KA double oven problem

[perc-o-prince]

OK, I don't have all the details, unfortunately, but I'm trying to help our cousin Carol.

Her KA Superba double oven is on the fritz. She thinks it's a 2000 or 2001 model. She set the top oven to self clean, and it said about 4 hours. A bit later, she went back to check it and it said 3 hours. About an hour later, it said about 2hours.

She was walking by a few minutes later and the display didn't show anything. She opened the bottom oven and the light didn't come on as it usually would. She tried cancelling the cycle, but none of the buttons would work. The cycle did stop, but the top oven is still locked. None of the buttons on the touch control pad will give any response, and the door remains locked.

A nephew says it's the touch control pad (aka control panel or membrane), and he gave a part number of KEVS277DBL3. My question is, what if something else caused the control panel to go kaput? If she gets this part that's supposedly about $300, and it too goes kaput, she's out $300.

I told her she might be better off finding a gently used or unused oven off of Craigslist.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Chuck

 

[appnut]

KitchenAid ovens/ranges of that vintage with self-clean, more times than now,m when the S/C feature was used, electronic components were killed.  John L will be able to be more specific.  Have 3 friends here with overns or ranges about that age and all 3 had problem with the S/C killing the electronics.  They stopped using the feature. 

 

[maytagbear]

A small, flaky off the top of my head

idea.....shut it off at the breaker for a half hour or a little longer, in essence rebooting the control. It might help, and it couldn't hurt.(?)

Sorry to hear this. Hope there is a not very expensive solution.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[mixfinder]

Its Toast

Even today the problem exists when a Whirlpool oven is wrapped in a prom dress to masquerade as Kitchenaid it cannot breathe and over heats in the cleaning cycle frying the board. A known defect, a refusal to redesign and arrogance continues to this day. I wouldn't buy a Kitchenaid fridge or range for this reason. Ask about the freezer door that has to replaced on a side by side if the ice maker signaling paddle breaks if opened during a dumping cycle.
Kelly

 

[perc-o-prince]

Thanks, all. I've spoken to her and the cousin who was helping her. Carol's now strongly leaning toward just replacing it. Hopefully I can help her find a deal for the size she needs!

Chuck

p.s.- she's gonna try what you suggested when she gets home, Lawrence, if for no other reason than to get the door to open so they don't have to cut it.

 

[coldspot66]

Chuck,

Are both ovens dead....no power to either one and no display? There is a thermal fuse, I believe, behind the touchpad. What is the model #...maybe I can look it up.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Hey John,

Unfortunately she accidentally threw the book for the oven away instead of the book for the washer she got rid of, so we can't get it from there. And, since the oven stopped in min-SC cycle, it's still locked, thinking it's still heating. The only way we can see to get it open is to cut the latch unless you can think of anything (?).

Chuck

 

[danemodsandy]

Possible Alternate Solution:

While this approach won't do anything about design flaws that affect control board longevity, control boards can be rebuilt. Not only is the cost usually much lower than an OEM replacement board, the work is warranted (for six months) and the company says it can even repair boards that are NLA, which, as we all know, is way too many of them.

Here is a link. I have not personally used this company, and so I can't vouch for them, but it seems to me they might be worth checking out:

http://www.corecentricsolutions.com/published/appliancepartsrepairservice

 

[coldspot66]

Hi Chuck,

This may not work but if you get a piece of thin steel or aluminum and bend it into a right angle, then try to slip it at the right edge of the door between the door and the frame of the oven and slide it over to where the latch hook is, you might be able to move the latch to the left enough to release the door. Sometimes stiff cardboard will work as well. Hope this helps. Also look for any screws at the top and sides of the control panel to see if you can gain access behind the control panel. I think there is a thermal fuse in there somewhere...that may be the only problem.

John

 

[DADoES]

 
I have used this other board repair service for my parents' Whirlpool wall oven.  They offer a 2-year warranty and turnaround was fast.

FixYourBoard.com

 

[super32]

I have opened many doors with a wire coat hanger.

I do agree with coldspot66, sounds like the thermal fuse has opened, tho, I thought the display would still light up. Could be wrong tho.

 

[fisherpaykel]

95%+ it is the thermal fuse, not very expensive, BUT it is accessed from the back of the oven so ideally you have a heavy duty same height platform to rest your very heavy double oven on once you have pulled it out,need 2 strong people, or maybe easier, if it backs onto an interior wall, just cut out the wallboard from the other side of the backing wall,replace fuse, patch drywall. Of course you will remember to turn off the power at breaker box prior to replacing fuse. Apparently Kitchenaid has an updated,higher airflow cooling fan kit but don't know that it will prevent future fuse blowing as my friend has a 2011 or 2012 IKEA Branded,Whirlpool built wall oven which recently blew the fuse on self cleaning but at least this new model now has the fuse under the front control panel so no need for 2 people or pulling the oven.Inconvenient but much cheaper than new ovens. ths.gardenweb has a thread about this problem,one person settled a small claims case with Kitchenaid in Canada and it looks like a possible USA class action case is mentioned in that thread.

 

[alr2903]

I would definately craigslist for a new oven with dial type controls.  Why does she want to open the oven, if the plan is to discard it? alr

 

[combo52]

Dead KA Wall Oven

John Coldspot 66 answered this question well, there are three thermal fuses on this oven, one near the control panel [ which surly blew ] and one behind each oven assessable by removing the complete oven from it installed position and removing the back of the oven.

 

The door can be easily open as stated with a bent hook fashioned from a coat hanger.

 

When these thermal fuses go it seldom damages the control board, but the oven may need a new cooling fan and other updates to prevent this from happening again the next time it is SCed. WP had a lot of problems with this but it is very fixable so unless the oven has been used very hard and is in otherwise bad condition I would fix it.

 

[mixfinder]

The Masters Speak

I am so glad we have the 2Johns, Walter and other experts here.  The oven appears to have everything your cousin needs.  Consider replacement, installation and disposal of the old units and after a minimum of  several throusand dollars you have something inferior.  I hope she opts to repair it.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Sorry for the lack of reply. No excuse.

Carol was worried about using the oven again since something had gone wrong like this, and she didn't want to get involved with boards, etc. Plus, between the Restore in Worcester and CL, I found her a few online that she could think about.

Saw a 27" new one at the Restore for $250, so she called and went to pick it up the next morning (last Sat). When they (her and Cousin Bobby) got it home, it was too big! Bobby said he measured it as a 27", but it turned out he eyeballed it and got it wrong. Now Carol (fit to be tied) has a Restore credit for $250.

She had to get the door open to access the mounting screws. We couldn't get at them with the door closed. So, once she decided that she definitely wanted to replace it (and I hadn't checked for replies or I would have executed some of the metal/cardboard/coat hanger options), I gave the handle one yank. Opened without a problem. Now, I was able to get her all the measurements. I tried staying out of this as much as possible where another cousin was involved, but she really wanted me to check this out.

I found a barely used GE on CL for $299. The guy damaged it a little after moving it, so we went to $250. The long and short of it was that the bottom of the rough opening had to be built up a little bit and she needs a small trim piece put on, but she's back in action!

Again, thanks, all, for the help. Unfortunately once the door was opened and the search for the new one started, I dropped the AW ball on the thread. Sorry about that.

Chuck