Gas Range w/elect ignition- Oven & broiler stopped heating


  #1  
Old 09-26-01, 11:37 PM
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Our 5 yr old GE jgbp30gev4ad Gas range with spark igniter (no pilot) no longer heats in bake or broil mode (bake worked fine one day, not the next, hardly ever use broil). There is no smell of gas, no hissing sound, no heat, no igniter sound (clicking). Tried both bake and broil positions on the rotary knob on the cooktop console. Oven Cycle light on top console DOES light, and oven light inside oven does come on, so I know I am getting voltage, but neither selector knob position produced any results.

All four surface burners work fine.

We tested the electronic timer to try a time bake and it went through all the motions of beeping, couting down etc, but produced no results, as in any heat.

The "self clean" is probably not an issue as it requires the door to be locked with a lever, and we were NOT doing that.

Someone suggested to me that BOTH igniters or burners in the oven need replacing. I don't agree with that, as neither the bake or broil does anything, and there are separate burners and igniters, so I would think the broiler would at least work, if the bake igniter and/or burner was bad, correct?

Sounds like a spark module, or thermostat, but how does one test them before ording parts? I am fairly good with electricity, have voltmeter, but not sure of working around gas appliances.

I want to narrow down the potential problem as much as possible and not just "swap out" parts, until I find the culprit, as they are so expensive.

I DO have exploded views with parts lists of the stove that I got online from http://www.geappliances.com and their parts pages.

 
  #2  
Old 09-28-01, 01:43 PM
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Hello Remay. Welcome to my Gas Appliances forum and the Do It Yourself Web Site.

I would suggest you test for voltage and continuity at the thermostat terminals, the selector switchs, the spark modual and possibly at the fuse, if equipped with one.

Chances are good current may not be reaching the spark modual. It may be there but not passing through the modual either. In that case, a replacement part owuld be needed.

The do-it-yourself person can do electrical tests and continuity tests on several of the parts often used in ovens. However, neither of these tests will provide proof positive the part being tested is actually functioning correctly. Therefore, do not rely solely on either test.

If you plan to replace any part yourself, the only positive proof any part is functioning correctly, is to carefully remove the part or parts you suspect to be the potential culprit, and have the local appliance parts store person run the required tests.

A source for orginal replacement parts is your local retail appliance parts store. Appliance parts dealers carry replacement parts for all appliances and are listed in the phone book under appliances.

Retail parts dealers can also help determine what the possible problem may be. Bring the make, model and serial numbers if you stop in at the store. The info will help to determine the ignition system and possible problem causes.

As an alternate source for additional information and part sales, you may elect to patronize our online sponsor and check the Electric Appliances forum for parts.

Check the ARCHIVES, within this forum, for other postings on this topic and the replies offered.

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  #3  
Old 10-13-01, 03:14 AM
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no oven or broil heat problem solved

I solved the problem...

It was the cylindrical ceramic glowbar igniter used for the oven burner.

Evidently, the two glowbar igniters (oven and broiler) are in series and the electrical path goes through the oven igniter first, then the broiler, so when the oven igniter failed, the broiler couldn't get current to it, so that is why it didn't work.

I found out that between the two leads of the oven glowbar it was an electrical "open", whereas the broiler igniter was a "short". So I bought a replacement oven glowbar igniter. Unfortunately, it showed it was "open" when checked at the parts place, so I bought it "on faith", being told I couldn't return the $68 part after I tried it.

When I installed the new igniter, and turned the oven on, nothing happened still. This is where I showed my ignorance. I turned the oven on expecting to hear the same snapping sound as heard when the surface burners are started. I heard nothing and smelled no gas, and so about 10 secs after turning it on, I turned it off. I figured the problem was somewhere else, especially when I knew the brand new igniter was an electrical "open", just like the old one.

The repairman who came out to repair the stove after I replaced the igniter (still thinking the new one was bad), had the same opinion as I did. After testing the oven the same way I did, he replaced the igniter I bought with one out of his truck and it's element started to glow within seconds of turning the oven on! He told me I must have bought a bad igniter and told me to try and take it back and get another one. This made sense, since the new igniter was electrically open. So he left with his own igniter.

But now SEEING what happened and UNDERSTANDING better what to expect when the oven was turned on, I re-installed the one I bought and left the oven turned on for about 30-40 sec. The glowbar FINALLY started glowing, getting brighter and brighter (hotter and hotter) until the electrical current passing through it was high enough (2-3 Amps?) to activate the flow of gas in the burner and ignite.

Why the igniter I bought took so long before the element started to glow or why it was an electrical open, I don't know, but the oven (and broiler) are working fine again with the igniter I bought.

 
  #4  
Old 10-13-01, 04:14 AM
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Hello Remay

Glad to know you found the problem and your appliance is working now. Thanks for posting the updated additional information.

What side-tracked me from suggesting to you in my orginal reply to first replace the oven glow coil was not finding any mentioning in your appliance problem discription that the oven and broiler had glow coils and not spark ignitors.

My assumption was incorrect as stated in my orginal reply which was based solely upon the problem discription you posted. Knowing exactly which ignition system the oven had, I would have been able to help you avoid the service call fee of a professional and suggest replacing the glow coil.

The two operating systems between glow coils and spark ignitions, used in ovens and broilers, are drastically different from each other. And both systems are different from spark ignitors used to lite stove top burners {Surface Burners}

Glow coils do not spark nor make snapping sounds like the sparkers used to lite top burners. They simply begin to glow brightly and get extremely hot.

On the other system, spark ignition systems used in place of glow coils in some models and types of ovens do spark and make sparking snapping sounds to lite a pilot, which in turn heats an element.

Regards,
Tom
 
 

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