Range: Oven Won't Heat

A range where the cooktop burners work fine but the oven cavity stays cold — or barely warms up — leaves half the appliance unusable and typically points to a fault isolated within the oven's own heating circuit rather than a problem with the range as a whole.

In electric ranges, the bake element along the bottom of the oven cavity is the most frequent failure point, since it does the majority of the work during baking and roasting. A failed element may show visible cracks, blistering, or an area that no longer glows orange when the oven is heating, or it may show no visible damage at all while still testing as an open circuit with a multimeter. Bake elements are one of the more straightforward oven parts to replace.

Gas ranges rely on an oven igniter, which must draw enough current to glow hot enough to open the safety valve before gas can flow to the burner. A weak igniter will take much longer than the normal 90 seconds to open the valve, or may not open it at all, leaving the oven with no heat despite audible clicking or a visible dim glow from the igniter itself.

The temperature sensor probe, a metal rod usually mounted at the rear or side of the oven cavity, reports the internal temperature to the control board. A sensor that has drifted out of calibration, is touching the oven wall, or has failed outright will cause the board to either shut off heating prematurely or never reach the set temperature, both of which can present as 'the oven won't heat' even though the heating element itself is functioning correctly.

Finally, check that a self-clean cycle hasn't left the door latch in a locked position — many ranges will not operate the oven at all if the control board believes the self-clean lock is engaged but not fully seated. Cycling the range's power at the breaker for a minute can sometimes clear a stuck latch signal, though a persistent fault will need a technician to inspect the latch motor and switch.