Wall Oven: Why won't my wall oven bake?

Many ovens have a thermal switch or a thermal fuse that protects the oven from overheating.

If the oven has a thermal fuse, the fuse trips when the oven temperature gets too hot. You can't reset a thermal fuse so you'll have to replace the fuse if it trips.

You'll also need to investigate the cause of overheating if the oven got extremely hot before the fuse tripped. A stuck relay on the electronic control board can cause the bake or broil element to heat constantly. Check the control board for a burnt spot or melted relay. Replace the control board if damaged.

If the oven has a thermal switch, you can reset the switch by turning off electricity to the oven, removing the exterior back oven panel and pushing the red reset button on the back of the switch. If the switch tripped during the self-clean cycle because excessive residue inside the oven caused the oven to overheat, then you can reset the thermal switch and the oven may work properly. If the thermal switch continues to trip and the oven doesn't overheat, you'll likely need to replace the thermal switch because the switch is tripping at the normal oven operating temperature. If the oven overheats and trips the thermal switch after you reset the thermal switch, then you'll need to investigate the cause of the overheating as described above.

Most gas ovens have a glow-bar oven igniter and a safety gas valve. Those components are connected in a series-type electrical circuit. When the glow-bar oven igniter is hot enough to safely ignite the gas, the safety gas valve opens. Replace the oven igniter if doesn't glow, or if it glows but doesn't get hot enough to open the gas valve. Some ovens have a separate igniter for the bake burner and the broiler burner, which operate on the same principle.

The oven thermostat is a temperature-controlled switch that controls heating inside the oven. Replace the thermostat if it doesn't maintain the oven temperature incorrectly, if it fails to turn on to the oven burner to heat the oven, or if it fails to turn off the burner when the oven is at the set temperature.

In an electric oven, the bake element at the bottom of the oven and the broil element at the top of the oven provide the heat for baking and broiling. Replace them if they're broken or if the oven isn't heating properly.

The oven temperature sensor probe detects the actual temperature in the oven cavity. Replace it if it's not detecting the temperature properly, in which case the oven doesn't maintain the temperature you set. A complete failure, in which the sensor probe doesn't detect any temperature at all, usually triggers an error code on the electronic oven control board.

The electronic oven control (EOC) board governs the timing and execution of oven functions such as baking and broiling. It's usually in the control console and often has a digital clock on the front of its housing. Replace the electronic control board if it doesn't light up when it's supplied with electrical power, if it doesn't operate properly or doesn't properly send voltage to the bake or broil element (in an electric oven) or burner (in a gas oven).

Some wall ovens have a relay control board that's separate from electronic control board. The relay board has electrical relays that control voltage going to major loads such as the bake element or a surface element, based on signals from the control board. Replace the relay control board if it fails to properly control voltage to a component.