Feeling as though you’ve lost some of your baking skills as of late? Has your tried and true cake recipe fell flat or is your famous casserole not baked thoroughly come dinner time? Before you panic that you’ve lost your touch, take a deep breath and take a close look at your oven. Is your GE oven temperature not accurate? If so, it could certainly be the culprit of your recent baking blunders.

GE Oven Temperature Not Accurate:
A Troubleshooting Guide

Oftentimes, a GE oven temperature not accurate is due to a simple malfunction that you can investigate and troubleshoot from home. Let’s take a look at some ways you can troubleshoot GE ovens.

Faulty Oven Bake Element

It can be a frustrating feeling when your GE oven not getting hot enough becomes an issue. Oftentimes, electric ovens develop temperature inaccuracies due to a faulty oven bake element at the top or bottom of your oven.

To troubleshoot an oven bake element for an oven not cooking evenly, you’ll want to begin by visually looking inside your oven. Take a look at the top of the oven at the broiling bake element. It should appear to be one solid piece of metal, with no breaks or blisters on it. The bottom baking element should present itself as a solid, clean metal element as well.

When the oven is turned on, both the top and bottom heating elements should evenly glow an orange or red color. If there are any dark areas where an element is not glowing or any pronounced broken lines, it could certainly be the cause of your GE oven temperature not accurately heating. In most cases, your faulty oven bake element will need to be replaced.

Heating Element Burned Out

Speaking of faulty oven bake elements: it is possible for an oven bake element to burn out completely. A baking element that is burned out will cause an oven not cooking evenly.

Diagnosing a heating element that has burnt out is fairly easy. If you’ve made a recipe and it’s only cooked on the top, it’s likely the bottom element has burned out. A dish that comes out with a crispy-crust bottom, but a raw or undercooked top likely has a burned-out broiling element in the top of the oven. Replacing the burned-out heating element will resolve the issue of a GE oven not getting hot enough.

GE Oven Thermostat Not Calibrated Correctly

If your GE oven temperature not accurate is beginning to cause problems, it could be the thermostat needs to be recalibrated. An oven thermostat regulates the temperature within the appliance during the baking cycle, and if it is not calibrated correctly, will cook your baked goods at an incorrect temperature. Over the years, an oven’s temperature may become thrown off from everyday use, and your oven thermostat requires calibration to become accurate once again.

Are you wondering, “How do I calibrate my GE oven temperature?”. Most oven thermostats can be recalibrated up to 35°F. However, the specific instructions to calibrate your oven can vary greatly depending on the model of your oven. You will want to consult your owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to calibrate GE ovens. If you’ve misplaced your paper copy of your GE Oven Owner’s Manual, visit GE Appliance’s Online Owner’s Manual search.

Defective Oven Temperature Sensor

An oven temperature sensor is another device that monitors the internal temperature. The sensor is wired directly to the oven’s main control board, which provides heating power in response to the sensor’s resistance levels.

If you have a GE oven temperature problem that elongates cooking times or overcooks food, it’s possible the sensor is defective. This means it’s no longer responding to temperature fluctuations and signaling the control board to provide more or less heat. A defective oven temperature sensor can’t be repaired and requires replacement.

Basic Tips to Ensure Even Cooking

Sometimes, a few simple adjustments to your oven use and care can achieve more even results. 

First, consider these tips when you find your oven not cooking evenly:

• Make sure the oven is level: If a rack or the entire oven isn’t level, food won’t sit evenly in your cookware.
• Resist opening the door: The more you open the oven door during cooking, the more heat escapes, elongating cooking times. 
• Use the right cookware: Darker pans absorb heat, resulting in deeper browning, while shiny pans reflect it, creating lighter browning.
• Always preheat first: For more accurate cook times, Allow the oven to come to its set temperature before placing food inside.
• Consider rack position: Baked goods are best cooked on a single, center rack.  When cooking multiple dishes, distribute food evenly among the racks for optimum air circulation.

If you’ve found that your GE oven temperature not accurate is the cause of your dinner disasters, make sure to give CD Appliance Repair a call. We guarantee 5-Star Service for fast, accurate oven repairs.