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Oven latch repair?

My Whirlpool oven/range makes an awful buzzing/vibrating alarm when I try to start the self-clean cycle. The noise goes on and off until I turn off the oven, then it takes a little while for the door to unlock.

I unplugged the appliance and after plugging it back in it showed F5 on the display. The oven manual doesn't explain the error codes, but from searching online I believe it indicates a problem with the door latch. Whirlpool no longer provides tech support by phone, so I'll have to pay a fortune to a repair person unless there's a part I can replace myself.

Advice, anyone? How can I tell if it is a problem with the latch or seal or just the latch sensor?

Thank you.

Greg

Reply to
emulemul
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Hi Greg,

Is the buzzing/vibrating sound during the self cleaning actually an alarm or is it the heating elements? I imagine that during the clean cycle the oven ramps the heating elements up to 100% capacity and they draw a large amount of current. If one of the elements has a loose connection it could start to vibrate at 60Hz and even worse the connection could start to heat up and melt or catch fire.

As far as the latch goes it sounds like its working the way it is supposed to. When the self cleaning cycle is started the latch should prevent you from opening the oven until it is cooled off or some predetermined time delay has passed. Its a safety feature. Or are you saying that now the latch will not open at all?

burnin

Reply to
none

I would go to a store selling the type/brand of appliance that also does repairs and nicely describe the problem and see what reaction you get. Manyh places are happy to help potential customers. You might be pleasantly surprised. I also have a local universal appliance parts store a few miles away, and they are a fountain of knowledge about common appliance problems. Treating them nicely has saved me big $$$ over the past couple of decades.

H. R.(Bob) Hofmann

Reply to
hrhofmann

Sounds like the latch solenoid is vibrating, it could be as simple as a loose or misadjusted mechanism. I'm not sure where it is on a Whirlpool oven but I worked on GE ranges in an apartment complex at one point and the solenoid was located in back above the oven and actuated a lever that ran through the body to the latch. It was a fairly common failure.

Reply to
James Sweet

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Reply to
buffalobill

Thanks for the input. The door DOES unlock after it cools down, so I guess the lock is working but the latch sensor is bad. Because of the error code displaying I assume I am hearing an alarm and not just a loose vibration.

I will check w/ a nearby appliance repair shop, but I cant afford to spend a lot of $, so I hope I can replace the latch thing myself. I've never worked on an appliance like this, so I also hope someone can point me to some illustrated instructions.

Reply to
gplantam

Reply to
Mike Berger

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