If your electric oven is tripping the fuse box, it’s often due to a faulty heating element, faulty wiring or in some cases, a fault with the electrical supply.
When your oven starts causing troubles, it can be an absolute nightmare! The goal of this article is to help you understand the problem better so that you can consider your next steps wisely.
We will also sprinkle in expert engineer tips throughout the article as this blog is written with support from Georgi, one of engineers with thousands of repairs under his belt.
In addition to this, always remember, you can give us a call and we will offer free advice over the phone.
Symptoms
First and foremost, what are the symptoms of your oven tripping the fuse box?
Well, as you might expect, your breaker will trip. It does matter when it trips though!
1 > Oven trips the fuse immediately upon being switched on. This often means the heater has failed.
2 > Oven trips the fuse a few minutes after being switched on. According to Georgi, one of our engineers, if your oven trips the fuse box a few minutes after being switched on, while it can still be the heating element that is causing the problem, it can also be a fault with the fan motor. We recommend reading the next section for more information.
Possible Causes, Expert Advice & Price Estimates
1 > Heating element fault. As previously mentioned, a faulty heating element is the most common cause for an oven which is tripping the fuse. In terms of replacing this, it is fairly straightforward for most engineers and a brand new heating element will usually cost around £20 to £50 to purchase online.
2 > Damaged wiring. This is another possible cause which can make your oven trip the fuse. If you believe that this is causing the problem in your case, we recommend calling a professional so that they can advise you accordingly. This type of cause can be very case by case specific and because of this, we can’t give accurate advice. What we can say is that damaged wiring is often cheap to fix depending on exactly where the damage is located.
3 > Faulty fan motor. On fan-assisted ovens, the fan motor can sometimes fail and cause the fuse to trip. This is once again a fairly straightforward replacement and a new fan motor will usually cost in the range of £30 to £90 to purchase online, depending on the exact type and model.
4 > Faulty selector switch. While less common, the selector switch can also cause your oven to trip the fuse. The selector switch is responsible for directing power to the relevant components, depending on the program you have selected. When this fails, the new part can cost upwards of £50 to purchase online.
5 > Faulty control board. According to Georgi, a faulty control board can cause your oven to trip the fuse box and would be considered the worst case scenario, according to him. He states that a faulty control board can cost upwards of £200 to purchase online, depending on the type and model. We recommend calling a professional so that they can help guide you according to your situation.
Is it safe to use an electric oven which trips the fuse box?
Generally, we would not recommend using your oven if the fuse box continues to trip. It is best advised to switch off the appliance from the mains if possible, and if not, simply do not turn it on. From there, contact a professional so that they can assist you.
When To Seek Professional Help
Seeking professional help will ultimately come down to how confident you are with oven fault finding and repairs.
If you’re someone who has previous repair experience in other areas of the house, you could try investigating the oven fault yourself.
On the other hand, if you’re someone who isn’t super confident that they can repair the oven themselves, we recommend calling a professional and leaving it up to them.
Please do remember that if you end up trying to fix the appliance yourself and are unsuccessful, most appliance repair centres will not be willing to assist you further. This is because repairing an appliance which has been opened up by inexperienced hands often makes the repair process harder for them, which most repair centres want to avoid.
Is it worth repairing an oven which trips the fuse box?
Yes! More often than not, an oven which trips the fuse box can be cheaply repaired. This would of course depend on the exact labour rates of your chosen repair centre but, parts for such a fault are often affordable. We recommend calling a professional so that they can give you a quote.
Why does my oven trip the fuse box instantly?
If your oven trips the fuse box as soon as it’s switched on, it is often a fault with the heating element. The heating element starts working as soon as a program is selected and if faulty, can cause the fuse to trip straight away. It can also be a fault with the selector switch.
Why does my oven trip the fuse box after a few minutes?
If your oven is tripping the fuse a few minutes after being switched on, it can still be the heating element. The heating element in some cases fails after having reached a certain temperature. Please do remember that if your oven trips the fuse after a few minutes, it can also be a problem with the fan motor.
Conclusion
Your oven may be tripping the fuse for common reasons such as a faulty heating element, faulty selector switch, faulty fan motor or in some cases, a problem with the internal wiring.
If you need us to help guide you in the right direction over the phone, please call us. We offer free advice regardless of where you are located. Simply call our team and we’ll handle it from there!
For oven repairs within the London area, please visit our home page.