It can be a frustrating experience when your Whirlpool oven suddenly stops heating. While there’s no apparent cause, and you may be worried that it will be costly to repair, there are specific points you should be aware of that may be the root of this problem.
So in this article, I’m going to explain exactly what causes this issue and give you all the solutions you need to get the problem fixed as quickly and as easily as possible.
Why is your Whirlpool Oven Not Heating?
The good news is this problem isn’t usually as serious as it may seem. It often comes down to a minor component failure that can easily be repaired or replaced very cheaply.
So let’s first walk through the main reasons why your Whirlpool oven stops heating so you will have a better idea of how to go about addressing it.
1. A Power Supply Problem
For an oven to heat properly, it needs to have a working power supply that is stable and consistent. This applies to both gas and electric ovens, as even gas ovens have many electrical components inside them.
In this case, there may have been an electrical surge that tripped the circuit breaker. Or if it’s being used on a power strip or multi-plug alongside other devices, then it may not be able to deliver the 250 volts required for an electric oven.
You’ll need to inspect the power supply for the oven and ensure everything is working smoothly before moving on.
2. A Gas Supply Problem
This only applies to gas-powered Whirlpool ovens. In addition to a working power supply, these ovens also need a steady gas supply to be able to heat.
If anything has interrupted the gas supply, such as the safety valve not being turned on, or maybe one of your home’s gas valves is faulty and needs to be replaced. So the gas system must be inspected and fixed before your oven can heat.
3. The Igniter is not Working
The igniter is a small component inside the oven that creates an electrical spark that ignites the gas supply to generate heat.
Sometimes the igniter can fail or burn out, which prevents it from being able to generate this electrical spark. When this happens, the igniter will simply need to be replaced with a new one.
4. The Broil Spark Electrode is not Working
Many modern Whirlpool ovens have a broil flame at the top of the oven, essentially acting like a grill by providing intense heat directly on top of the food.
These often have their own component to light them independently of the main igniter, called a broil spark electrode.
The broil spark electrode can often burn out or fail, just like the igniter can and should be tested for continuity using a multimeter. If it’s found to be non-functional, then it too will need to be replaced.
5. The Heating Element has Failed
Electric ovens use a coiled element that has an electrical current pass through it, heating it up. Sometimes these elements can fail, usually due to overheating, which causes one of the welds to go bad, or it may be due to a manufacturing defect.
While these can be tested with a multimeter, the simplest and easiest way to check if the heating element is working is just to turn your oven up to a very high temperature and visually inspect the part.
If it’s glowing red hot, it means it’s working ok; if it doesn’t glow at all, then the element has failed and must be replaced with a new one.
6. The Thermal Fuse has Failed
The thermal fuse is a safety device that constantly monitors the oven’s internal temperature to ensure things don’t get too hot.
When the temperature exceeds a safe operating level, the thermal fuse will blow and immediately cut power to the oven to prevent any risk of fire or further damage to the internal oven components.
Once the thermal fuse has blown, it will need to be replaced, as these are single-use components.
7. A Control Board Issue
The control board acts as the ‘brain’ of the oven, passing out instructions to the various components of the oven to make it operate correctly. It’s quite common for something to go wrong on the control board, which in turn prevents the oven from heating up.
The main issue is that control boards are very complicated devices and extremely hard to diagnose and fix. So the usual course of action here is just to contact a technician to replace the board entirely.
8. The Temperature isn’t Correctly Calibrated
Sometimes the oven’s internal temperature doesn’t match up with the heating level you have chosen.
This may cause some confusion as your oven may appear like it’s not heating when really it’s that the temperature needs to be calibrated so that the amount of heat you have selected is what the internal temperature will be brought up to.
Fortunately, the calibration process is quite simple and can be easily performed through the oven’s menu system.
How to Fix a Whirlpool Oven Not Heating?
As you can see, if any components utilized by the oven for heating purposes fail, the oven will not be able to come up to temperature.
Now you have a better idea of where these failure points occur, you can now go about testing and fixing them.
1. Restore the Power Supply
If your oven doesn’t have a stable and consistent supply of power, then it won’t be able to heat properly. For electric ovens, you need to have at least 250 volts, or for gas ovens, 120 volts are supplied at all times.
The first thing to do is check the circuit breaker the oven is using; it may have been tripped due to something like a power surge and needs to be flipped back on.
Additionally, you should also ensure the oven has its own dedicated wall outlet and isn’t being shared with other devices via a power strip or multi-outlet, as this can prevent the oven from receiving a stable supply of power.
If neither of these solutions restores the power supply to your oven, you may need to contact a trained electrician, as there might be a problem with your home’s electrical wiring system.
2. Ensure the Gas Supply is Working
Gas-powered ovens require a consistent supply of gas to produce heat. If the gas supply has been interrupted, ensure your home’s safety valve and all other gas valves are open and switched on.
An easy way to test that gas is being supplied is to turn the gas on in the oven but don’t light it; if you can smell gas, it means the gas is working.
If the gas still isn’t working, there may be an issue with your home’s gas supply, in which case we suggest closing all the valves and contacting a technician to inspect and repair the problem before proceeding.
3. Replace the Igniter
If the igniter is not working, then the gas supplied to the oven will not be able to light. Fortunately, they are quite easy to replace.
- Start by turning the oven off at the circuit board.
- Remove the bottom oven racks and remove the screws holding the base plate on.
- Remove the base plate, and the igniter should be located directly underneath.
- Unscrew the old igniter and unplug the attached wires; this can now be discarded.
- Place the new igniter in and attach the wires and screws back in the same configuration as the old one.
- Re-attach the base plate and trays.
- Power the oven back on and test the igniter to make sure it works before proceeding.
4. Replace the Broil Spark Electrode
The broil spark electrode can burn out in a similar way to the igniter, so once again, the best course of action is to replace it.
We suggest referring to your user manual to ascertain the broil spark electrode’s exact location for your given oven model. Once you have located it, you can replace it in the same fashion as the igniter.
5 Replace the Heating Element
Once a heating element has burned out, or a weld has gone bad, it’s very difficult to repair. This, combined with the fact that heating elements are fairly cheap components, means it’s often easier to replace them yourself.
- Start by turning the oven off at the circuit board.
- Remove the plate the heating element is mounted onto.
- Disconnect the heating element from the oven; you can use some pliers for t is. Ensure you always pull it off by the metal spade connector and not the wires; otherwise, you might just rip them out.
- Now the old heating element has been disconnected, it can be discarded.
- Install the new heating element by sliding the two spade connectors onto the oven’s element probes.
- Now the heating element is connected, you can screw it into place and re-attach the mounting plate.
Be sure to test if the heating element is working. The easiest way to do this is by turning the oven up to a very high temperature and watching the color of the heating element. It should turn a bright red/orange, indicating it’s now heating up.
6. Replace the Thermal Fuse
When the thermal fuse blows, the only option is to replace it, as these are single-use components.
These are usually accessed via the back panel; you can refer to your user manual to ascertain the exact location of the fuse.
Simply remove the old fuse and install the new one in its place.
7. Replace the Control Board
The control board is very difficult to repair on a component level, so the entire board will usually be replaced.
This is quite an involved task, so here we recommend contacting Whirlpool support, who will help arrange for a trained technician to come out and replace this for you.
8. Check the Temperature Calibration
If the temperature calibration for your oven is off, then the temperature you set on the front control panel will not be representative of the internal temperature.
Here’s how to correctly calibrate your Whirlpool Oven temperature:
- Press the settings button on the front control panel.
- Navigate and click the calibration button.
- Pick the calibration type you need; if your temperature is too low, then select ‘calibrate up’.
- Once you have set the temperature, press the start button again to save the calibration settings.
You may need to repeat this process a few times to get the temperature completely accurate, but this will solve the issue, so it is well worth spending the time to perform.
Adrian is an ISCET licensed professional that has completed the National Appliance Service Technician Certification Exam and has the expertise to diagnose and repair any appliance. He is well-versed in the latest technologies and techniques and is always up-to-date on the latest industry standards.
