Gas Range Not Heating Evenly: Top 4 Reasons and Fixes (With Video!)

Tired of your oven turning dinner plans into a guessing game due to uneven heating or no heat at all? Fear not, because diagnosing and fixing your oven’s performance issues might be simpler than you think, with just a few likely suspects. Dive into our article below, complete with an informative how-to video, and discover the secrets to restoring your oven’s full cooking potential in no time!

Once you have identified the part needed for your gas range, search below using your specific range model number to identify the exact part needed:

Nothing disrupts dinner plans quite like an oven that won’t cook right. Luckily, if you’re dealing with uneven heating or a total lack of heat in your oven, there are only a few likely culprits, and they’re all fairly easy to test. In this article, we’re reviewing the four most common causes of oven heating problems and giving you some tips on how to test and fix them.

Don’t forget to check out our companion tutorial video for a detailed look at each test and some additional safety tips! Ready? Let’s get started.

Tools for the job

Testing components won’t require too many tools, but there are a few things you should have handy before you begin:

• A multimeter with a clamp attachment
• Your range’s tech sheet, which can sometimes be found in the manual
• A Phillips screwdriver

Before you begin…

For safety, you should shut the gas supply to your oven off at the wall valve. Don’t perform maintenance on a gas range with the gas turned on as this is a serious safety hazard. You’ll also want to start with the oven turned off and disconnected from power either at the wall outlet or the circuit breaker.

For a couple of the tests we’ve outlined here, power will need to be temporarily restored to the range. As these tests require working with electrical parts and gas, you should only attempt them if you are comfortable completing these tasks safely. If at any point you are not confident in your ability to complete a test, you should contact a professional repair technician for assistance.

Is a gas smell from my oven dangerous?

A little bit of that natural gas smell isn’t unusual when you turn your oven on, but if it is particularly strong, or if it lingers, that’s a bad sign. If you’re smelling a bit of gas and it’s causing you concern, we’ve got a guide that can walk you through finding the problem. However, if you suspect that there is a serious gas leak, you need to shut off the gas in your home, call the utility company, and leave your house immediately. Staying in a home with a gas leak can be dangerous.

Troubleshooting A Gas Range That Won’t Heat Evenly

1. Oven Igniter

The oven igniter is a small component consisting of a ceramic body and heating element usually enclosed by a metal housing or cage. Oven igniters come in two different shapes – round and square – which operate at different amperages, so this is something that should also be taken into account. When it’s working correctly, the oven igniter glows white hot, lighting the gas released into the oven to heat the interior. If your oven isn’t heating evenly, the igniter could be the cause of your issues.

Most likely, the oven igniter has started to wear out and is no longer glowing hot enough to ignite gas, but it may also simply be that the component has fallen out of place and needs to be re-secured. Either way, you’ll want a multimeter with a clamp attachment and potentially a Phillips screwdriver to test the part out.

Let’s take a look at how it’s done:

• • Open the oven door, remove the racks, the oven bottom, and the flame spreader  to access the igniter. It’s generally mounted on the bake or broil oven burners.
  • First, check to make sure that the igniter is mounted properly. It shouldn’t be loose, and should be connected to a wire. If it’s loose, or if it has fallen out of place, it will not turn on. This could be the source of your uneven baking woes!
  • Temporarily restore only the power to the oven, but leave the gas off. You’ll be using this to run the next few tests.
  • Turn the oven on and check to see whether the oven ignitor is lighting up. It should glow white hot. If it tops out at glowing red or orange, it is not getting hot enough to properly release gas into the oven interior for ignition, and needs to be replaced.

• • Use a multimeter to test how many amps the igniter is drawing.

• • Check what amperage range you should have.
    • For round igniters, the lowest amperage you should get when you test is 2.2. These sorts of igniters are typically used with safety valves rated for between 2.5 to 3 amps.
    • If you have a square igniter, they are usually used with safety valves rated for between 3.3 and 3.6 amps. The lowest acceptable reading for these types of igniters is 3.0.
    • Clamp the amp meter around one of the igniter wires.
    • Turn the oven on and check the amp meter. If it isn’t drawing enough amps, then it is going bad and should be replaced.
• If the ignitor wasn’t the problem, turn the oven off and disconnect it from power once more. It’s time to check other possible causes.

2. Oven Temperature Sensor

The oven temperature sensor, sometimes called a thermistor, consists of a metal rod, mounting plate, and wire. It acts as a resistor, reporting different ohms readings as the oven’s internal temperature changes. This information is then sent to the range’s control board, which will shut off or turn on other components to maintain the desired internal temperature in the oven.

If the oven’s temperature sensor malfunctions and no longer reports the correct internal temperature, your oven may heat unevenly, heat too hot, or never quite reach adequate temperature. If the sensor fails completely, the oven likely will not start at all. If you’re having issues like this, it’s time to test that sensor. While you can spot the sensor part of this component on the oven interior, usually in the upper left or right hand corner, to test it, you’ll need access to the back of the appliance. You’ll need your multimeter to test this part.

• Set your multimeter to ohms and refer to your appliance’s tech sheet. You’ll want to check what the proper ohm level is for your oven’s temperature sensor.

• Disconnect the temperature sensor’s wires.
  

• Touch one of the multimeter’s test probes to each of the sensor’s terminals. Check the multimeter for the ohms reading. If the reading is off from what your oven’s tech sheet says it should be or if it is not giving a reading at all, the temperature sensor has failed and needs to be replaced.

3. Oven Door Gasket

All oven doors should be insulated by a rubber or high temperature fiber seal. You can usually find this long strip of insulation on the door’s inner panel or the front frame of the body. Because they are subjected to high temperatures and almost constant compression, oven door gaskets can wear out on their own with regular use. Running your oven’s self-cleaning feature too often or too long can also damage the gasket, melting it, burning it, or otherwise weakening it. Any damage to the gasket can weaken the seal between door and frame, allowing warm air to escape and making your oven’s interior temperature inconsistent.

Thankfully, you don’t need any tools to check this component:

• Check your oven door – is it closing properly? If the oven door isn’t completely closing, there’s a good chance the gasket is to blame.

• Open the oven door all the way and inspect the gasket. A visual inspection isn’t enough – you should check it by hand as well, as there may be tears, crumbling, or weak spots that you can’t easily see.

• The gasket may simply need to be cleaned off. It’s possible that gunk, grime, or large chunks of food debris are disrupting the oven’s seal while the door is closed.

• If the gasket is torn, wearing out, or completely flattened, it likely needs to be replaced.

4. Oven Control Board

The oven control board is the brains of your appliance. This circuit board takes settings from user input and readings from sensors – like the temperature sensor – in the appliance and uses that information to control the range’s various functions. You can usually find the control board mounted in the middle of the oven’s control panel. If the control board is malfunctioning or has failed, it can cause a host of issues with your oven. Most commonly, it won’t trigger the igniter to power on, preventing your oven from heating. To test your control board, you’ll need to enter your appliance’s diagnostic mode and check for error codes. How this is done depends on your appliance’s brand and model number, but you can generally find full instructions on the tech sheet or in the range’s manual.

Finding The Right Replacement Part

More often than not, if your oven is heating unevenly, there’s some component that has failed and needs to be replaced. Once you know which part needs to be replaced, you’ll have to track down a compatible replacement. To do that, you’ll need your oven’s full model number. You can find that on a label somewhere on the appliance. Check the following places:

• Open the oven door and check around the frame.
• Open the broiler or range drawer and check along the sides or on the inside of the door, itself.
• Lift the cooktop and check beneath that.
• Check the exterior of the stove, it could be on the sides or back, behind the main control panel.

Once you have the model number, search at AppliancePartsPros.com. You’ll be presented with a list of genuine OEM replacement parts compatible with your appliance, and you can have the one you need shipped to you in just a few days!

Wrapping Up

Once you’ve diagnosed and fixed the problem component in your range, you can turn the power back on. If you need help finding a compatible part for your appliance, let us help! Don’t hesitate to call or contact us. We’re happy to help you fix your appliance yourself!

If you need any replacement parts for your appliances, you can enter your model number at AppliancePartsPros.com to locate and order them quickly. Most orders arrive in just two business days, and we have tons of great information in our repair help section and YouTube videos to help you troubleshoot.

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