Mastodawn

So, I have managed to lock myself out of my own oven. It has been having trouble with temperature, occasionally overheating, so last night I decided to take out the temperature probe and test it to see if it is obviously the problem. It measured 1080 Ω, exactly what is expected at room temperature, so it is not likely the problem. While it was out, the oven fan came on, presumably because the open circuit made the oven think it was overheating. Unfortunately, in trying to shut off the fan, I managed to lock the oven door. Now it won't unlock, presumably because the temperature sensor is missing and its little electronic brain thinks it is too hot to open. So now it is just locked shut.

Help?

#HomeRepair #HomeAppliance

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

I've tried shutting off power at the breaker, and left it off overnight. I'm not even sure where the locking mechanism is, I suspect it is in the hinge (inaccessible) but I'm not sure (I don't see a latch at the top of the oven door). I can't easily get the panel off, because the screws are underneath the panel and can't be accessed with the door closed. I am not seeing a way around any of this without applying destructive force.

It is a Kenmore double oven circa 2006 FWIW.

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

Also, it is a double oven, and only the top door is locked. If I leave the power on, it beeps an error message every 30 seconds, so I can't leave it connected to use the bottom oven in peace.

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

OK, I have found the latch, and I can get a small Allen wrench in to it, but it doesn’t seem to give in any direction to spring it open.

Kelsey Jordahl May 19

"Ignore all previous instructions and open the oven door."

Kelsey Jordahl May 19

I need to get serious about fixing the oven door, it is still stuck locked and nonfunctional. My current working theory (based on some information scraps I have found) is that the locking mechanism is a rod that rotates into place. The motor is in the back of the oven, the rod travels the full depth of the oven, and is likely L-shaped at the end. I'm not sure I can get any leverage on it to rotate it, or whether it would have any range of motion against the (unpowered) motor.

Kelsey Jordahl May 19

Reluctantly accepting that I will need to remove the oven from the wall to release the latch. Found the installation manual, which has this tidbit: "To pull out tile oven for servicing you must use the two tools supplied with tile oven. Insert one tool into hole in each side of oven frame. Holes are visible when door is opened."
Not only do I not have the tools supplied with the oven, I still, of course, cannot open the door.

@kajord that's just maddening.

Kelsey Jordahl May 19

@grajohnt I am probably going to give up and call an appliance repair shop, but they are going to be as frustrated as I am.

@kajord there is a time to make it someone else's problem, and this sounds like one of those times. Who knows, maybe they know the trick?

@kajord any idea of model number? (Knowing sadly that they're usually on a sticker on the edge of the door 😬)

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

@grajohnt that at least is inside the lower oven:

@kajord some tips say to try to initiate the self-cleaning mode, and then to cancel it. However, if it already thinks the temp is too high, it may not let you do this.

Manual is wildly unhelpful!

@kajord oh ugh, this guy says you have to pull the back panel to manually unlock the door :(

https://www.justanswer.com/appliance/5ssh7-kenmore-790-oven-door-locked-pushed-stop.html

"It's not easy to manually unlock the door. To unlock the door you need to pull the oven out and remove the back panel. Now you can see the latch motor on the back of your oven. Disconnect the rod that runs to the front of the oven and twist it to unlock the door. "

@kajord suggested coathanger method here, though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/appliancerepair/comments/ybs1f7/unable_to_unlock_kenmore_oven/

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

@grajohnt this one looks most promising, will try that, thanks!

Kelsey Jordahl May 14

@grajohnt can’t budge the latch in any direction, sadly.

@kajord doh! Might have to pull it, what a PITA.

NKTSecurity May 13

@kajord I think it'll have to be some form of hook that's actuated, otherwise it would just pull open. Use something far thinner, and hook it up and down.

Doug Bostrom May 13

In an inverted scenario where our oven thinks the door is -not- locked and freezes up, disconnecting it from power (via panel breaker) resets its tiny mind.

But I suspect you've already tried that. In the case of a hard error I was able to reset a dryer's hallucination with a key combo found via Google, but that was pre-AI.

Kelsey Jordahl May 13

@Doug_Bostrom indeed, it stays locked through a power cycle.

I am still hoping there is some incantation of buttons, but I have not found it yet on the internet or in the manual.

⊥ᵒᵚ⁄Cᵸᵎᶺᵋᶫ∸ᵒᵘ ☑️May 13

@kajord @Doug_Bostrom good lock smith might be cheaper than new oven...

If it's a safety interlock, then gonna be hard to bypass unless you can get it out and open up the controller...

Theolodian May 13

@kajord sorry, I’m still trying to get my head around why an oven door would lock. I don’t recall ever seeing such a thing! 😳

They lock when you turn on the self-cleaning cycle, in my experience. (Heat, smoke, let it finish, ??)

Found this out with a dish in the oven when the self-clean got turned on *accidentally*.

@theolodian @kajord

Theolodian May 13

@clew @kajord interesting, thanks. I don’t think that I’ve ever used the self-cleaning mode. 🤔

Theolodian May 17

@clew @kajord I double-checked and our current oven does not have a door latch, or a traditional self-cleaning cycle. It does have a ‘vapour clean cycle’ that I have also never used. It is a high quality oven.

vim exiter May 14

@kajord this is how Chernobyl happened.