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Fix it or Replace It?


GlorifiedRice

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Title sounds like a HGTV show, lol

 

Anyway I have a GE range...Model number JBS56DM1WW.

 

So I made breakfast a week ago and sat in the family room to eat and when I got up an hour later the Burner On and Hot Surface lights were both on, in spite of the switch being off. Called GE, diagnosis is $99 then parts and labor...

Ive read on the net what the problem is and watched the YouTube.

Its either the switch or the element sensor.

I wonder if my electrical problem a month ago fried my range?

 

Is it worth it to fix it or just replace it?

What brand would you all recommend?

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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8 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

In any event, if the range is still functioning as you'd expect it to (apart from the indicator lights), I'd neither fix it nor replace it. Both sound like expensive solutions to a very minor problem. 

 

I cut the power to it at the breaker box. I was afraid it would do something.

Could I still use it?

Edited by GlorifiedRice (log)

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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I'm hesitant to recommend burning your house down, but it's worth doing some tests to see if the range functions normally apart from the indicator lights. Unless it's super fancy, the amount of current flowing to the burners is controlled directly from the knobs. No? With my range, it functioned exactly as you'd expect it to except that the indicator lights (burner on/hot surface) were on all the time. It didn't seem to pose an obvious hazard. Maybe I overlooked something.

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26 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

I'm hesitant to recommend burning your house down, but it's worth doing some tests to see if the range functions normally apart from the indicator lights. Unless it's super fancy, the amount of current flowing to the burners is controlled directly from the knobs. No? With my range, it functioned exactly as you'd expect it to except that the indicator lights (burner on/hot surface) were on all the time. It didn't seem to pose an obvious hazard. Maybe I overlooked something.

 

See, I dont know either. The internet is calling it a "short"...Ive always thought shorts were dangerous.

 

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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"----- So I made breakfast a week ago and sat in the family room to eat and when I got up an hour later the Burner On and Hot Surface lights were both on, in spite of the switch being off. ----"

 

While that was happening, was the heating elements hot or cold?

 

dcarch

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Assuming it is more or less computer controlled, glitches often resolve themselves through a reset. Having the power cut may reset the range, try resetting the breaker and keep your fingers crossed, otherwise a circuit board has gone bad which can be expensive. How much do you love this stove vs replacing it?

 

p

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2 hours ago, GlorifiedRice said:

 

Ive always thought shorts were dangerous.

 

 

Well, they were during the Larry Bird era, but they've gotten longer since then.

 

I have a rule of thumb that says whenever you call a professional into your house, you are out $200 as soon as they walk in the door.  But with appliance repairmen, it won't likely be much more.  Because the parts are just that cheap.

 

As you've said you've watched the Youtube vids and haven't fixed it yourself, I'll assume that you're not willing to do that (although it could reduce the bill to like, $10 or something).

 

But you've left out a crucial part of the story.  Do you like this particular heater-upper contraption?   You're going to be spending around $200 to fix it.  Another $200 will get a brand new one (or something similar).

 

I think you have to take five minutes in deep contemplation.  Stare at the thing,  Ask yourself whether you want to spend the rest of your life with it.  Are you committed?

 

If you aren't, the nice delivery people will often take the old one away for free - thus relieving you of the burden of the separation..

 

[spousal related punchline edited 48 times, and finally discarded entirely]

Edited by IndyRob (log)
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1 hour ago, dcarch said:

"----- So I made breakfast a week ago and sat in the family room to eat and when I got up an hour later the Burner On and Hot Surface lights were both on, in spite of the switch being off. ----"

 

While that was happening, was the heating elements hot or cold?

 

dcarch

 

Cold after an hour

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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1 hour ago, palo said:

Assuming it is more or less computer controlled, glitches often resolve themselves through a reset. Having the power cut may reset the range, try resetting the breaker and keep your fingers crossed, otherwise a circuit board has gone bad which can be expensive. How much do you love this stove vs replacing it?

 

p

 

Palo I have had 6 yrs of non stop issues in my house. I dont care about the stove Im just tired of not being able to use that money to spruce up the house. I could use the money elsewhere. Hardwood floor in in famroom, new garage doors drywall work and paint and trim. Im being nickled and dimed to death

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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15 minutes ago, GlorifiedRice said:

 

Cold after an hour

It would not be shorts of the relays or switches which connect the power to the heating elements. 

Possibly some cooking liquid spilled/leaked to the indicator lights contacts. Those lights operate at very low electric current. The salt in cooking liquid makes connection to power and provides that little power to keep those lights on.

 

Sometime the problem goes away after a while. I would not recommend fixing it yourself unless you have experience with working with electric power.

 

dcarch

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Indyrob said:

I have a rule of thumb that says whenever you call a professional into your house, you are out $200 as soon as they walk in the door.  But with appliance repairmen, it won't likely be much more.  Because the parts are just that cheap.

 

 

you're fortunate where you live, I've had several repairs done here on my Kenmore Elite appliances (fridge,

2x, dishwasher 2x, GE microwave 1x) and all were well above the $300 mark with lengthy wait times to get them done.

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12 hours ago, dcarch said:

It would not be shorts of the relays or switches which connect the power to the heating elements. 

Possibly some cooking liquid spilled/leaked to the indicator lights contacts. Those lights operate at very low electric current. The salt in cooking liquid makes connection to power and provides that little power to keep those lights on.

 

Sometime the problem goes away after a while. I would not recommend fixing it yourself unless you have experience with working with electric power.

 

dcarch

 

From what they say, the switch has gotten stuck on the on position and the switch needs to be replaced.

Or the element is bad and needs to be replaced.

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

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you may've read elsewhere on this board that I had to replace my range last week.

 

If I could have fixed it for $200 I would have done, because I wasn't on the whole unhappy with it when it worked.

 

sounds like (well, reads like) that's the answer for you as well.

 

 

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