Range
Keeps Tripping the Breaker
The range breaker trips when you switch on an element, the oven or self-clean, or it trips by itself with the range idle.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- Gas, fire or electrical risk
- 5 questions that narrow it
- 6 causes, cheapest first
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If you smell gas, get outside first; if not, cut the power
A range that keeps tripping its breaker has a short somewhere, and every reset heats that spot again. Leave the breaker off, call 911 if there is smoke or fire, and keep the range out of use until the short is found. A single trip during a storm that never comes back can wait for a routine visit.
What it
usually means.
An electric or dual-fuel range runs on its own large double breaker, and that breaker cuts the circuit when it sees more current than it should. A range that trips it has usually developed a short: an element whose coil has broken down inside its sheath, a burned terminal block, a wire that chafed against the frame, or moisture under the glass or in the control area. A gas range uses only an ordinary small circuit for its spark, igniter and controls, so a trip there points at those parts instead. Resetting a breaker again and again is how a small short turns into a burned connection.
The 6 causes, cheapest first
Answer these first
Does it trip with one particular element, with the oven, with broil, or only during self-clean?
Does it trip the moment you switch on, or after a while of heating?
Did you hear a pop or see a flash at an element or inside the oven just before it tripped?
Has there been a spill, a boil-over or cleaning water around the knobs or controls?
Is the breaker warm to the touch, or does the panel smell of burning?
Check these
before you book.
Range keeps tripping the breaker: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.
If it trips again after one reset, leave the breaker off rather than resetting it over and over.
If you see smoke, flames or a scorched panel, keep clear and call 911.
Write down exactly which element, mode or setting was on when it tripped.
Also worth checking
- Look for signs of a spill under the knobs or on the glass, and let it dry rather than wiping liquid into the controls.
- Mention whether the range is gas, electric, dual-fuel or induction, and roughly how old it is, when you book.
The causes,
cheapest first.
6 things range keeps tripping the breaker turns out to be, from shorted surface element to worn breaker or a circuit not suited to the range.
The cost guide-
01 low
Shorted surface element
A coil or radiant element can break down inside and touch its own sheath or frame, tripping the breaker each time that zone is switched on.
-
02 low
Oven element shorted to its sheath
A bake or broil element that has blistered or split often trips the breaker as it heats, sometimes with a flash inside the oven.
-
03 low
Moisture from a spill or cleaning
Water or soup that ran under the knobs or into the control area can track across terminals. The trips often stop once it dries, but the parts it reached still need checking.
-
04 moderate
Burned terminal block or cord connection
Loose screws where the power cord meets the range let the connection overheat, char and finally short across.
-
05 moderate to highest
Induction power board shorting
On an induction range a failed power component can short the moment a zone starts, tripping the breaker or the range's own protection.
-
06 varies
Worn breaker or a circuit not suited to the range
Breakers wear, and a range on a circuit that was never right for it can trip under the long, heavy draw of self-clean. That is electrician's work rather than a range repair, and we say so when we find it.
What else
it could be.
Most often confused with range surface element not heating, then range burning smell.
All problemsCodes that come with it
E6BlueStar · Surface elements and inductione310Bosch · Controls and communicationE9000Bosch · Controls and communicationE9011Bosch · Controls and communicationE6Hestan · Surface elements and inductionU 400Hestan · Surface elements and induction
Also related
The makes
it happens on.
32 makes on this site; range keeps tripping the breaker can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.
All 32 brandsRange Keeps Tripping the Breaker,
where we come out.
9 metros, each with its own page.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions about
range keeps tripping the breaker.
It tripped once and has been fine since. Should I worry?
Only self-clean trips the breaker. Why?
Can I keep using the burners on my gas range while the breaker trips?
Is it the range or my electrical panel?
Back to your everyday
Still seeing range keeps tripping the breaker?
Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.