· Marian Appliance Repair
An oven not heating usually comes down to one part. On a gas oven it is most often the igniter, which has to get hot before gas can reach the burner; a worn one can glow without the oven ever lighting. On an electric oven it is usually the bake element on the oven floor. Before blaming either, rule out a tripped breaker, a control lock or delayed start, and a door that is not fully closed.
This guide is written for homes in San Jose, Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County. If you smell gas, stop and go straight to the safety steps further down.
- Gas oven: a weak igniter is the usual cause when the burners light but the oven stays cold.
- Electric oven: if broil heats but bake does not, suspect the bake element.
- Check the breaker, the control lock, any delayed start and the door first.
- Smell gas? Do not light or switch anything on; leave the house, then call 911 and your gas utility.
Gas, electric or dual-fuel?
The likely causes depend on the oven. A gas oven lights its burner with a hot igniter, often called a glow bar. An electric oven heats with a bake element at the bottom and a broil element at the top. A dual-fuel range has gas burners and an electric oven, so its oven follows the electric checks.
Kitchens around here are a mix. In 2019 the City of San Jose banned natural gas in new homes; it later stopped enforcing that ban and kept a stricter energy code that encourages electric appliances without requiring them. So a newer San Jose home may cook on electric while the house next door has gas.
Then note what still works. Burners that light mean gas and power reach the range, so the fault is in the oven itself. A blank display points to power. Broil without bake points to the bake side. If it is the cooktop burners that will not light, see why a gas stove burner won't light or keeps clicking.
Five checks before you call
1. Look at the breaker
A breaker sitting between On and Off has tripped. Switch it fully off, wait 30 seconds, then switch it on. If it trips again when the oven starts, call a technician.
2. Clear the settings
Set the oven to Bake or Broil. A Control Lock usually clears by holding its button for 3 seconds, a delayed start waits for its start time, and demo or showroom mode stops the oven heating. Some dual-fuel ranges will not start until the clock is set.
3. Close the door
Many ovens will not heat with the door open. On a self-cleaning model, check that the latch is unlocked after a clean cycle.
4. Check the gas valve (gas ovens)
If you can see the shutoff valve on the gas pipe behind the range, make sure it is On. Do not loosen or take apart anything on the gas line.
5. Watch and time it
Turn the oven on and look inside. A gas igniter or an electric bake element should glow red. Note what you see and how long you waited: it tells the technician where to start.
Gas oven not heating: start with the igniter
In a gas oven with a glow bar, gas only flows to the burner once the igniter is hot, and the flame normally comes on 30 to 90 seconds after you turn the oven on. A worn igniter is behind many cold gas ovens.
If the igniter glows but there is no flame well after 90 seconds, it is often too weak to open the valve, though the valve itself can fail too. No glow at all points to the glow bar, the control or other electrical parts. Cleaning a dirty igniter as your care guide describes is the only owner job here; replacing parts next to the gas valve is work for a technician.
The same glow bar means this kind of oven cannot be lit during a power cut. That matters in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where wildfire-safety shutoffs and winter storms have left thousands of homes without power, some for days. The cooktop burners can often still be lit by hand: see lighting a gas burner during a power cut.
Electric oven not heating: element, power, sensor
If broil heats but bake does not, look at the bake element on the oven floor. With the oven cool and its breaker off, check it for cracks or breaks; a damaged element needs replacing. A working one glows red.
If neither element heats but the display works, suspect the control, a wire or a safety cutout. A tripped thermal cutout, or a fault after a self-clean cycle, can also stop an electric oven heating. These need a technician with a meter.
Also check the temperature sensor, the thin rod on the back wall. It should stand at a 90 degree angle to the wall; a bumped sensor can misread the oven's heat.
Oven heats, but not to the right temperature
Put an oven thermometer on the center rack, preheat, and read it when preheating ends. A reading 15°F or more off can usually be corrected by calibrating the oven; many controls let you shift the setting up to 35°F either way, in 1 degree steps. Your owner's manual has the key sequence.
Calibration fixes a small, steady error. If the reading is 100 degrees or more out, call a technician instead: an error that size points to a part, not a setting.
Older kitchens in San Jose and Santa Cruz County
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 58 percent of homes in Santa Clara County and 61 percent in Santa Cruz County were built before 1980, and the typical San Jose home dates from 1976. In a house that age, the breaker, the outlet and the gas shutoff behind the range may be much older than the range itself.
So if the breaker trips again as soon as the oven starts, have it looked at rather than resetting it over and over.
Professional and dual-fuel ranges
We work on built-in and professional ranges as well as standard ones, and Viking and Thermador are among the brands customers have named in their reviews of our repairs.
On a dual-fuel range the oven is electric, so use the electric checks. Some dual-fuel ovens will not start until the clock is set, LO on the display can simply mean the oven is preheating, and switching the breaker off for 30 seconds can reset the controls.
When to stop and call a technician
If you smell gas, do not try to light any appliance, do not touch electrical switches and do not use a phone inside the house. Leave first, then call 911 and your gas utility from outside or from a neighbor's phone.
Call a technician if the breaker trips again, the igniter does not glow, the element is cracked, the temperature stays far off after calibration, or an error code will not clear.
We repair gas and electric ranges at your home, so a built-in oven never has to be moved. If an older oven is not worth repairing, we will tell you so.
Common questions
Why is my gas oven not heating but the stove top works?
Working burners mean gas and power reach the range, so the fault is in the oven. The usual cause is a dirty or worn oven igniter that cannot get hot enough to let gas flow to the oven burner. Less often it is the gas valve, the temperature sensor or the control.
Why does broil work but bake doesn't?
On an electric oven, the bake element has most likely failed; with the power off at the breaker, look for cracks or breaks in it. On a gas oven with separate bake and broil burners, check the bake igniter first.
How long should a gas oven take to light?
30 to 90 seconds is normal before the oven flame comes on. An igniter that glows well beyond that with no flame is likely too weak to open the gas valve.
How do you reset an oven?
Switch the oven's breaker off for about 30 seconds, then back on.
Can I fix my oven myself?
You can do the checks above, including calibration. Replacing an igniter, element, sensor or control means working near wiring and, on a gas oven, near the gas valve. A broken element is a job for a professional, and so is anything on the gas side.
Oven still cold? Call us
We repair gas, electric and dual-fuel ranges at your home in San Jose and across Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, with same-day service and a 3-month warranty on labor and parts.
