Oven Won't Turn On at All? What to Check First

An oven that lights up but stays cold is one problem. An oven that does nothing at all, with a blank display, no lights and no response to the buttons, is another. The second usually comes down to power or to a setting that is blocking the controls, and a few of those checks take only a minute. If your oven comes on but does not heat, see our guide to an oven that is not heating up.

Is the oven getting power?

Start with the switchboard, then the wall.

• Circuit breaker or safety switch. Check whether the breaker or safety switch for the kitchen or oven circuit has tripped. Reset it once. If it trips again straight away, leave it off and call an electrician or technician, because something is faulty.
• The isolator. Many ovens and cooktops have a wall switch that isolates the supply. Check that it is on.
• Other appliances. If other things on the same circuit are dead too, the fault is the circuit and not the oven.
• A power outage or surge. A blackout can leave an oven resting on a blank display, and a surge can damage its electronics. See our guide to appliance damage after a blackout.

A plug-in oven can be checked by trying another working appliance in the same power point.

Is a lock or setting blocking the controls?

If the display is on but the oven will not respond, check the settings before assuming a fault.

• Control lock or child lock. Most ovens have one. It is often switched on by holding a button for a few seconds and shown as a key or padlock symbol. The manual gives the combination for turning it off.
• Timer or delayed start. An oven set to start later, or to cook for a timed period that has not been set, will not heat when you select a temperature. Cancel the timer and set the oven to manual.
• The clock. After a power cut, some ovens flash the time and will not run until it is set.
• The door. On models with a door lock, such as a self-cleaning oven, a door that is not fully closed can stop the oven starting. Our guide to oven self-clean problems covers that case.

Why would an oven have no power from inside?

If the supply is fine and the settings are clear, the cause is inside the oven.

• A blown thermal fuse or protection device. This cuts power to the electronics if the oven has overheated, and does not reset itself.
• A failed control board or relay. The board manages the display and switches the heat on. A fault can leave the display dead, or lit with no response.
• A faulty selector switch or knob contact on ovens with mechanical controls.
• Wiring or connection fault at the oven's power supply connection.

These all need testing by a technician, and in several cases by a licensed electrician.

What should I not do?

Do not pull the oven out and open the terminal cover to look at the wiring. Most wall ovens are hardwired, and disconnecting fixed electrical equipment is licensed electrical work in NSW. If you smell burning, see scorching or hear a bang, switch the oven off at the isolator, leave it off and call for help.

Is it worth repairing?

Often yes. A thermal fuse, relay or selector switch is usually a small part on an oven that is otherwise sound. A control board costs more, and the decision depends on the age of the oven and the quote. An oven that fails early may also be covered by the ACCC consumer guarantees, so check this before paying for a repair on a recent purchase.

We repair electric and gas ovens across the Illawarra and South Coast. The assessment is $125 in the Illawarra and $145 further out on the South Coast, with a quote before any repair begins. The common faults are on our oven repair page.

Book online or call 02 4229 3777 with the make, the model and whether the display is dead or lit.