Oven wouldn't heat, thermal fuse had me confused for a minute

I’ve had issues with the heating elements blowing out completely because of a failure in the relay, not just the fuse itself. You see a lot of these thermal fuses get damaged from a surge or just years of constant cycling, even if the resistance reads zero at the moment you check it. My oven, a GE model, started acting weird after I noticed the back was getting really hot, but the display was flickering before it fully failed. The fuse looked fine initially, which is frustrating because the visual inspection doesn't always catch it. My fix ended up being replacing the entire high-limit thermostat because the fuse was just failing prematurely under the stress of that heat. If your meter still reads zero ohms and everything else seems okay, check the continuity across the element itself, not just the fuse, to make sure you aren't dealing with a failing heating core. It can be tricky since they are often buried behind other components. I also always check that the voltage coming into the unit is correct before I start pulling things apart, just to rule out a simple electrical supply issue.

I've been dealing with old appliances for years and I think you might want to check something other than the direct wiring into the fuse. When I had an old Whirlpool range that quit heating, I first checked the standard fuse and the relays, but they both looked perfectly fine with my multimeter. It turned out the issue was actually upstream, involving the thermostat located near the main control board. It wasn't a fuse or a loose wire at all. The thermostat had developed internal corrosion over time, which caused intermittent power loss to the heating coils, even if the main power supply was robust.

I found it by tracing the power line back from the heating element to the control circuit, which was a lot of fiddling. It was a tiny green component hidden behind a plastic housing. Replacing it was much faster than replacing the entire oven module, which I was worried about since the controls looked okay. It’s always the smallest component failing that trips you up when you think you’re dealing with something bigger like a blown fuse or a bad relay.

Same deal with mine, except the culprit was the other direction. The spade terminal on the fuse itself had gone loose and was getting hot enough to scorch the wire back a few inches. One thing I'd add since you fixed the connector: if the replacement ever cooks again, look at what terminal you're using down there. A regular wire nut or cheap crimp won't survive that heat. I redid mine with the high-temp terminals meant for oven wiring and it's been fine for years. Also gave the new crimp a solid tug test before buttoning it up, because a weak crimp is what started this whole mess.

This thread is making me second guess my own situation. My bottom burner quit coming on last month and the wires near it look dark but nothing melted. I assumed the part itself was dead but now I'm wondering if the connection at the back is the real culprit. Is there a way to tell when a dark looking wire is just old versus actually cooking from a loose spot?