Your Oven Comes On By Itself
Is your oven playing tricks on you and coming on all by itself? Here we explain the possible causes for this behaviour.
THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS ISSUE:
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The programme selector is gunged up
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The temperature sensor is faulty
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There is an issue with the electrical installation
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Damage has occurred to electrical cables/wires
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A fault code is being displayed
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The main circuit board is faulty
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.
The programme selector is gunged up
The programme selector allows you to choose the cooking mode. Over time, it can get covered in dirt or grime, causing a bad contact. If this is happening in your case, your oven will come on without you even touching it. Try cleaning the programme selector with your oven turned off and the power disconnected. Use a purpose-made electrical contact cleaning spray. If your programme selector looks to be in bad condition, it may be better to replace it.
Purchase a programme selector for your oven
The temperature sensor is faulty
If just the fan is coming on unexpectedly by itself, it's possible you could have a temperature sensor fault. The temperature sensor lets the power module know whether your oven has reached the required temperature or not. If it's faulty, it will register different values than normal, and this could be interpreted as the oven overheating. Where this is the case, the fan will begin operating and the appliance may end up displaying a fault code.
There is an issue with the electrical installation
If the electrical socket to which your oven is connected is also used by other appliances at the same time, or is affected by an electrical fault of some kind, the oven's main circuit board will have trouble operating properly and the oven may come on by itself and/or display a fault code. Check that the socket is definitely working properly (by plugging another appliance into it for example) and that the socket is definitely earthed (i.e. no voltage between neutral and earth – seek the help of an electrician).
Quick reminder: you are strongly advised not to plug large domestic appliances into multi-socket extension leads. These kinds of appliances require a dedicated socket/connection unit.
Damage has occurred to electrical cables/wires
All the functional parts of your oven are connected together by electrical wires. All these wires have connectors at each end that may be defective due to electrical overheating, or because they've been twisted, bent, or cut in some way. When connectors get damaged like this, they can come loose or melt and end up coming into contact with the oven's metal body or some other part/component. This will result in erroneous information being sent to the main circuit board, which could cause your oven to come on by itself. Carefully check the condition of your oven's internal wiring and replace all components/wires that are showing any signs of wear or damage.
A fault code is being displayed
The oven may come on all by itself if the appliance is displaying a fault/error code. These codes are used to inform you that the main circuit board has detected a fault. This could be a sensor fault, a door lock issue, a problem with the fan, a heating element failure – the codes are specific to each brand and model of oven.
The main circuit board is faulty
The circuit board manages all your oven's functions (tangential fan motor, heat generation, etc.). If everything else detailed above has been checked, it may be that the circuit board needs replacing. You can either do this yourself or call on the services of a manufacturer-approved engineer.