DCS RDS-305-SS Inner Bake Element Not Heating

[jpc3006]

The inner bake element in our dual fuel DCS RDS-305-SS is not heating enough to get "red." It gets warm or hot but not hot enough to be red like the outer element. The outer element works fine. The thermostat controls the oven temperature at the desired setting.

I measured the resistance across the old and new inner elements (yes, I have a spare) and they are identical at 19.3 ohms. I replaced the original element with a brand new spare and, no surprise, get the same result. While I had it apart  I measured the voltage across the terminals without the element in place and got the following:  0 volts with breaker open,  18.4 volts with breaker closed and oven "OFF", 84.3 volts with oven selector in "BAKE" mode. The voltage measured in "BAKE" mode did not change when moving the temperature setting. I also measured the voltage with the selector switch in "CONVECTION"  and "BROIL" modes and got 15 to 17 volts. I have looked at the schematic for the RDS-305 and the inner bake element is rated at 966 watts at 141 volts, so i expected to see around 141 volts but only got 84.3.

I am wondering if the selector switch has gone bad and may test it next. I would appreciate any suggestions for troubleshooting this oven problem?

Thanks,

JPC3306 

[jpc3006]

Update. I checked the selector switch and it seems to be fine. The other device in that heating circuit that I did not check yet is a 50% Pulser. Does anyone have a procedure for checking the operation of a Pulser?

thanks,

JPC3006