How to Replace an Oven Heating Element

Before you order a part, verify which element is dead. Open the oven and look at the bottom (bake) and top (broil) coils — a failed element almost always has a visible burn mark, blister, or hairline crack at one of its bends. Turn the oven on to bake at 350°F and look through the window after 60 seconds: a healthy bake element glows uniformly bright orange across its entire length; a failed one stays dark, glows only on one side, or glows briefly then fades. For a definitive test, set a multimeter to ohms (Ω), pull either spade connector off the back of the element (after cutting power at the breaker), and touch the probes to the two element terminals — a working element reads 20-50 ohms; a failed element reads OL or infinite.

The model number sticker is usually on the inside edge of the storage drawer at the bottom of a freestanding range (pull the drawer all the way out and look at the top of the kickplate or the side of the drawer cavity), on the inside edge of the oven door frame on a wall oven, or behind the bottom front grille on a slide-in range. Write down the full alphanumeric model number including any suffix letters. Search "[brand] [model number] bake element" or "broil element" on RepairClinic.com, PartSelect.com, AppliancePartsPros.com, or the manufacturer's parts site. The listing will show wattage, voltage, terminal style (spade vs screw), and a fitment list — confirm your model is in the fitment list before ordering. Most elements ship in 2-3 days for $30-60.

Open your home electrical panel and find the double-pole 240-volt breaker labeled OVEN, RANGE, or KITCHEN — flip it to OFF. Verify power is off by turning the oven on at the control panel: the display should be completely dark and no element should glow. If the oven was recently in use, wait at least 30 minutes for the elements to cool fully — a bake element coming out of a 350°F bake stays hot enough to burn skin for the better part of an hour. Slide-in and freestanding ranges sometimes plug into a 240V outlet behind the unit; on these, you can pull the range forward and unplug it as a belt-and-suspenders confirmation that power is dead.

Pull each oven rack out to the stop, lift the front edge up at a slight angle until it clears the rack guides, and pull the rack the rest of the way out. Stand the racks against a wall or in the hallway out of the work zone — they are awkward to maneuver around and a stray bump will scratch your kitchen floor or chip an enamel finish. With the racks out, you have a clear shot at the rear wall of the oven cavity where the bake element's mounting bracket is screwed in. For a broil element replacement (top of cavity), the racks do not strictly need to come out, but removing them gives you a much better working angle to see the bracket screws.

At the rear of the oven cavity, locate the small flat metal bracket where the front of the element's U-shape attaches to the back wall — there are typically two Phillips-head screws, sometimes 1/4-inch hex-head, holding it in place. Drive each screw out and drop them into a small bowl or onto the towel laid across the oven door so they do not skitter into the oven cavity (where they vanish through the broiler vent and live in your range frame forever). On a few models, particularly older Frigidaire and Tappan ranges, there is a single screw plus a pair of slotted tabs — loosen the screw and slide the element to release the tabs.

With the bracket free, gently pull the element straight toward you 4-6 inches — the two wires running into the back wall will follow it and expose the spade-connector terminals on the back of the element. Before disconnecting anything, clip a spring clamp or wooden clothespin onto each wire about 6 inches from the terminal. This is the single most important step in the whole job: if a wire slips out of your fingers while disconnected, it retracts straight through the rear wall hole and disappears into the oven's back panel, which means pulling the entire range away from the wall and removing the rear service panel to fish it back out. With the clamps secured, pull each spade connector straight off its terminal — use needle-nose pliers if they are stiff, but pull on the metal connector itself, never on the wire insulation.

Take the new element out of its packaging and hold it next to the old one — the terminal positions and bracket holes should be identical. Most bake and broil elements are not polarized (they are simple resistors), so it does not matter which spade connector goes on which terminal as long as both are firmly seated. Push each spade connector straight onto its new terminal until it bottoms out and feels tight — a loose connector creates an arc that can melt the terminal and ruin the new element within hours of installation. Wiggle each connection lightly to confirm it does not pull off easily. If the spade connector is loose enough to slip off with finger pressure, crimp it gently with needle-nose pliers to tighten the grip before pushing it on.

Guide the wires back through the rear wall hole as you push the element straight back into the cavity — feed the slack wire gently into the hole rather than letting the element pull it. Line up the bracket holes with the threaded mounts on the back wall and start each screw by hand a turn or two before tightening with the screwdriver, which prevents cross-threading. Drive the screws snug but not white-knuckle tight — these threads are in thin sheet metal and will strip if over-torqued. Remove the spring clamps from the wires after the element is fully secured. Give the element a gentle wiggle to confirm it is solidly anchored and does not move when bumped.