Electric Oven Troubleshooting: Common Issues and How to Fix Them

When your electric oven, a key kitchen appliance that uses electrical elements to generate heat for baking and roasting stops working, it’s not just inconvenient—it can throw off your whole week. Whether it’s not heating at all, showing error codes, or turning off mid-bake, the problem usually isn’t magic. It’s usually something simple: a broken heating element, a faulty thermostat, a blown fuse, or a tripped circuit breaker. These are the top reasons electric ovens fail, and most of them can be diagnosed without tools—or at least with a multimeter you might already have.

Related to this are the heating elements, the metal coils inside the oven that glow red when powered, which wear out over time. If one breaks, your oven might bake unevenly or not reach the right temperature. Then there’s the thermostat, the sensor that tells the oven when to turn the heat on or off. If it’s off by even 25 degrees, your cookies burn or your chicken stays raw. And don’t forget the control board, the digital brain of modern ovens that can glitch from power surges or age. These aren’t just parts—they’re the core of why your oven acts up.

You don’t need to be an electrician to check the basics. Start by making sure the oven is getting power—check the breaker, the outlet, and whether the clock or display works. If it does, but the oven won’t heat, the issue is likely internal. If it doesn’t, the problem might be with your home’s wiring or a blown internal fuse. Many people panic and call a repair service right away, but a $15 fuse or a $50 heating element can fix things fast. And if your oven is over 10 years old, it might be cheaper to replace than repair—especially if energy bills are climbing.

What you’ll find below are real fixes from real situations: ovens that stopped working after a power surge, ones that heated slowly, others that kept shutting off with no warning. We cover what to check first, what tools you might need, and when it’s time to call someone who’s got the right license and experience. No fluff. No guesswork. Just what actually works.