Troubleshooting double oven

[Whiskeymike]

I could use your troubleshooting help before I call in the pros...

We got a shiny new double oven two years ago to replace the old one and I installed it myself. Worked great. A year and a month later, just after warranty expired, it went out after running both ovens on high. Called out repair guy and they replaced a board that is a safety shutoff if it gets to hot or something and ran great since, till this weekend. It went out again when using both ovens. It came back on, we used one oven, went out and didn’t come back on.

Service guy came out today and said it was the electrical feed, not the oven. I wasn’t here to see myself, but he said leg 1 was 120v, leg 2 was 0v.

I got home, opened up front of panel outside and 50% of available air space was filled with mud dobbers attached to the neutral bar, left bar and wire feeds. Turned everything off and cleaned everything out including two lizards that didn’t make it out alive. I pulled breaker out, made sure it was clean, put it back in. It seemed to firmly click in and out. Hoping that was it, I turned it back on, no joy.

Tried metering it all out. 245 on both outbound on breaker, 120 on each to neutral bar. I tried every breaker in box and all read appropriately.

I ran out of steam, so I’ll continue tomorrow. My next steps are pull the oven and make sure this guy knows how to read a meter. Then I was going to check my second panel inside garage and make sure everything is good there. (Only been here a few years, so I don’t trust the labeling on the breakers)

Anyways... if the wires at the oven don’t register 220-240, is it safe to say one of the three wires is bad in between inside the walls and I have to get someone to pull new ones?

Couple more questions...

Would a remote continuity tester be enough to test the wire for handling voltage? Or do I need something special?

For figuring out the continuity of the neutral, is there any better way than disconnecting each wire and testing individually? (I have doubts that the position on the neutral bar corresponds with where the breaker is.

Is there anything you recomend for cleaning the panel and bars from the dirt and **** that has accumulated in the outside panel?

Thanks

 

[RPH]

Got prints? Make, model?

 

[79firebird]

What brand? As i know with some at work the thermal fuse will pop once it gets to hot or on self clean. Self clean kills the thermal fuse most of the time. it could of also poped the hilimit

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Test the outlet and then report back.

 

[Whiskeymike]

It’s closest to this. http://www.homedepot.com/p/KitchenA...NILCzx2JJUBjDjuNGMcDgNZPAIstswfBoCqyMQAvD_BwE

There are two fuses inside. He said those were fine.

 

[Norcal]

Technically nothing is allowed to be used clean a panel interior, only code compliant fix is to replace it. A soft bristle brush, not a wire brush, would be the only thing I would be comfortable with for cleaning. How did the mud daubers get in? Leaving any open KO's is a common cause of insects & critters getting in.

110.12(B)

 

[Ch3No2]

I had the exact same experience...both ovens on high for T Day and ****.
Traced to voltage, chased the fuses and nothing.
Found this place and couldn't be happier I did.
http://www.fixyourboard.com/
Sent the board in, received it back very promptly, installed it and bingo.
Good Luck as I know what you are going thru

 

[gungatim]

I had the exact same experience...both ovens on high for T Day and ****.
Traced to voltage, chased the fuses and nothing.
Found this place and couldn't be happier I did.
http://www.fixyourboard.com/
Sent the board in, received it back very promptly, installed it and bingo.
Good Luck as I know what you are going thru

what's their pricing like? I'm on my 3rd board for my double oven (GE), they are getting harder to find and more expensive, last one was $450. still cheaper than a new built in double oven but it'd be nice to know other options exist.

OP: I had a similar prob with a central AC unit, one leg dead so it was running on 120v and causing problems. it was an outside panel with crusty wires. hopefully cleaning the box fixes it, if not I would spring for a new panel.

 

[Ch3No2]

what's their pricing like? I'm on my 3rd board for my double oven (GE), they are getting harder to find and more expensive, last one was $450. still cheaper than a new built in double oven but it'd be nice to know other options exist.

It's been a while and I believe it was a couple hundred...give them a call with your make and model.

 

[Whiskeymike]

Just to close out this thread so hopefully it helps someone. So today I pulled the oven and checked the voltage and sure enough it came up as 240v together. 122 on each leg to ground. Talking to my wife, I learned the oven service guy only metered inside the oven, not the box itself. So I checked the wire nuts and the hot wires were very tight but there was a bit of play in the grounds + neutral so I broke it down and put it back togther and everything is working fine, knock on wood.

So moral of the story at least for me is don’t take someone’s statement as gospel and troubleshoot midway through. Start from the basics and continue working deeper.

Two questions in case someone is reading...

It’s a 3 wire 240v circuit powering a 4 wire oven (that supports 3 wire as well). The manuals language for the oven assumes the ground wire is insulated. Is it and issue that my ground is bare copper? I don’t know of anything, but was surprising how it assumed it was insulated green.

Second thing, do you have any tips to wirenut 2 copper sold wires with a stranded wire? I think I got it pretty tight, but wondering if there’s a better way.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Just to close out this thread so hopefully it helps someone. So today I pulled the oven and checked the voltage and sure enough it came up as 240v together. 122 on each leg to ground. Talking to my wife, I learned the oven service guy only metered inside the oven, not the box itself. So I checked the wire nuts and the hot wires were very tight but there was a bit of play in the grounds + neutral so I broke it down and put it back together and everything is working fine, knock on wood.

So moral of the story at least for me is don’t take someone’s statement as gospel and troubleshoot midway through. Start from the basics and continue working deeper.

Two questions in case someone is reading...

It’s a 3 wire 240v circuit powering a 4 wire oven (that supports 3 wire as well). The manuals language for the oven assumes the ground wire is insulated. Is it and issue that my ground is bare copper? I don’t know of anything, but was surprising how it assumed it was insulated green.

Second thing, do you have any tips to wirenut 2 copper sold wires with a stranded wire? I think I got it pretty tight, but wondering if there’s a better way.

Is this hardwired or cord and plug?

If hardwired, is it fed with FMC/greenfield? Or?

 

[Whiskeymike]

It’s Romex into a box then flex into the oven.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

It’s Romex into a box then flex into the oven.

So where did the bare ground come from?

Is the Romex jacket stripped and the individual conductors ran in the FMC?

 

[Marctrees]

Whiskey - was too tired to read entire thread... but.. When you checked w your meter and got power on both legs of your breaker.. did you have your probes on the SCREWS.. or on the WIRES?

Go shutoff breaker, and check snugness of screws.

Re check w meter. Marc

 

[Whiskeymike]

So where did the bare ground come from?

Is the Romex jacket stripped and the individual conductors ran in the FMC?

The Romex has an outer insulation plastic jacket, then 2 wires for the two hots and a bare ground inside the romex. So it's protected by the outer shield. The bare ground is just wrapped in brown paper.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

So you have NM-b inside FMC/flex/greenfield?

Thats more expensive than just running individual conductors.

 

[Whiskeymike]

No, sorry.. I believe it's Romex from circuit breaker panel to box. Then switches to flex from box to oven. (Flex came as part of oven). I didn't pay close attention and didn't grab any photos, but I'm pretty sure it was just Romex in the wall coming into the box with a clamp fitting.

I was just concerned that the manual for the oven kept mentioning the green wire ground attaching to the bare ground and white from oven and never mentioned that the wall could be a bare ground. (Because it's going 3 wire wall to 4 wire oven, they have you connect the white & bare ground from oven to the ground from wall)

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Sounds like you have a 4-wire oven and a 3-wire circuit.

How old is your house?

 

[Whiskeymike]

Sounds like you have a 4-wire oven and a 3-wire circuit.

How old is your house?

That's true. 17 years old, central texas.