GE JGRP20WEJ1WW Oven igniter questions.

[natman]

Serial number AL6 13142Q

Topic #1:

This oven is about 18 years old. We rented the house for 5 years in the middle of that 18, and at some point I believe that one of the renters may have replaced the igniter, since the one in the oven was the square body igniter rather than the round body called for in the parts diagrams. 

The other day the old ignitor failed spectacularly, with a bang and a flash. It was apparent that at some point there was a short to ground, judging by the smoke marks and melted spot on the igniter cover. I don't know if the igniter failed and caused the short or vice versa. 

I obtained a new round body igniter and it works on the bench. I installed it, but it does NOT start to glow when installed. My *guess* is that the short fried the control board. 

Any suggestions on further diagnostics,  recommended courses of action, or tips on obtaining and replacing the control board are welcome. 

Topic #2:

The wires for the igniter pass through a hole in back of the oven directly behind the igniter. There is a cover over the hole, called the igniter cover. How should it be adjusted? There does not seem to be any way for the wires to pass through it, but there is no provision for the wires to be protected by any sort of grommet. So how much of a gap should there be to allow the wires to pass through? 

Topic #3

Normally I would move the ceramic wire nuts behind the wall. Note that the last inch of the insulation on both wires is singed black, but the insulation is still flexible and intact. Is this normal? 

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions. 

 

 

[MrApplianceMatt]

You'll have to put a meter on the connector for the igniter and see if the board is sending power to it. If not then the board number is WB27X27461. The cover is there to keep heat in more than anything so you can leave a gap that you're comfortable with. Yes, the scorching on the wire insulation is normal.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

That little silver shield can be removed - it looks like the wire rubbed thur and shorted against the silver hole cover.

If the polarity to the oven is wrong and you shorted that wiring there you could have blown out the gas safety valve.  You need to check if you have continuity thru the oven gas valve.

[natman]

OK, had to take a time out because of vacation commitments, but I'm back on the case now with more questions. 

I've tested the wiring and the gas valve seems OK. The control board is not passing any power. The part number seems to be WB27X27461 according to all the parts manuals I've been able to find, but the unit is marked:

The existing switch has the faceplate stuck on it, but the parts catalogs show it as a bare switch. Can you reuse the faceplate or do you have to buy a new one as well?

[MrApplianceMatt]

I've used the old one before but your mileage may vary. It may or may not come off in one piece, but if you're careful and you warm it gently with a hair dryer you should be able to peel the old one off and reuse it. The control board has likely been superseded by a newer part number. 

[Terry Carmen]

Put an ohm meter on the gas valve terminals. It should be very low resistance  (maybe a couple of ohms).

When something shorts, it usually destroys the valve because the wire in there is thinner than a hair.

 

[natman]

3 hours ago, Terry Carmen said:

Put an ohm meter on the gas valve terminals. It should be very low resistance  (maybe a couple of ohms).

When something shorts, it usually destroys the valve because the wire in there is thinner than a hair.

 

I tried this and got between 5 to 6 ohms on both sets of terminals. 

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

@natman That wire shorted directly to the frame - sounds like you got lucking and it was before the ignitor so didn't send 120 Vac through the gas valve and blow it out.

With that direct short it most likely burned the solder connections to the relay legs to board trace.

Sounds like board is already bad so wouldn't hurt to separate the boards out of the plastic case and check the solder joints on the bake and broil relay legs to board traces and if any are obviously burnt repair/resolder them and it could fix your problem.

[natman]

2 hours ago, Budget Appliance Repair said:

@natman That wire shorted directly to the frame - sounds like you got lucking and it was before the ignitor so didn't send 120 Vac through the gas valve and blow it out.

With that direct short it most likely burned the solder connections to the relay legs to board trace.

Sounds like board is already bad so wouldn't hurt to separate the boards out of the plastic case and check the solder joints on the bake and broil relay legs to board traces and if any are obviously burnt repair/resolder them and it could fix your problem.

Great idea and well worth a try. I prefer to fix things rather than just swap parts. 

BTW, hasn't GE ever heard of fuses? 

[natman]

Tried taking the old board apart, but couldn't find any burnt or loose solder connections. So I bought a new board. The tip to use a hair dryer to loosen the faceplate worked great, thanks. 

The oven fires up as it's supposed to now, many thanks to all that offered suggestions!!!