Bosch Oven Element Won't Heat: Which Element

Know the three elements#

Each element is a 240-volt circuit switched by its own relay on the control board, so a failure usually disables just the modes that use it:

• Bake (floor ribbon) — primary bottom heat.
• Broil (ceiling) — top-down radiant heat.
• Convection ring (rear, around the fan) — the main heat in European Convection.

Because they are independent, "heats in bake but not broil" points straight at the broil circuit rather than a general fault.

Element burned open (most common)#

The nichrome wire inside an element eventually breaks, opening the circuit so no heat is made — often with a visible blister or break where it burned through. Turn the oven on and watch: an element that never glows after a couple of minutes has likely opened. Confirm with a meter across its terminals (power off, one wire disconnected): a good element reads in the low tens of ohms, while an open circuit reads infinite. Bake and broil elements are a quick swap; the convection ring means pulling the rear panel and fan first.

When the element tests good#

If the element reads normal but stays cold, the problem is feeding it, not the element:

• Relay not switching. Each element's board relay can fail open. Listen for its click when you select that mode — no click, no power. You can also check for 240 volts at the element terminals while the oven is calling for heat.
• Thermal fuse opened. A fuse that trips on overheat kills its circuit permanently, and it always has an underlying cause — a blocked vent, a dead convection fan, or a relay stuck closed. Replacing the fuse without fixing that cause just blows it again.
• A burnt spade terminal. The push-on connectors behind the cavity lose spring tension and corrode over years of heat, giving intermittent or no heat; a burnt, discolored terminal is the tell.
• A sensor fault. If the temperature sensor reports a false overheat — often with an E005 or E006 code — the board refuses to power any element. That is a sensor fix, not an element one, so check for codes before condemning a good element.

Before the holiday baking#

A dead bake element the morning of a holiday is a genuine disaster, and it usually gives warning — a broil that stopped browning, a convection mode that runs cool. Test the elements now while there is time to order a part. To have the element, relay, and sensor sorted quickly, book a visit.