The oven is too hot
So you've noticed for a while that your oven is overheating your food and you don't know why? In this article, we'll explain the various reasons that may be behind this malfunction. Once you have worked out exactly what is at fault, you can start repairing your appliance.
THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT:
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A thermostat problem
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One of your oven's heating elements is no longer working properly
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The cross flow fan has e malfunction
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The temperature sensor is faulty
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One of the switches is faulty
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The main circuitboard is defective
WARNING
Before carrying out any work on your appliance, make sure you properly disconnect it from the mains electricity supply.
There is a risk of an electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of cutting yourself.
The thermostat is defective
The Thermostat, whose job is to regulate the temperature inside your oven, may be malfunctioning or broken. This may mean the oven reaches a much higher temperature than what you set it to. You can check it by testing it with a multimeter set to the Ohmmeter position. You must remove the connectors attached to the thermostat (in most cases the upper panel needs removing to access the back of the control panel, where the thermostat is located). It will be one of two cases:
- • If the oven is overheating, permanent continuity will show on the thermostat even when the thermostat is set to 0. The thermostat has short-circuited or the bulb is broken, has a hole in it or is porous (no fluid)
- • If the oven is not heating, the thermostat will not show any continuity regardless of the position requested.
Purchase a new thermostat for an oven
>One of your oven's heating elements is defective
One of the various heating elements (circular heating element, top heating element or bottom heating element) may not be getting any power or may have burnt out lugs. If one of these heating elements is malfunctioning, your food will no longer be cooked evenly. For example, if your pies are burned on the top and raw on the bottom, your circular or bottom heating element is definitely defective.
Purchase a heating element for an oven
The convection fan isn't working
This fan is used in convection ovens. It diffuses and circulates heat better so your food is more evenly cooked. If it's no longer doing its job, the circular heating element may overheat, which may explain why your food comes out of the appliance burnt. You can check the convection fan using a multimeter (see our blog post on testing an oven fan below).
Purchase a convection fan for an oven
The temperature sensor is faulty
Thise sensor is only used in electronic ovens. It informs the main circuit board that the right temperature has been reached (or if it hasn't). If the temperature sensor is defective, it can send inconsistent electrical signals to the main circuit board and therefore to the various other components in the oven. Excessive heat may be produced. You can check the sensor with a multimeter set to the Ohmmeter position (more details in our article below about temperature sensor testing).
Purchase a temperature sensor for an oven
One of the switches is faulty
All the buttons on the front fascia of your oven are actually connected to switches. These buttons enable you to set up or cut certain electrical connections in your appliance. These switches therefore control the oven's functions such as turning on the oven's heating element, adjusting the degree of heat, etc. If their contacts are burnt out or if they are simply burned, this means the heating elements are unable to reach the right temperature and therefore the oven heats or food doesn't get cooked evenly. If you want to check the switches yourself, you'll find them behind the oven's selector dial. If they're not working, this is usually visible to the naked eye.
The main circuitboard is defective
The main circuit board, handles all the oven functions... If you have already checked the parts listed above and everything is fine, the main circuit board may be the culprit with bad contacts or a short circuit, which means the oven power supply is no longer under control and can result in the oven overheating. You can either do this yourself or call on the services of a manufacturer-approved engineer.