The short answer
On a freestanding electric cooker of this generation, losing half the supply gives the most misleading symptom in the whole appliance. Ranked first on this platform: Half the supply, or the whole of it. The checks below follow that ranking, and the first of them need no tools and no panel removed.
What you observe
- The panel and the light work and no element ever gets warm — Lights without heat is the classic half-supply picture.
- The panel works perfectly, accepts a temperature, and nothing warms up — A fully responsive oven producing no heat is usually a mode.
- No warmth from the lower element at all, or a gas burner that glows and never lights — A dead heat source with a live control is the heat source.
- NEAR MISS — it heats but everything burns or undercooks — That is a calibration or a sensor question rather than a heating failure, and an oven thermometer answers it.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- Half the supply, or the whole of it — An electric oven runs from a two-pole supply, and losing one side gives an appliance whose panel lights up and whose elements do nothing. It ranks first on this platform because the controls and the light run from one side of a two-pole supply and the elements need both, so a breaker that has tripped on one pole only leaves an oven that lights up, responds and never gets warm.
- A timer, clock or mode stopping it heating — Ovens refuse to heat when the clock is in an automatic mode, when a delayed start is pending, or after a power cut has reset the clock. It ranks second here because a cabinet of this vintage has wear on everything at once, which changes the ranking: the parts that wear are far more likely than the parts that break.
- A failed bake element or igniter — On an electric oven the bake element eventually breaks, often with a visible blister or a break in the coil. It sits third because the causes above it account for more of these cases, not because it is unlikely.
Check in this order, and why
- Switch the breaker or isolator fully off and back on again — Two minutes, and it separates the appliance from the installation. It leads because it tests the top-ranked cause.
- Look at the clock display and set it to manual, then try again — Free, thirty seconds, and it is the single most common answer. Tests the second-ranked cause.
- Look at the element cold, in good light, for a break or a blistered spot — A visual check needs no tools and frequently settles it. Tests the third-ranked cause.
What an owner can safely check
- Turn the circuit fully off and on at the breaker, then try a plain bake — If the breaker will not hold, stop and call.
About 10 min
- Set the clock, cancel any automatic or delayed programme, and select a plain bake — After a power cut, most ovens will not heat until the clock has been set.
About 10 min
- STOP here if the next step needs a meter on live terminals or a sealed panel off — That is where an owner check ends. Write down what each check showed and hand it to the technician.
Before you touch anything
Safety
Switch the oven off at its breaker or isolator before removing any panel — a built-in oven is usually on its own circuit and is not unplugged by pulling it out.
When to call a technician
Call once the cycle selection, the supply and the door have been eliminated, because what is left is an element, an igniter, a sensor or a relay and all four are measured rather than looked at.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the Moffat oven as a class, not for one family or one model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit, that page is the more specific answer and the one to read first. Deliberately not here: part numbers, wiring colours and disassembly order, which differ by family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
