heating element for Frigidaire oven

You guys have always been really helpful to me in the past, so I thought I'd bring my latest problem to you before asking for an expensive service call. The main breaker to my house tripped the other day. After flipping the power back on we checked around and noticed the oven (which was turned on at the time) was no longer heating up - even though the range still works. The buttons to adjust the baking temperature still work, but it just doesn't heat up. The button to switch it to broil won't work at all. My oven is a Frigidaire that's about 6 years old.

Question #1: Does this sound like a new heating element would fix the problem with the oven? If so, is it a DIY kind of project for somebody who's handy with a few basic tools?

Question #2: Should I be concerned that the main breaker tripped, but the individual breaker for the oven didn't?

Definite yes for #2. The element if exposed is just a few minutes to remove and test or to see the hole in it. But handy with hand tools probably will not be adequate for the troubleshooting.

Was the broiler ON when the breaker popped? Or did your broil elements work with the bottom element as many do?

The broiler was not being used when the breaker tripped. I pulled out both the top and bottom heating elements today and didn't see any holes on either one.

#1 Changing an oven element is doable if you are handy. Knowing if the element is bad before you go through the effort and spend the money on one requires some electrical skills.

#2 Maybe. What is the size of the main? What else was on in the house when it tripped?

Today I checked the heating elements with a continuity tester. I put the continuity tester's wires on the prongs sticking out the end of the heating element and nothing happened. I did the same thing on the other heating element. Still nothing happened. Shouldn't the prongs on the heating element have continuity? Are they both bad? I can't believe both heating elements would go bad at the exact same time. (Yes, the batteries in the continuity tester are good .

I've never messed with a breaker box and I don't plan to start now, but the main breaker fuse has the number 100 on it. I'm assuming that refers to the size of it. The tv was the only other appliance that was on when the breaker tripped. The tv is fine. Keep in mind, the range top still works on the oven.

An oven bake or broil element should have 20-40 ohms of resistance which is measured with an ohmmeter.

If the element has no sign of physical/burn damage, it may not be the cause of the problem.

I use a volt/ammeter for testing rather than a continuity tester. I want to know if there is power going to the element, and if so, is the element USING it. And using the proper amount on both legs of the feed.

hj said:

I use a volt/ammeter for testing rather than a continuity tester. I want to know if there is power going to the element, and if so, is the element USING it. And using the proper amount on both legs of the feed.

Click to expand...

I agree, but don't normally suggest homeowners work on live circuits without knowing their level of understanding.

If the element shows open (and you've got the probes on the right contact), then the thing is bad. Many of the digital multimeters are autoranging, but if yours is not, make sure it is set to read in the 0-100 ohm range (or somewhere in that area) to get a good value. Most also autozero, but if not, set that as well. To doublecheck, short the two leads together to verify it show zero. If it was good, then it could be the wiring to it , the socket, or the controller (thermostat and switching), or the input.