Whirlpool has made huge strides over recent years to innovate and update its ovens by adding new user features to enhance your cooking experience. As part of their continued efforts to make appliances that sit at the forefront of technology, they have implemented modern touch screens onto their ovens which can display all kinds of helpful information.
While this is great when it works, the downside of leaning into digital technology is that there’s a higher chance of component failure, with touch screens being one of the most common components to become faulty and unresponsive.
So in this article, we’re going to explain why your touch screen has stopped working and how to get it fixed and back to working order.
Why is your Whirlpool Oven Touch Screen Not Working
Older Whirlpool ovens that relied on classic buttons were highly durable and could be used for many years without breaking. But as their recent models introduce more advanced touchscreen technology, the failure rate has increased dramatically as touch screens are inherently less reliable.
As we diagnose this problem, it’s important to remember that the touchscreen acts as a control panel for the other components in the oven.
So in some instances, if the component associated with that particular function is not working, it will appear like the touch screen is faulty when it’s the component itself at fault.
This can be confusing and challenging to diagnose, so let’s go through everything you need to check to ascertain the cause of the problem.
1. Check the Thermal Fuse
The thermal fuse acts as a safety device. It will monitor the temperature of the oven and, once it exceeds a certain level, will blow and immediately stop the oven from producing heat.
These are single-use components, so once they blow, you will have no choice but to replace them with a new one. When this happens, your Whirlpool oven touchpad will be unresponsive. So by installing a new thermal fuse, the touchpad should start working again.
To ascertain whether it’s working or not, you will need to use a multimeter with the ohms/resistance setting and take a reading by placing the problem on each terminal.
If the fuse is working, it should read between 0 and 1 ohms, in which case the fault lies somewhere else. But the fuse must be replaced if there is no reading or audible beep.
2. There is a Wiring Issue
Again, a touch screen being unresponsive does not necessarily mean the screen itself is broken. If there is a problem in the connection between the screen and its associated component, it will appear as if the screen is unresponsive.
Many wires and connectors enable the screen to control the various components within the oven. If any of these wires become damaged or break, then they will need to be fixed before the touch screen becomes responsive again.
A complete inspection of the wiring will be needed here. You should check for damage, signs of burning, or any wires that have become loose or detached. These should be repaired fully so the touch screen can correctly send instructions to the associated component.
3. A Glitch or Bug has Occurred
Along with the use of more modern and digital technologies, such as computer chip-controlled touchscreens, comes a higher likelihood of errors, bugs, and glitches.
These problems are often inexplicable and just seem to happen randomly, but they are an unfortunate reality of modern smart devices.
But the good news is that we have a few fairly reliable ways of fixing them. One of the most effective solutions to a bug or glitch is to power cycle the oven.
4. The Control Lock has been Enabled
Most modern Whirlpool ovens have a convenient ” control lock” feature. This safety feature prevents the touch screen from being pressed by accident and stops curious children who might want to press the buttons for fun.
If you use this feature frequently, it can be very easy to forget that you’ve turned it on, leaving you confused about why the touch screen isn’t doing anything. It’s easy to identify and turn off the control lock feature if it has been left on.
5. An App-related Problem
Whirlpool has developed an app that you can use to conveniently set cooking times or adjust temperatures without having to get off the couch. You can even set something cooking while outside, so it’s ready for when you get home.
All great in theory. However, this app hijacks the control panel of the oven to control it, so when the app has a problem, the oven has a problem.
Steps will need to be taken to ensure the app is up-to-date and functional, so it doesn’t cause any problems with the touch screen.
6. The Touch Screen has Failed
If not of the other causes seem to be the problem, it may simply be a case that the touch screen has died and needs to be replaced.
Unfortunately, touch screens have a far lower lifespan and far higher failure rate when compared to old-style cookers. But the good news is Whirlpool understands this, so contacting them for a replacement screen and installing it is quite easy.
How to fix a Whirlpool Oven Touch Screen
Now that we’ve gone through all the potential causes of the touch screen not working, let’s look at how to fix these issues to restore your touch screen’s functionality.
1. Replace the Thermal Fuse
Once you have tested the thermal fuse and determined that it’s blown, it will need to be replaced, as these are single-use components.
Replacement thermal fuses are pretty cheap and easy to install by yourself.
- Start by disconnecting the oven from the power supply; you should never work on an oven plugged into the wall.
- Pull the oven out a bit so you have full access to the back, as we need to remove the back panel to gain access to the thermal fuse.
- Open the door, and from the inside of the oven, remove the mounting screws which hold the back on.
- Then remove the back panel, which will give access to the thermal fuse.
- Once you have located the thermal fuse location (if you are unsure, you can refer to the manual for your exact oven model to ascertain the precise location), you will notice two wires connect to it.
- Remove the wires by hand and remove the old thermal fuse; this will often be attached by a single screw.
- Install the new thermal fuse by simply pressing it into place.
- Re-attach the back panel.
- Push the oven back into place.
- Plug the oven back into the power supply and start it up.
2. Correct any Wiring Issues
To check and fix any wiring problems, we first need to remove the front panel to gain access to the back of the touch screen.
Start by removing the four mounting screws that line the control panel’s frame. Remove this frame, which will reveal four more screws that hold the control panel in place, two on the right and two on the left, remove these.
Now you can open the oven door and grab the control board from underneath. It would help if you pulled it towards you and up. Don’t pull too hard here, as many wire harnesses are attached to the back of the panel, and you don’t want to pull any off by accident.
Once you have complete access to the control panel, it should be inspected for loose wiring connections or corrosion and repaired accordingly.
3. Power Cycle the Oven
One of the most effective ways to remove the odd bug or glitch causing problems with the touch screen is to perform a power cycle or hard reset. This involves turning the oven off and completely unplugging it from the power or turning its associated circuit breaker off at your home’s electrical panel.
Doing this allows the oven to fully reset as it completely drains all the residual energy held in the capacitors. Once fully detached from the power supply, wait for 1 to 2 minutes and then power it back up.
4. Disable the Control Lock Feature
The control lock feature is designed to protect any buttons from being pressed accidentally by locking off all touchscreen functionality. We need to disable the control lock feature to regain access to the touch screen.
You can do this by locating the control lock icon on your touch screens panel and pressing it down for 3 seconds; you should hear an audible beep to confirm the control lock has been disabled.
On certain Whirlpool oven models, you may not have the words’ control lock, in which case you can press the START button for 3 seconds instead.
If this doesn’t work for any reason, you can also forcefully disable the control lock by power cycling the machine, as when it starts back up, the control lock is disabled by default.
5. Update the App
The app is intrinsically tied to the Whirlpool ovens touch screen, so when it has an issue, it’s easy to see that reflected on the oven too.
Try to update the app as if it’s outdated; it can cause problems. If it’s already up to date, we suggest deleting the app completely and re-downloading it from the IOS/Android store.
6. Replace the Touchscreen
Once all other methods have been exhausted, it may simply be that the touch screen has failed and needs to be replaced.
These modern touch screens have quite a high failure rate, so if you contact Whirlpool customer support, they will be happy to help arrange and install a replacement screen.
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.
