GE oven error - bad line, bad outlet

Jun 15, 2020 11 Replies

A couple of weeks ago I turned the oven on and the timer. The timer immediately went off, and I thought, that was weird and turned it back on and walked away. Ten minutes later I checked in it and the oven and the timer were both off. This happened one more time and I called GE customer service.



Customer service suggested I shut off the breaker for a couple of minutes and then turn it back on. This had no effect, and the problems seemed worse as I continue to use it. The screen went totally black, the oven light wouldn’t come on, and then an hour later it was totally fine. We tried the breaker thing again, just in case, and that’s when we got the error “Bad line, see cord”. We checked the whip and the testing the power to the outlet, but everything looked fine.



The outlet box was fixed to the floor, so we replaced the outlet and put it in the wall, and put a new power cord on the oven. When we plugged it back in, we got the error “Bad outlet, bad line, see cord”. There’s definitely nothing wrong with either and we’re not sure where to go from here. I’d really appreciate any advice on what else to check. Thanks in advance!


You need to check both line to neutral voltages with the range connected - I suspect a bad breaker or a bad connection at the panel.

Thanks, I’ll try that. Something else I forgot to include - the stove top works fine even when the oven won’t turn on.

If you have verified that correct voltages are there, preferably with the oven connected, then it's probably time for a new oven, depending on how old it is and whether it's a $400 one or $4000 one. It would be worth probing further into the oven, find the power supply section and seeing if anything there can be found that might be fixable, eg a bad cap. But if not, then it likely needs a new power supply/control board and usually they aren't cheap, but you can check online for what they cost. Also if you can't DIY, the labor for a service call plus the part puts you in the new oven range.

We have had this problem with another brand. Repairs are not cheap and we had done expensive repairs on a previous oven to only have it last a year. Problem with electronics in all new appliances it seems. Cheaper to replace them.

Is the stove top on 110v but the oven on 220? I don't even know how mine works let alone those made 40 years later, but if so, taht could account for that.

Unfortunately it’s only a year and four months old - just past the warranty and it was $1000...it’s almost the same price to get it repaired as it is for a new oven - it’s ridiculous!

I think the top is 110, so I guess that explains it.

That's a shame. Crappy warranty and I notice that is all I have on our different brand.

You might appeal to GE for help. I did it on a car repair long out of warranty and got about a third of the repair cost refunded.

The stovetop burner elements are highly unlikely to be 110v.

Generally everything in an electric range is 220v except the clock/timer unit.

Top of what? You said oven. Now it sounds like you have a stove? If it's stove top heating elements you're talking about, those are

240V too, at least in the typical 240V stove.

Have you verified there is ~240V measured hot to hot? That there is ~120V measured from each hot to neutral? Preferably with the stove having a couple elements turned on? If so, then it's likely the power supply board which is typically also the control board. I would think for a one year old $1000 stove it would be worth replacing, certainly if you can DIY. Unless this stove is known to have problems, which you can probably figure out online.

On Mon, 15 Jun 2020 20:38:39 -0400, Clare Snyder posted for all of us to digest...

fine.

+1

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