Dead GE Double Oven: Transformer or Control Board? This guide will help you Identify where the power supply problem is in your General Electric double oven.
Some symptoms you may be experiencing include, but are not limited to:
- Blank display or no beeping
- F1 error code
- Oven seems dead
Generally, these are signs of a failed controller, but sometimes a blank display or dead oven are simply the result of a failed transformer. I say “simply” because it is much less expensive and much easier to replace/fix the transformer than it is the control board. The objective of this post is to help you figure out which part is faulty so you can send the right one to www.FixYourBoard.com to be repaired.
To perform these tests, you’ll need an AC voltmeter as well as a basic tool set handy (pretty much just the right sized screwdriver).
The first thing to do is cut the breaker to your oven before you start taking it apart – we don’t want anybody getting killed by high voltage.
Next, you’ll need to expose your controller. Refer to this post for help if you don’t know how to access the control unit. There is no need to disconnect anything – that could actually make your measurements useless. Once it’s exposed, make sure you can comfortably touch the various wiring harnesses with the voltmeter probes. If it’s going to be a struggle, you may want to demount the unit from the panel to get some more slack.
Now, turn the breaker back on. You’ll need to be very careful moving forward. Even though the controller is mostly a low voltage device, there are still points of high voltage on the relay board, and you can still cause electrical damage if you probe the wrong places. Wall power goes into a transformer somewhere off the control module, and the transformer steps the wall power down to low voltage and routes that to the control board. The low voltage comes into the board at the white wiring connector labeled J1. It’s near the black connector receiving the clear, thin ribbon cable from the keypad (see photo).
The transformer sends two separate low voltages to the control board, 21.5 VAC and 4.6 VAC. These voltages are approximate. This means that as long is you’re in the ballpark, you should be good. Also, it’s important to note that there are many variations of this control module. Yours may look a bit different from the one photographed below, but you should still be getting the same supply from the transformer. The photo shows a unit with all the wiring detached – yours should have a wiring harness occupying the J1 connector, but you should be able to stick the voltmeter probes along the wires into the sockets of the harness to take measurements. If not, cut the breaker, disconnect the harness from J1 connector, turn the breaker back on, and probe the bottom side of the harness. You should measure voltages according the photo. Note that the empty slot is referred to as pins 3.
Probes on pins 1 and 2 is one measurement. Probes on pins 4 and 5 is a separate measurement. The empty slot is referred to as Pin 3.
If you measure the proper voltages, then you know the transformer is not the issue. Make sure the wiring harness is well connected, clean, and making good contact. If you’re still having problems as described at the beginning, then the controller is the problem, and you should send it to FixYourBoard.com for repair.
If you aren’t reading these voltages, then you either have a bad transformer, or bad wiring. Cut the breaker, and follow the wires back to the transformer. These four wires come out of the secondary side of the transformer. There should be another two wires going into the other side of the transformer, the primary side. With the breaker on, you should measure 120VAC going into the primary. I shouldn’t need to tell you how DANGEROUS 120VAC is. If you measure 120VAC at the primary, check to see if you get 21.5 and 4.6 right at the secondary. If not for either one, then the transformer is definitely bad and you should contact FixYourBoard.com for repair. If you have these voltages right at the transformer, but not at the board, then the wiring has broken between and needs to be fixed. If you’re not getting 120VAC into the transformer primary, then you have a serious electrical wiring problem in your wall which should be addressed by a professional (e.g. electrician).
I hope you found this guide helpful!
Regardless of what you may hear, the control boards on all appliances are repairable. Many times, control board repair is the only option because they are obsolete or no longer available from the manufacturer. Call FixYourBoard.com to have your control board remanufactured quickly, with an industry leading two year warranty.