Oven Range keeps shorting out
 

My Kenmore ceramic top oven range shorts out when (A) there are two or
more elements on at the same time at a high setting; or (B) when I
operate the oven at 350 degrees or higher. It shorts out after about
20 minutes or so, after which, I reset the circuit breaker from the
fuse box. When I reset it, the oven continues to work for another 20
minutes. If I don't do (A) or (B) it works fine. Does anyone have a
similiar problem?

"kahulalu" wrote in message
ups.com...
My Kenmore ceramic top oven range shorts out when (A) there are two or
more elements on at the same time at a high setting; or (B) when I
operate the oven at 350 degrees or higher. It shorts out after about
20 minutes or so, after which, I reset the circuit breaker from the
fuse box. When I reset it, the oven continues to work for another 20
minutes. If I don't do (A) or (B) it works fine. Does anyone have a
similiar problem?

Shorts out or trips the breaker? There is a difference. Shorting out means
a bare wire or connector is touching something causing a short circuit.
What you are describing sounds more like an overload on the breaker.

What size breaker is recommended by the manufacturer?
What size do you have?
It is possible the breaker is bad or the wrong size.
What size wire do you have?

Are you running a new stove on the old stove setup? Does it have different
power requirements?

It doesn't sound to me like it is shorting out, but is overloading the
circuit. You need to look inside the oven and see how many KW the unit is.
You need to see what the amperage of the circuit breaker feeding the unit
is, and it would help to know the wire gauge and if it is copper or
aluminum. Also is there a large outlet and plug behind the range or does the
feeder cable go directly into it





"kahulalu" wrote in message
ups.com...
My Kenmore ceramic top oven range shorts out when (A) there are two or
more elements on at the same time at a high setting; or (B) when I
operate the oven at 350 degrees or higher. It shorts out after about
20 minutes or so, after which, I reset the circuit breaker from the
fuse box. When I reset it, the oven continues to work for another 20
minutes. If I don't do (A) or (B) it works fine. Does anyone have a
similiar problem?

kahulalu wrote:
My Kenmore ceramic top oven range shorts out when (A) there are two or
more elements on at the same time at a high setting; or (B) when I
operate the oven at 350 degrees or higher. It shorts out after about
20 minutes or so, after which, I reset the circuit breaker from the
fuse box. When I reset it, the oven continues to work for another 20
minutes. If I don't do (A) or (B) it works fine. Does anyone have a
similiar problem?

Hi,

Normally a "short" in the range will blow/trip the breaker/fuse right
away. Since the range will work for a while before the breaker trips,
sounds more like a weak breaker than a range problem.

JMO!

jeff.
Appliance Repair Aid
http://www.applianceaid.com/

"kahulalu" wrote in message
ups.com...
My Kenmore ceramic top oven range shorts out when (A) there are two or
more elements on at the same time at a high setting; or (B) when I
operate the oven at 350 degrees or higher. It shorts out after about
20 minutes or so, after which, I reset the circuit breaker from the
fuse box. When I reset it, the oven continues to work for another 20
minutes. If I don't do (A) or (B) it works fine. Does anyone have a
similiar problem?


Knew of one like that years ago.

CAREFULLY check every wire to see if one is worn through and barely touching
some part of the cabinet.
pay specific attention to where wires hang loose or pass through cutouts

Sometimes the heat alone expands things enough so the bare wire expands and
"shorts" then moves away just enough when it cools that an ohmmeter finds
"no short".

Even the short time to notice and flip the breaker back on may allow it to
cool enough to move and "fix itself"

Problems like this can drive you nuts trying to find it.

That's for all your help. I replaced the circuit breaker and I haven't
had any problems since.

kahulalu wrote:
That's for all your help. I replaced the circuit breaker and I haven't
had any problems since.

Thankx for the update! :)

jeff.
Appliance Repair Aid
http://www.applianceaid.com/