no luck on the access panel. the hole is something im not sure i want to do. however, by touching the "bar" inside the frame of the ignitor, i do get various readings, but nothing steady
Gently pull the wires from the bar toward the front of the unit and see if you can pull the connector through. Be very gentle, though; on some models, the wires are clipped securely to the oven chassis.
no luck on pulling the wires through…
pdl2
I know you’re getting tired of this…BUT: Do you hear a click coming from the control console, when you select a BAKE cycle, or a BROIL cycle?
If "Yes", then I’m fairly certain you have a bad igniter.
If "No", you have a bad relay on the clock/Control board.
yes i hear a click. not tired at all, would rather take the time and figure out the right part to replace then hurry and buy the wrong one. was worried you might be getting tire of fooling with my lack of knowledge and delays. do you have to remove the burner to replace the ignitor? or can you just replace the ignitor??
thanks
pdl2
the click i hear is from the knob…I dont hear anything from the clock
The click I’m referring to comes from the relay energizing to switch on the igniter. If you can hear it, it’s safe to assume you need to replace the igniter.
Unplug the range.
You can do this from inside the oven. You can reach it easier if you remove the door. Just open it to its first open position (about 30*) and lift it evenly off the hinges.
Remove the racks and the bottom tray (it’s held down by two thumb screws at the rear wall). This exposes the igniter, which is held in place by two 1/4" hex head screws.
You’ll need to cut the wires to the igniter; Cut them as close to the body of the igniter as you can get, to give you enough wire for the new connection.
The replacement igniter comes with ceramic wire nuts that you can use, in the event you can’t access the connector (or the connector that comes with it doesn’t fit).
In a likewise manner, cut the wires of the replacement igniter, as close to the connector as you can.
Strip a little more than a quarter inch of the insulation off the wire ends and twist them to the corresponding wires coming from the oven (polarity doesn’t matter). Cap the twisted ends with the ceramic wire nuts (Don’t use plastic: It won’t stand the heat).
Install the new igniter and stuff as much of the wires and wire nuts through the hole and as far in through the insulation as you can.
Plug in the range and test it.
I hear a click at the knob, but I dont hear anything at the clock
I was hoping I wouldnt have to cut any wires, that the connector would work with the new one
The last GE range I worked on didn’t give direct access to the igniter connector. I had to totally dismantle the cabinet to access it. By your description, it sounds like you have the same problem. Believe me: Unless you have a free weekend, AND are VERY ORGANIZED in your disassembly/reassembly skills, cutting and splicing the wires is the better choice.
I don’t have very much technical information on GE ovens; BUT, from what I do have, you may be able to do a continuity check on the igniter at the control (clock).
Unplug the oven and access the rear of the clock. Disconnect a blue wire and a yellow wire coming off one of the relays on the board. Do a continuity check between the two wires. If it shows open, it’s a sure bet that the igniter is bad.
If you get continuity, reconnect the two wires, plug in the range, reset the clock, and select a bake cycle. Be very careful around the now live wires, and listen very carefully for the clicking of the relay. If you hear nothing, very carefully do a voltage check at the same two terminals (You’re looking for 120VAC). If you have no voltage (Or LOW voltage), replace the clock.
what is a continuity check ? I will not be able to to do it till tuesday evening.
A continuity check is a measurement of the resistance of a wire or other electric component. When a component is said to have "continuity", that means it is solid; whole; and electricity can flow through it.
It is performed when there is NO ELECTRICITY flowing through the component. It is of utmost importance to unplug the appliance, while doing continuity checks, so there is no chance of either hurting yourself, or damaging your meter.
Set your meter on the lowest Ohms (resistance) range. It is something like "R X 1", or "R X 10".
Touch the tips of the probes together…if you have an analog meter, the needle should go to zero. If your meter is digital, you’ll get a readout of "0".
To preform the test on the aforementioned wires, disconnect them from the relay. Touch one of the probes from your meter to one wire end; and likewise with the other probe and the other wire.
If the igniter is whole, you will get some kind of reading. (It won’t be zero, because it is a resistor, of sorts.) If you get no reading (or< Infinity> ohms), the igniter is open, and therefore, no electricity can flow through it.
The voltage test should only be done if you discover that the igniter is, in fact, good.
Don’t do a voltage check if you are at all ill at ease about the process. 120VAC will kill you!
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Magician59,
Sorry for the long delay. I’ve had a lot of things going on. It is very very important now for my wife that we have Christmas dinner. So I took a chance that it was the ignitor, seeing how you said there was only one ignitor based upon the diagram. I ordered the ignitor Monday, luckily received it Tuesday. Just installed it and testing it out now. I was able to just connect the new ignitor. Once I got to taking things apart, I saw their was a horizontal shield blocking my view. By removing that and the ignitor cover, I was able to see the connector and pull it through. The oven came on. Im checking the tempature now. My wife always thought it ran hot, so I went ahead and ordered a $5 thermometer to double check it. Is there a best place to install the thermometer? I see it has a hole like you can screw it to something. Is that ok? Can I hang it on the wire I see ( thermostat? ). Maybe I will just leave it out and check it if necessary. However, as fate would have it, my microwave stopped heating yesterday. I have a post under Microwaves, but I think I’m going to have to get a new one. Anyway, thanks for your help. I wouldnt have been able to do it without you. Seems to be running 10-15 degrees hot, depending on the setting
Merry Christmas
pdl2
I’m glad you were able to get it fixed. There’s really no such thing as a perfectly calibrated oven. Like a dryer, they cycle between temperatures, sometimes as much as 30% OF THE OVEN SET TEMPERATURE. This can be aggrivated by impatient chefs, opening the oven frequently to make adjustments and checks.
The best place for the thermometer is hanging from the center rack. Don’t hang it from the thermostat "wire": It is actually the capillary tube, filled with gas that expands and contracts to control the temperature. If it breaks, all temperature control is lost.
Happy eating; and Merry Christmas!