We just purchased a used Kenmore elite stove model [LEFT]C970-692922[/LEFT] which is from the early 2000’s. The person who sold it said the bottom element didn’t work and they thought it needed some part between the timer and the element but apart from the bake element everything else on the stove functions correctly.
I took out the bake element and did a continuity test which it passed, however there is a metal bracket that fastens the element to the back of the stove and also connects both of the prongs together so I wasn’t sure if maybe it was going through that and creative a false positive though if that were the case then the electricity would also shot out through there you would think.
I connected my multimeter to the two leads which power the bake element, when the power is off it realds about .6v when you turn bake on it reads about 102v. When you turn on the element you can hear the click from inside the top as you would for everything else and there is power being sent according to my multimeter.
Since there is power going there (though is 102v the right ammount?) I think it must be the bake element which is broken but I dont want to go spend $30 on a new one until I know for sure.,
Do you guys think its the bake element or something internal? Is there any other tests I can do?
Thank you guys in advance for any help you can offer.
The C in the model number usually designates that it is a Canadian model so I do not have access to any info on it.
The 970 designates that it is actually a Frigidaire.
I am assuming that broil works.
Also that the oven stays in preheat (never or takes a long time to come ready)
The element rear support bracket is on the outside of the calrod (ceramic) insulation so should not short the element heating wires out.
Use your meters most sensitive resistance scale and re-check the element. It is a good idea to shrt the meter leads together before measuring to see if there is a zero offset in the meter.
Most elements are in the 20 to 30 ohm range.
Checking from the element connectors to the metal plate should be infinite ohms.
Page 30 in the manual shows basic wiring for a stove.
As you can see one side of the elements is hard wired to L2.
The other side goes through a control relay on the board and then to L1.
Just in case you do not know about electrical I will try and explain how it works.
Your house supply is actually two 120 volt supplies that share a common ground/Neutral. They are 180 degrees out of phase. So when one is at positive 120 volts the other is at negative 120 volts, therefore there is 240 volts between them and this is the voltage that runs the elements.
Neutral is not part of the element supply voltage/current path.
On many Canadian models there is also a DLB (double line break) relay on the board. This disconnects the L2 voltage to both elements when the oven is off.
I do not thing that the bake element relay on the board is closing or it has bad relay contacts so you see the 120 from the DLB relay and not the full 240 volts across the element.
I would trace the wires from the element (both sides) back up to the board just to be sure they have not put a thermal cutoff (fuse) in one of the lines.
Thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly.
I did the resistance test on the element as you suggested and it did indeed cope up at around 22ohm.
I traced the two wires which connect to the element, one goes to some sort of msall relay and the other one is spliced with another wire and part of it heads up into where the timer is and the other one just connects to a terminal just above where the bake element wires go, I’ve attached pictures.
I’ve only taken the first layer of the back off, it looks like to get the whole thing off you have to take everything apart which I would like to avoid if I don’t have to.
Attached photos of the back of the stove and where the bake element wires go. What should I do from here?
I did see on one site that the unit was the same as a PLEF398AC but I cannot confirm this as the Sears Canadian parts site is pretty useless so I cannot even check if the parts on the two units are the same.
The relay that you show could be a DLB relay.
Also I do not know what the thermal switch/cut-off above the relay is for.
All I can suggest is that you try to get a wiring diagram from Sears.
I tested the wires and found that the one on the left is the one not sending any power, I followed it up into the top and attached is a pic of where it goes.
I also found the wiring diagram stuffed in there so that is attached as well.
Sounds like the bake relay on the board is not closing or at least it’s contacts are not closing.
The circuit for the bake element is L1 , Bake relay on the control board , Bake element , NC to C on the realay marked as Relay Relais 240 V. , DLB reklay contacts , L2
Sincs broil works we can assume that the DLB relay is OK as it controls bake, broil and convection elements.
Does the convection element work?
If not it may be the Relay 240 V as it switches between the Convection or the bale element. Since the Normally Closed contacts are for the bake element this would be a problem either with the relay’s contacts or it is always energized.
From my test the wire on the right which goes to the little relay beside it works, it is abour 3v off and when yo turn bake on it goes to about 115v. The wire that comes down from the control panel does not seem to work, it is 2v off and when you turn bake on it goes down to about .05v, one of the convection element wires is spliced into this wire as can be see in the one photo.
If it is the control panel that needs replacing, how do I go about finding a new one?
I think the part number of the clock/control panel is [SIZE=2]# 318010100 but everywhere I’ve looked says it is discontinued.[/SIZE][FONT=Adobe Gothic Std B][SIZE=2][COLOR=#0000ff]
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
Probably the bake relay.
I do not know where it is on the board but you just have to trace the bake output E7 on the board back to the relay.
If it is just that the relays contact are shot then replacing it will fix the problem. This also applies if the relay’s coil is open.
If it is that the electronics that control the relay are bad then this would be difficult to fix as a schematic of the board is not available.
You can confirm that the relay is not closing by measuring from E9 to E7 on the board.
If you go to bake and there is still 240 volts across these test points then the relay is not closing.
[COLOR="Red"]
Again be very very careful if you do this 240 volts is lethal!!![/COLOR]
Well, when you hit bake you can hear a click from inside there but it only stays on for a few seconds. I tested both bake element leads individually to ground, the one that comes out of the little relay on the bottom gets about 115v but the one comming from the control panel does not register anything.
So E9 has 120 volts on it all the time and E7 never has voltage, correct?
I am not sure what is going on here.
Using ground as a reference point can be confusing when working on the element circuit because it does not use ground.
You’ll have to forgive my ignorance, my wiring diagram reading skills are a bit lacking.
E7 is the left hand wire for the bake element and it also has the left hand wire for the conv element spliced into it. When bake is off it reads ~2v and goes up to ~.05v when bake is on.
E9 goes down to that little relay or whatever it is near the bottom of the back of the stove, there are several wires that come out of it one of which is the right hand wire for the bake element. This wire reads ~3v with bake off and ~115v with the bake on.
Attached is a photo of the back of the control board.
E7 is the left hand wire for the bake element and it also has the left hand wire for the conv element spliced into it. When bake is off it reads ~2v and goes up to ~.05v when bake is on.
If you are using Neutral as the reference then this line should have 120 volts on it.
Ci9rcuit path is W7 , bake element , NC to C of the Relay 240V , DLB Relay Contacts which shoul be closed to L2
E9 goes down to that little relay or whatever it is near the bottom of the back of the stove, there are several wires that come out of it one of which is the right hand wire for the bake element. This wire reads ~3v with bake off and ~115v with the bake on.
This wire should always have 115 volts on it as iy is hard wired to L1.
It is directly connected by the R-4 wire.