GE Cafe Range CGS995SEL1SS Not Preheating

[RusselPotat]

Model Number

CGS995SEL1SS

Brand

GE

Age

1-5 years

Hello! We are having problems with our CGS995SEL1SS on propane. Both the upper and lower ovens will start to preheat, then just stop and turn off. No error, no beeps, nothing. Will just return to the clock screen. Range burners work fine. We can see the lighting element heat up and glow and it sounds like the flame will light and then immediately go out. The broiler does the same thing - we can see the element glow, the broiler will light, then it will just go out. People seem to say it's a control panel going bad. It looks like there are two (one in the front WB56X28191 and one in the back WB27X29500). Any thoughts? Thank you! Russel.

 

[rickgburton]

will light and then immediately go out. The broiler does the same thing

The oven safety valve is common to both bake and broil. If it was a control board problem it would be uncommon to affect both bake and broil but it's possible.

we can see the element glow,

Do the igniters turn off when the oven goes out or do they continue to glow red?

GE WB21X28835 Safety Valve Dual (AP6278835) - AppliancePartsPros.com

SAFETY VALVE DUAL WB21X28835 / AP6278835 made by GE

click.linksynergy.com

 

[RusselPotat]

Thanks for the reply, Rick, I really appreciate your help. It appears the igniters continue to glow red. I just re-tested and it appears the upper oven never even ignites - I don't see/hear gas ever being sent. It is just the coils on the top that heat up and the ignitor stays glowing the whole time until it eventually just shuts off.

 

[rickgburton]

Replace the safety valve and that should fix it.

 

[RusselPotat]

Great, thank you! I will - that's on the back of the oven, right?

For what it's worth, I tried the lower oven again just now and for some reason and it worked absolutely perfectly. Preheated to 350 and stayed there. I don't mean to muddy the water, but does the safety valve intermittently work before completely failing?

 

[rickgburton]

does the safety valve intermittently work before completely failing?

It works like this; The igniter and safety valve are connected in series so one side of the 120 VAC for the igniter goes through the safety valve bi-metal switch. When the igniter draws 3.2 to 3.6 amps is causes the bimetal to 'warp' and open the gas valve. If the igniter gets weak it doesn't draw the 3.2 amps, 3.0 - 3.1 is enough to cause intermittent operation. So it could be a weak igniter except the broil does the same thing and the chances that both igniters failed at the same time would be like getting two flat tires at the same time. It's easy to check with a meter or amp probe. I'll make you a diagram:

 

[Jake]

LOL, Rick either your eyes are improving or mine are getting worse, because I can barely read that small print where it says 1. 2. 3. 4. on the 2nd photo.

Can you enlarge the photo a little bit more please? Thanks!

Jake

 

[rickgburton]

LOL...I resized a lot of my pics so the wouldn't take up a whole page.

 

[Jake]

LOL, Perfect Rick, Clear as a bell! Thanks!

Jake

 

[RusselPotat]

Thanks, Rick! This is great. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. The chances of all three ignitors (upper oven, lower oven, and lower broiler) going bad is probably really slim. Last question before I break out the multimeter. Is this safety valve on the back of the unit? Or do I need to start taking things apart in there to access it. From YouTube and diagrams, it looks like it's on the back, but just want to make sure before I pull the oven out.

 

[rickgburton]

Yes, it's behind the machine