It's "Element"al - Stove Woes

The other day after the wedding open house, we were heating some soup and the house started to smell like burning rubber. We had to open the windows etc. We thought perhaps that the spoon had touched the element or that the rubber ring from the pressure cooker fell into the bottom of the pan or something.

After the stove cooled, I lifted up the top of the stove to look at the wiring underneath because when I touched the middle of the stove, it was really hot. Not just normal hot.

What I found was that over the years, when these little clips that hold the element in place come off and the pans move the element around, sometimes I would have to shove the element back into the plug harness to get it to heat up. I guess with those heavy pots used for so much soup, the element shifted and that caused an arc and the plastic on the plug harness beneath started to melt. We are lucky we didn't have a fire.

To avoid this problem, if those little clips break off and don't hold the three pronged base, get a new element. The best bet is to go to a trash collection or recycle place or a stove repair shop and ask if you can trade out your old elements for better used ones. The recycle place gets the same amout of money for a broken used element as it does for a working one. They don't care and really, if you had to pay a few dollars, isn't it worth it to avoid a fire or the hassle of it not turning on all the time?

This happend to me on my last stove years ago and I called and asked how much a repair man was and just the house call we something like $70 plus parts and time. I asked when they could come and they couldn't get to the house within a week and I needed my stove so I asked if I could order the part. It was almost $100 for the element harness/plug ten or more years ago.

BEFORE YOU DO THIS UNPLUG THE STOVE!!!!!!!

I had to pull the stove out, unscrew the back at the top only. The ends of the plug/harness are really easy to take off. There are just two little clips that slide on to the back of the on/off knob. Check the color of the harness for whatever element needs replacing. There are four different color harnesses and each color goes to a different element and that other end of the same color harness goes to the back of the on/off knob that turns that element on. They both just plug on.

Take off the harness by unclipping it from the metal holding clip that is screwed to the underneath of the stove top. They all have a different type clip depending on the make of your stove but they are really similar. It takes about 2 seconds to unclip it. Then, take the two little plugs off the back of the on/off knob on the back of the stove. In my case, the harness was orange and I just pulled them off the back and unclipped it. There was a screw holding all the wires together in the center so they could pass through the little access hole to the back but that didn't take long to unscrew.

Find the nearest appliance recycle shop or garbage appliance pick up or repair shop and call them. It really doesn't matter the make of the stove you find. I have a whirlpool and got the element off a Hotpoint I think. The element harnesses were the same except for the metal clip that attatches it to the stove. So, make sure you take a screw driver and get the metal clip that holds the harness into the stove unless you are getting the harness from the exact make of stove.

When you go to the recycle shop, I suggest you take the element you need replaced, the harness that is ruined, and the clip that attatches the harness to the bottom of the stove top with you to the recycle center or garbage dump etc so you can match it up as close as possible.

The one that I had that burnt was almost square but the Hotpoint harness was on an angle. That really didn't matter becasue I took the metal clip off the Hotpoint and with a little bend in the metal was able to clip it right onto the same hole using the same screw as I took off the other clip. If you get the same company brand harness, all you have to do is clip it right into the clip, two seconds work.

Once the harness is into the clip on the underside of the stove top, feed the two little wire clips through the center access hole where the other wires pass to the back of the stove. Once through, just push them onto the colored pegs on the back of the on/off knob. (You can see in the picture the smoke and burn marks from the old wires melting.)

Screw the back of the stove on, push the stove back into its spot and plug it in. Put the stove top down, put the tray under the element and push the element into the harness/plug. Turn on the stove and test the new element and harness plug to make sure they are snug, tight and get hot. Make sure to look underneath to see if there is any arcing or smoke etc.

I have done this three times now on two stoves and this time it didn't cost me a penny other than some brownie treats for the men at the recycle shop who let me trade out my melted harness and broken elements for used but functional ones for my stove.

Really, you would be shocked at how many things I have gotten from the recycle place or the appliance repair man for free. Many parts are generic that way. Even if you are doing a project for art class etc, you can get many cool looking things by going to the recycle place and looking at the stuff they pull out of anything with a motor or electrical.

It really is "element"al to replace these parts but ALWAYS REMEMBER TO UNPLUG ANY APPLIANCE BEFORE TAKING IT APART IN ANY WAY!!!!

Also, if you appliance is under warranty, never do your own repairs as it may make your warranty void. This is just for older stoves. The whole repair beginning to end takes about 5 mintues. Cleaning under the stove and trading out parts are the biggest time wasters. Unless of course, under your stove is cleaner than mine! ;-)