What could cause the oven not to light

gasoven

I have a Kenmore Oven (gas, slide in) which has decided not to light – somewhat erratically.

Model # 362 73424200

When I turn the oven on, I can see the glow plug is getting hot, and I occasionally smell a little gas, but the gas never actually ignites and so the oven stays cold.

The gas does not keep running – it shuts itself off pretty quickly when it fails to light, or so it seems.

But this isn't happening all the time – one day it didn't work, the next it did, and then the next it didn't.

The gas flow seems ok – the burners all light – and as stated, the glow plug is getting hot – it's bright orange when I check it.

I'm thinking possibly a solenoid or a thermal coupler – any other possible causes? And how do I get at the possible bad parts in order to replace them?

Best Answer

This just happened to me in January with my awesome bottom of the line stove that came with my home.

  1. Glow burner (WB13K0021) - They degrade over time.
  2. Safety valve (WB19K10006) - Turns off too quickly before there is enough gas concentration to successfully ignite.
  3. Gas cut off valve is partially closed causing insufficient flow. Mine is inside a cabinet were I keep pots/pans and its possible, depending on the type of ball valve your builder used and its orientation, that shoving things in an area like this can move the valve.

The glow burner appeared to be what was bad on my oven.

Depending on the age of the unit you may want to consider an entire replacement like I did. First there is the cost of the parts. They are always overpriced and could cost you 1/3 of a new unit or more. Second if you replace the parts yourself to save money you run the risk of the parts not fixing the issue or making it worse compounded by a service fee to get a pro to really fix it which could easily cost the entire price of a new unit.

Related Topic