Short answer first
Jenn-Air documents E22 as the thermal sensor circuit reporting a short to the control board: the control sees far less resistance than a working sensor can have. The suspects are the sensor, the appliance control board or the wiring. Do not use the oven until it is repaired, because it cannot judge its own temperature.
Error codes
Reference| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| E22 | The Thermal Sensor circuit reported a short to the control board. There may a problem with the Thermal Sensor, the Appliance Control Board, or the associated wiring. |
Signs that come with the code
- A burnt smell from the back of the oven — Insulation that has melted enough to short often smells; switch off at the breaker if you notice it.
- The code followed a self-clean — Insulation softened by extreme heat is a known route to a short.
- The code appears at once and stays — A short is present from the start and returns after every reset.
- NEAR MISS: an open-circuit code instead — An open reading is a break rather than a short, with a different likely cause and its own checks.
What triggers the code, in likelihood order
- Sensor leads touching each other or the oven body — Ranked first when E22 followed a self-clean or long high-heat use: that heat is what melts sensor-lead insulation until the leads touch.
- The thermal sensor shorted internally — The sensing element can fail closed, giving the same low reading whatever the temperature.
- Grease or moisture in the connector — Cleaning sprays, grease vapor or condensation in a connector can bridge its pins.
What to check first, and why
- Note what came before — A self-clean, a boil-over or heavy cleaning each point at a different cause of the short.
- Check for a hot-insulation smell — A burnt smell from the back means damaged wiring; leave the oven off at the breaker.
- Reset once — A genuine short returns at once.
What an owner can safely do
- Write down the trigger — Record whether a clean, a spill or nothing in particular came before the code.
Tools: notebook or phoneAbout 2 min
- Reset at the breaker — Breaker off for a few minutes, then on; note whether the code returns.
About 5 min
- Inspect the probe — With the oven cool and off, check the visible sensor probe is intact and not touching the cavity wall.
Tools: flashlightAbout 5 min
- Stop before any panel comes off — Everything past this point needs live measurements or a panel removed; that is the line between an owner check and a service call.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Melted sensor insulation means wiring behind the oven has overheated; with any burnt smell, keep the oven off at the breaker and let a technician open it. Hot trim, a burning smell or discolored plastic around the control are reasons to leave the oven off at the breaker, not to keep testing.
Reset or service call?
Call for service once E22 returns after a reset and a drying-out period, or at once if there is a burnt smell from the back of the oven. Finding a short means measuring the sensor and checking its leads along their whole run, behind panels.
Nearby codes on the same oven line
What this reading does not cover
Generalized information: E22 is read here for the Jenn-Air oven line as a whole, which fits Jenn-Air ovens whose code list carries E22 as a shorted thermal sensor circuit. It is not a reading for open-circuit sensor codes, meat-probe codes, and models that read E22 differently. Model lines can reuse a code with another meaning, so a model-specific page, where one exists, comes first.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
