaged (due to electrical overheating, twisting, bending or cutting). If they end up working loose or melting, they will come into contact with the metal body of the oven or another earthed component of some kind, causing the power to trip. Note: check to see whether any of these wires have got pinched between the metal sections of your oven's body, which can happen in some cases.