# Solved: Electric Oven- wiring



## devagral (Aug 1, 2007)

Hi guys, I have an electric oven (not microwave) with
1. one rotatory switch (off/warm/grill/bake)
2. one upper and one lower heating element
3. Indicator Lamp
4. thermostat
5. Timer

Recently it stopped working.I opend its back and found that a wire was disengaged and while investigating, i managed to disengage few more wires.Now, I do not know which wire should go where.
I have a little experience but not enough to visualize the proper connections.I request to all to help me and guide me in wiring the oven properly. Thanks.


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## daniel_b2380 (Jan 31, 2003)

> an electric oven


not familiar with manufacturer 
lot of really knowledgable people in a lot of different subjects here on the forums - clairvoyance though....   

seriously now, WHO is the manufacturer, the model, ....
once you let us know that, finding a schematic / service manual can usually be accomplished


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You need to find the manual as Daniel has stated. Many appliances have a basic wiring diagram stuck in a small envelope under one of the covers, both of my fridges, the dishwasher, and the microwave/wall oven have them.


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## Drabdr (Nov 26, 2007)

JohnWill said:


> You need to find the manual as Daniel has stated. Many appliances have a basic wiring diagram stuck in a small envelope under one of the covers, both of my fridges, the dishwasher, and the microwave/wall oven have them.


Agreed. The manufacturer's of equipment use unique color schemes for their wires. It is not possible to suggest accurately how to reconnect them, at this point.

A couple of suggestions.

1. Make sure the oven is turned off at the breaker.
2. Scour the equipment (like John suggested) and find the schematic. I bet it's there somewhere.
3. Maybe take a picture of the wires and the connector places (where the wires probably came off) and post them. Pictures never hurt. :up:

Let us know what you find.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Searching for the exact make/model of the oven on the Internet may yield a clue. I've found schematics that way for appliances that didn't have a schematic.

I've also seen the schematic as a single sheet glued inside a panel on the appliance.


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## Blackmirror (Dec 5, 2006)

I would be very careful
sounds like you need an electrician


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## daniel_b2380 (Jan 31, 2003)

devagral said:


> ....I opend its back and found that a wire was disengaged and while investigating, i managed to disengage few more wires.Now, I do not know which wire should go where.
> I have a little experience but not enough to visualize the proper connections....





Blackmirror said:


> I would be very careful
> sounds like you need an electrician


you may have a point

devagral, are you familiar with reading schematics?


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## Drabdr (Nov 26, 2007)

Blackmirror said:


> I would be very careful
> sounds like you need an electrician


Care is most definitely in the cards. Hence my suggestion to assure that the power is off prior to doing this. That is a must. :up:

I think this may be something an individual might be able to tackle on their own. Find the schematic, and determine if there are color codes.

NOTE: if you do get over your head or can't figure it out, you will probably want to go with an appliance repair service over an electrician. It will require a little knowledge in appliances to figure out where the wires came off.


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## Leec65 (Jan 11, 2007)

first off is this a range or a plug in countertop unit and is there a brand name on it 
and yes Iam a electrician


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## robinofloxley (May 11, 2009)

I am also an electrician, but in the UK. We have 230Vac, 50 Hz. Standards are therefore a little different. But Safety still comes first.

Google your oven model number. Chances are it will be USA, Germany or Italy. Remember colour codes in It/De. will be different. You may find a .pdf file somewhere.

Also, a lot of manufacturers dont like home repairs. They dont want to be sued for helping. You may have to register and pay as a qualified installer (a few bucks per schematic). Gas oven information almost impossible to get (but that doesnt apply to you)
Test electrics with a mutimeter if you insist on proceeding.

Have fun.

Bite the bullet and pay for a local appliance repair shop to come out to you. Surely $50-$100 will cover it?

btw All electricians get shocks. A dishwasher nearly killed me once.
Pulled it out from under a worktop, the kitchen was supposedly isolated. But obviously my outlet was another circuit.
A few seconds of shaking then I managed to get my hands off.
And a 230V shock is a lot worse than 110V (both potentially fatal though). Never had a 3-phase shock thank God.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

FYI, the oven doubtless runs on 230V anyway, so it'll be just like one in the UK.


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## Drabdr (Nov 26, 2007)

leec65 and robinofloxley, good to have you here, and your inputs/suggestions are welcome!

I keep forgetting that they changed the code a while back where ovens had to have plugs on them. Here in America, older houses (80's and older, I think) were hard-wired. 

It wasn't too hard to figure out which breaker it was. But I would still do the sophisticated test of touching hot conductor to ground to assure it was off. Yea, it saved me once!:up:

I got shocked by 480v once (on top of an industrial oven); that was not pleasant. From that moment on, there were two situations that I never took anyone's word on:

1. Is this gun loaded? (I always look and check).
2. Is the breaker off? (I always make some kind of check).


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## Leec65 (Jan 11, 2007)

John yes it will be 240 volts but not like the UK here we get 208-240 with two hot wires and a common with 120 per leg and 240 between them in the UK I believe they have one hot leg at 230 volts

I believe it was back in the 50-60 when the code changed I know that I work on some apts back in the 80's that had been builded back in the 60's I had to get a' I believe it was a 64 code book that i had to go by' 

the last time I got hit by 480 was on a intel job and yes it does not feel good, that is why for the lock out tag out

now to the problem are the wires all black and with like a cloth outer coating ? if so then it is type AA wire maded for high temp can you take a picture and send it to me in a PM I might be able to able to help you 

and don't short it out to check it go to you local building supply and get a " tic checker"
they are only 5-10 dollors and will tell if a wire is hotjust by touching it


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## robinofloxley (May 11, 2009)

I guess we call tics "Voltsticks". Very useful but not foolproof. 
Glow red near a live wire. But in a bundle/cable that could be any wire. Just use them to test the circuit breaker is off. Run the back of your knuckles on a wire if you want an old electrician's trick. 
But dont sue me if you fall off a ladder.

In UK we have Live/Neutral and Earth. Neutral is usually anchored to Earth at the box or outside on the pole.

In the US (and Japan) it may not. Treat each conductor as Live. 
Multimeter is essential (10 bucks). Identify the wires by measuring Live to Earth/Ground. Looking for high 110 AC Volts.
Try the ON/OFF switches, while measuring, to identify the switch circuit.


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## Leec65 (Jan 11, 2007)

we call them tic tracer because they go tic-tic-tic but it's the same thing

right you have a 3 wire system with hot/neutral/earth or as we would call it here grould 
and we use a 4 wire system with 2 hot at 120 volts each plus 60 Hz


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## devagral (Aug 1, 2007)

First of all, thanks to all those who have posted to this thread and sorry for delay in replying.
I'm based in India and my oven is a table top model which runs on 220 volts.Fortunately I as able to locate another oven of the same model and copied the wiring therefrom.Now my oven is working OK.thanks once again.


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## daniel_b2380 (Jan 31, 2003)

alrightyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, glad to hear of your success 

and thank you for returning to post your solution


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