The Most Common Reasons Why Your Oven Is Failing To Heat Up

Cooking at home is hard if your oven isn’t working properly. If your oven isn’t heating up like it’s supposed to, then you won’t be able to get your food to the correct cooking temperatures. There are several potential culprits. Identifying them will help you determine the problem and fix it. Here are the most common reasons your oven is failing to heat up.

Broken Temperature Sensor

The first reason your oven may fail to heat up is if the temperature sensor is broken or defective. Most electric ovens have a sensor that monitors the temperature inside the oven during use. If the temperature sensor breaks or is defective, your oven will not heat up.

Some ovens have a digital display for this information, while others have a temperature-sensing bulb. You or a professional can check these elements to see whether they work. If they are not working, you will need to repair or replace them so you can use your oven.

Damaged Heating Elements

Your oven might not heat up properly if it has damaged heating elements. A typical electric oven has two heating elements: one on the top and one on the bottom. If these elements become damaged, broken, or defective, you will not be able to heat or use your oven effectively.

You can test if this is the issue by turning your oven on to preheat. If the elements are working properly, they will turn red. If one or both heating elements are not working, they will not light up. You will need to replace broken elements. If your oven is still not working after replacing these parts, it may have a deeper electrical issue.

Dead Thermostat

Your oven can also experience issues heating if the thermostat is dead. The thermostat is the part of the oven that determines its temperature. A faulty thermostat will no longer regulate the temperature, which can cause food to be overcooked, undercooked, or not cooked at all.

Oven thermostats can be challenging to test, so it’s a good idea to have a professional take a look if you suspect this is the issue with your oven. But this issue is generally fairly inexpensive to fix, so if you determine this is the problem, you can have it fixed or replaced.



Now that you know the common reasons an oven won’t heat properly, you can take the necessary steps to determine your oven’s particular issue. Local Home Appliance offers appliance repair in Cary, IL that can help you repair your oven.