Scary behavior from Whirlpool Self Cleaning Oven
da...@yahoo.com
Whirlpool electric self-cleaning oven, model #GBD277PDQ1. Twice now,
they report that while trying to cook something the oven has gotten
itself into self-cleaning mode and they couldn't find any way to turn
it off. Furthermore, the electronic door lock prevented them from
opening the door. The first time this happened (about 1 1/2 yrs ago),
things got so bad that the oven overheated itself and severely burned
all the food inside before they turned it off at the breaker. They
wound up with a $600+ repair bill to replace the Control Assembly,
Thermo Control, and Thermostat. It's unclear which if any of these
parts were secondary failures due to the overheating and smoke.
The second time around, which I witnessed this evening, the oven again
got stuck on self clean. We tried repeatedly to stop it with the OFF
button. The control display indicated 'Cool' and kept the door locked.
This makes sense - that it wouldn't let you open the door until the
oven cooled down to a safe temperature - except that we're pretty sure
that the heating elements continued to stay on (we saw the glow).
Before creating another charred food fiasco, we switched off the
breaker. After some time without power, the oven eventually cooled and
unlocked the door. Now, the control unit seems to come up in a 'clean'
state, with only the time showing and no indication of a clean cycle or
oven on in any capacity, BUT the top heating elements immediately come
on and don't seem to respond to anything from the control panel. We
can't get the darn things to turn off. So we've disabled the oven at
the breaker box and can't use it until we figure this out.
Needless to say, my parents are loathe to go through another $600
repair and are very frustrated. We need to either get Whirlpool to
address this issue on their dime, figure out how to repair it ourselves
for a more reasonable cost, or shop for a new oven entirely.
Any advice would be most appreciated!
Dan
Wayne Boatwright
da...@yahoo.com?
After two such episodes and one costly repair, I would get thee to an
appliance store and buy a new one. This one seems doomed, and I wouldn't
trust it yet again. It could conceivably burn down the house.
--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
__________________________________________________________________
And if we enter a room full of manure, may we believe in the pony.
Calvin Henry-Cotnam
>
>After two such episodes and one costly repair, I would get thee to an
>appliance store and buy a new one. This one seems doomed, and I wouldn't
>trust it yet again.
I would agree with that. Eiher there is something that is really
malfunctioning, or there may be just a bad design that makes it easy
to accidently put it into cleaning mode.
> It could conceivably burn down the house.
This borders on scare mongering, but there is a concern about fire -- just
not from the faulty operation in and of itself.
Self cleaning ovens are very well insulated - so much so that they use LESS
power to operate over a year, cleaning cycles included, than non self
cleaning ovens.
In cleaning mode, the element is basically turned on continuously -- there
is no thermostat that is cycling it on and off to maintain a temperature
setpoint. It just runs at full blast and heats the oven as hot as it is
possible - how hot this is will be a function of your line voltage, but
the design of the oven is such that at the high end of its rating (240 volts,
or perhaps a bit higher), it will reach a maximum temperature that is not
greater than the design of the unit. If you live in a highrise, your
electrical supply is likely two phases of a three phase system, so you will
only have 208 volts and the cleaning cycle will need to be longer due to
the lower temperature this creates.
Now, even though the oven will not get any hotter with a faulty control
system than it would otherwise, there is a concern about the food items
in the oven at the time. The design for the cleaning cycle involves the
oven being empty. Any food could contribute to a fire.
--
Calvin Henry-Cotnam
"Never ascribe to malice what can equally be explained by incompetence."
- Napoleon
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replaced properly. Given the previous pyrotechnics, I'd wager that
warranty coverage could still be argued. You might want to contact your
lawyer on that one if dealer/mfg. drag feet.
More'n likely some local media outlet would be interested in the story
if it gets tossed back to you.
Inquiring minds have to ask- what were they thinking, with electronic
controls, circuit-boards, and such? Especially ones that could put the
unit into self-cleaning mode. IMHO, that is in itself defective.
Sure you don't want gas?
J
Ed
"Calvin Henry-Cotnam" <cal...@remove.daxack.ca.invalid> wrote
> In cleaning mode, the element is basically turned on continuously -- there
> is no thermostat that is cycling it on and off to maintain a temperature
> setpoint.
This is not true. There is a "clean" temperature that is reached and
maintained. For most newer models it's 850 degrees.
Tony Hwang
The electronic brain of that oven is sick. The sooner you repair/replace
it, the better it'll be. I am no fan of electronic controlled
appliances. If repair tech did not do proper anti-static measures when
replacing the logic board, it could have been already partially damaged.
Have ever seen a static damaged micro electronic circuits under
microscope? This partially damaged circuits often work but intermittent
with unpredictable result. When I was working, they could fire anyone
who did not adhere to proper anti-static measures dealing with delicate
parts on the spot. Some of them cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Tony
Tony
Tony Hwang
Tony Hwang
Hi,
Are you sure of what you're saying here?
Tony
SQLit
<da...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135668782....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
I know this is nuts, but why in the world did ya wait this long. Whirlpool
( or any manufacture ) is unlikely to help after this much time has passed.
I would check and see if the whirlpool site lists any recall on this model.
Me thinks your going to be spend more money for a new one
da...@yahoo.com
trouble. Despite the unit being officially out of warranty coverage,
they are sending out a tech today. Dad says they were very courteous
and concerned about the potential for property damage and safety.
We're hoping they'll do right by us today. More later...
da...@yahoo.com
control unit has to be replaced. Whirlpool agreed to cover the cost of
parts (~$1000) but not labor (~$100). Seems reasonable given the age
of the unit, so we'll keep our fingers crossed that the problem goes
away...
victoria...@gmail.com
cl...@snyder.on.ca
hrho...@att.net
Based on the OP experience, I would contact the manufacturer and tell them you are worried about burning your house down and see if hey don't respond as with the OP.
They certainly don't want you going to your local newspaper with their lack of action, so you might casually mention that that is what you might have to do if they don't respond appropriately.
Ed Pawlowski
advocate that will help with that sort of thing. At $600 a pop, I'd
want an answer on their dome too.
anonymous
Check all connections to make sure they are clean and tight and don't show signs of arcing/sparking. (Loose wiring, especially on the neutral, can sometimes make electronic stuff act really stupid.)
scott...@gmail.com
Ed Pawlowski
> I am a ups driver, Christmas week one of my customers house was gutted by fire, the cause was a self cleaning oven ran its cycle when no one was home. I have yet to find out what was the make of oven. However , the same problem has happened to me over and over again. I have unwired my oven heating elements and no longer use that oven. ( I Have a second oven , a whirlpool) we plan to replace both units as we plan to remodel the kitchen never to use whirlpool ovens again. I have not heard of any recalls or warnings I hope whirlpool goes out of business or fixes the problems , I know they know of this problem especially with social media these days
>
did. There have been fires, usually something left on top of the stove
and a big mess inside that should have been partially cleaned beforehand.
That can happen with any brand, not just Whirlpool. If the problem
happened to me repeatedly I'd find and fix the proble rather than
disable the oven. Could be a bad timer.
Colonel Edmund J. Burke
Is that wot yer sayin'?
slate_leeper
> I hope whirlpool goes out of business or fixes the problems , I know they know of this problem especially with social media these days
they were no longer going to honor their written 5-year warranty on
the cooling components of their dehumidifiers. The Better Business
Bureau was needed and did obtain my refund.