When a gas oven stops and won’t heat right just when you’re about to make dinner, your otherwise reliable gas appliance can become a hassle. So, why would your gas oven not heat?
Here are 6 reasons why your gas oven isn’t heating:
- There is no electricity supply.
- There is no gas supply.
- The oven igniter is faulty.
- The safety valve is malfunctioning.
- The thermostat is defective.
- The oven control board is defective.
Read the rest of the article to find out how to resolve these gas oven problems and get your appliance heating again.
There Is No Electricity Supply
As you might’ve guessed from its name, a gas oven uses natural gas as its main energy source. At the same time, it also needs a 120V electric current to start and run certain components like the gas igniter, timer, and oven light. As such, if your gas oven isn’t receiving an adequate supply of electricity, it won’t heat up.
Below are some possible causes of electricity supply issues to your gas oven:
- A wall outlet switch that’s turned off
- A faulty wall outlet
- A damaged power cord
- A tripped circuit breaker or burned fuse
How To Fix Gas Oven Electricity Supply Issues
Depending on which of the above is causing your gas oven not to receive power, you can do one (or more) of the following as needed:
- Check the gas oven power outlet switch. If it’s switched off, turn it back on.
- If the switch is turned on, but no electric current is flowing, plug a different kitchen appliance into the same outlet. If the other appliance turns on, the power issue isn’t with the wall outlet. If the other appliance doesn’t turn on either, call a trained electrician to assess the wall outlet.
- If the outlet isn’t the issue, assess the power cord to ensure it has no damaged or threadbare sections. If the cord is intact, proceed to the next step.
- Open the circuit breaker housing and check if the switch dedicated to the gas oven is tripped. If it is, turn the switch back on. Never force a circuit breaker switch that feels hard to turn, as this is a sign there are bigger issues. Instead, call a certified electrician to resolve the issue.
- If your oven electricity supply uses a fuse, check if the fuse’s filament is broken or the fuse glass tube is dirty. If so, replace the fuse.
If the issue with your non-heating gas oven isn’t the power supply, there’s likely a gas supply problem instead.
There Is No Gas Supply
Even if your gas oven receives enough electricity to power the igniter and other components, your oven won’t heat if there’s no gas coming into the unit. Gas ovens need a consistent gas supply to start heating and power the oven cycles throughout the cooking time.
There are two possible causes a gas oven isn’t receiving enough gas:
- The gas valve is turned off.
- The home gas line isn’t receiving gas.
How To Fix an Oven Gas Supply Issue
If you suspect your oven gas supply valve is turned off (due to a recent cleaning or repair, for example), locate the gas valve and turn it back on. The gas valve handle should be parallel to the gas line when turned on and perpendicular (a quarter turn) to the gas line when turned off.
If the gas supply valve is turned on but you suspect a gas supply issue, your home gas line may not be receiving gas. In this case, do not try to perform any trial-and-error troubleshooting fixes for gas supply issues. Contact your gas supplier or hire a repairman to remedy the problem.
If there are no issues with the electricity or gas supply, your gas oven may have problems with one or more of the components I’ll talk about in the next sections.
The Oven Igniter Is Faulty
When you turn on a gas oven, the igniter receives an electrical current. As the igniter heats up, the safety valve receives the signal and opens gas to the oven’s broil or bake tube to start the heating flame.
If the oven igniter is faulty due to wear and tear (or other causes), it will either not heat at all or not heat enough to send the signal to the safety valve. In other words, gas won’t be sent to the oven, and there will be no flame on the broil or bake burners. As a result, your gas oven won’t heat.
How To Assess and Fix a Faulty Gas Oven Igniter
You can check if your gas oven igniter is heating by checking if the element glows after turning on the oven and if the burner turns on 3 minutes after the oven is turned on.
If the igniter doesn’t glow and the burner doesn’t turn on within 90 seconds, the igniter isn’t heating enough to signal the safety valve to open the gas. This is a sign that the igniter is faulty and needs replacement. You can also test the igniter for continuity.
Here are the steps for testing and replacing a faulty gas oven igniter:
- Turn off electricity to the oven via the circuit breaker.
- Cut the gas supply via the gas supply valve.
- Open the door and take out the oven racks.
- Lift the bottom panel and take it out of the oven. You may need to unthread some screws to remove the bottom panel in some oven models.
- Check the overlapping of the igniter’s carbide electrode on the burner holes before taking anything out.
- Loosen the screws holding the igniter bracket to the burner.
- Disconnect the igniter’s wire harness and remove the igniter plug from the harness by pressing the securing tabs.
- Take out the igniter from the oven.
- Test the igniter for continuity to confirm if it’s the one causing the issue. To do this, rotate the multimeter dial to the lowest reading for ohms of resistance. Touch each terminal of the igniter with a probe of the multimeter.
An igniter with continuity will show a ohms’ reading between 0 and 1,100. If nothing happens on the multimeter display when you touch the terminals with the probes, the igniter is faulty.
In that case, you can replace the igniter as follows.
- Assuming you’ve already ordered the new igniter for your gas oven, plug the igniter connector into the wire harness. Do not touch the carbide electrode.
- Rework the overlapping of the electrode carbide to the burner holes.
- Attach the new igniter to the bracket and screw it onto the burner.
- Replace the bottom panel and fasten the screws if needed.
- Put back the oven racks and close the door.
- Turn on the electricity and gas and test your oven for heating.
You can follow these steps in this SEARS PartDirect video:
The Safety Valve Is Malfunctioning
A gas oven safety valve works with the igniter and the burner tubes. When the igniter heats up to the required level, the bimetallic strip in the oven safety valve opens the valve to send gas to the burner tubes. The burners then turn on to heat the oven.
A malfunctioning safety valve isn’t a common gas oven issue. However, the bimetallic strip within the safety valve can sometimes be faulty and fail to open, causing the gas not to go into the burner tube and the oven not to start heating.
You can test the valve for continuity and replace it if it’s malfunctioning.
How To Test and Replace a Gas Oven Safety Valve
The easiest way to tell if the safety valve in your gas oven is malfunctioning is to check if the igniter is glowing. If the igniter glows, but the burners don’t ignite after 3 minutes, the gas safety valve may be malfunctioning and not opening to allow gas flow to the burners.
You can also test a gas oven safety valve for continuity to make sure it’s the culprit.
If the gas oven safety valve is the issue, follow these steps to test and replace it:
- Shut off both gas and electricity to the oven (via the gas supply valve and circuit breaker, respectively).
- Open the door and take the racks out.
- Remove the bottom panel to access the burner area.
- Unscrew the burner tube and set it aside.
- From the back of the oven, remove the screws holding the lower back access panel and set it aside.
- Disconnect the wires of the safety valve from the terminals by pressing the tabs to release. (Note that some ovens have a separate safety valve for the broil and bake burners.) You can test the valve for continuity at this point to confirm whether it has malfunctioned.
- Rotate the multimeter dial to set it at the lowest ohms of resistance.
- Use one of the meter probes to touch one terminal of the safety valve and the other probe to touch the other terminal. If the multimeter has a reading between 0 and 5 ohms, the safety valve has continuity. If the meter needle doesn’t change position, the valve has no continuity. In that case, you should replace it.
- Securely hold the valve with an adjustable wrench while rotating to loosen the nut that secures the gas line with a wrench that fits the nut size.
- Loosen the screws that hold the valve to the rear panel and remove the safety valve.
- Install the new safety valve where the old one was. The orifice tube attached to the safety valve should go into the oven through the hole in the back panel.
- Align the gas line at the safety valve connection and fasten the screws of the valve to firm it on the rear panel.
- Tighten the gas line nut. Be sure to hold the safety valve with a wrench while fastening the valve to prevent any damage from the shaking.
- Reconnect the safety valve wires.
- Replace the bottom access panel and screw it on.
- From the front, replace the burner and fasten the mounting screws.
- Put back the bottom panel and racks and close the door. You can now test if the oven is heating again.
The Thermostat Is Defective
Your gas oven’s thermostat controls and monitors the oven temperature. When the set temperature is reached, the thermostat signals the igniter to stop heating. Once the temperature drops below the set value, the thermostat sends a signal to start heating.
If the thermostat is bad, it won’t communicate with the igniter, which means your oven cannot initiate the heating process. You should replace a faulty thermostat.
How To Test and Replace a Defective Gas Oven Thermostat
Follow these steps to test and replace a gas oven thermostat:
- Cut power to the oven by flipping the circuit breaker switch and making a quarter turn to the gas supply valve handle. As I said earlier, the handle for the latter should be perpendicular to the gas line if it’s turned off.
- Remove the screws holding the oven’s rear panel using a Phillips head screwdriver and set the cover aside.
- Locate the oven thermostat at the bottom right of the oven rear. Disconnect the wire that leads to the plastic plug by pulling both ends of the plug.
- Unthread the two screws holding the thermostat to the oven and carefully pull out the thermostat. Set it aside for testing.
- Set the multimeter to the lowest ohms reading. Place each multimeter probe on a terminal of the thermostat. The multimeter should show a reading between 1,000 and 1,100 ohms if it has continuity. If the reading is far from this, the thermostat is defective and must be replaced.
- Take the new thermostat and slide it through the hole into the oven. Fasten the securing screws.
- Hold the two ends of the plastic plug and reattach it to the thermostat.
- Put the rear panel back and thread the screws to secure it.
- Power the oven by turning on gas and electricity and test the oven to see if heating resumes.
This Repair Clinic video on YouTube talks about the Whirlpool gas oven and will give you a better idea of how to perform the above steps:
The Oven Control Board Is Defective
If you’ve ruled out all other issues causing your gas oven not to heat, it’s likely the oven control board is to blame.
The control board is the PCB (printed circuit board) of your oven and controls all the oven functions. That means if it malfunctions, your oven won’t work at all.
Testing an oven control board for defects can be tricky. I recommend calling a trained oven technician to assess the control board and determine if it’s defective and needs replacement.
How To Replace a Gas Oven Control Board
To replace a gas oven control board, follow these steps:
- Cut off the gas and electricity current to the oven.
- Remove the screws holding the rear panel of the oven and set it aside.
- Locate the control board and disconnect the wires. Ensure you note where each wire connects so it’ll be much easier to reconnect them later.
- Unthread the screws securing the control board and take it out of the oven assemblage.
- Remove the overlay from the old control board and attach it to the new one. If the old one isn’t in good condition, purchase a new overlay for the new control board.
- Install the new oven control board where the old one was and fasten the screws.
- Reconnect the wires to the control board.
- Put back the rear panel and fasten the holding screws.
- Switch on the gas and electricity to the oven and test if the appliance resumes heating.
Always remember that calling a trained oven technician is the best option if you’re not sure you can assess and fix a gas oven heating issue by yourself.