If your oven does not heat, does not heat enough or does not broil, a common cause is a burned out heating element. There are two elements, the baking element on the floor of the oven and the broiling element on the ceiling of the oven. A lot of oven elements do not get hot where the element goes through the wall of the oven. The gas supply is ignited using an electric lighter that proceeds through one or more burner units to warm the air in the oven compartment(s) to the temperature designated by the thermostat. Unscrew the element at the front and back. How Does a Gas Oven's Spark Electrode Work?. It's likely just the factory coating burning off. Modern gas ranges feature some form of electronic ignition system, such as the glow bar and spark electrode system. There are a number of benefits to using a grilling microwave, such as general microwave cooking and the ability to brown and crisp food. The temperature is set correctly, but the heat did not operate correctly. Step 6. Step 5. Most heating elements have 2 screws on the front side and 2 more along the back, connecting the piece to the rear wall of the oven. Bake and Broil Elements are made to withstand extremely high temperatures but with time and wear they will all eventually burn or short out. Oven heating elements can fail in a number of ways, some times the go quietly and just stop heating, other times they may literally burn up with a bright arc and smoke, either way the end result is that the circuit is open or "broken" and electrical current can no longer flow and do its work. Install the new oven element, attaching the wires as they were before. As long as the element gets red it should be working. This helps to brown food and give it a better texture and appearance. A microwave oven with a grill function can work thanks to a combination of typical microwave cooking and a heating element. Test the oven. Now you want to know how to tell if the oven heating element or the thermostat is at fault. They are about the diameter of a pencil and typically supported by metal stand-offs. Plug the oven back in and return the breaker back to the "on" position. It sounds like the oven is to hot. For the element to work, current needs to be able to pass through it. Using a metal or stone slab helps Secure the new element to the back wall of the oven. The casserole you were cooking in the oven either did not cook all the way or it burned. Ovens use air to transfer heat: you burn gas or heat an element at the bottom of the oven, and the hot air rises up into the oven, cooking your food. The former work by burning gas to warm a heating element and/or a metal cooking compartment directly. Loosen and extract the screws at each of the connection sites with a flathead screwdriver. Many modern ovens seem to have unusual element configurations, but with a fan it makes no difference, just use as the oven manual indicates. Cooking a pizza in any domestic electric oven is tricky, as it requires more heat than an electric oven can generate. Instead of merely equipping the oven with two heating elements (one on top and one on the bottom), like conventional ovens, they added a third element: that additional heating source with a fan mentioned above. Don't worry if you see a little smoke when the new element heats up. Did you check the oven thermostat with an oven thermometer?