Of all the kitchen appliances, cookers are generally one of the more reliable. They’re very sturdy and they don’t break too often.
However, when they do go wrong it is usually one of three things: the thermostat, the heating element or the fan motor. In this article we’ll concentrate on how to replace a faulty fan motor in an oven.
To diagnose whether your fan motor needs replacing try turning your oven on to its fan setting. If it turns on but the fan doesn’t spin, there’s a good chance that the motor needs replacing.
To fix this problem is relatively straightforward. This is what you do:
Get the correct spare part
Having noted the model number of your cooker, order the replacement fan motor.
Remove the oven
To do this, open the cooker door and take out the screws that hold it in place in the cavity. These screws are generally located around the inside of the cavity frame.
Remove the covers
To take off the inside and outside back covers simply locate the nut that should be in the middle of the fan blade and unscrew it. There is a good chance that this will be a reverse thread nut which means you may have to unscrew it the opposite way to which you would expect. Once the covers are off, remove the fan blade.
Deal with the electrics
Before removing the motor you will need to disconnect the live and neutral cables. Once this is done, unscrew any holding screws. In most ovens there will be three. They are likely to be located on the back of the cooker. Everything should now be free so you can remove the fan motor.
Reverse the process
Now you need to install the new motor. To do this, screw it into the back, replace the fan blade, screw in any nuts that were holding it in place, connect up the cables and put the covers back on. Job done.
In most cases this process will be simple enough but you may need to get some help when lifting the oven. If you’re unsure at all, please call a professional.
Good luck
About the author
Will Strauss is a freelance journalist who covers broadcasting, media, music, DIY and construction. He regularly writes for ASD, the cooker spares company in Leeds.
I haven’t tried troubleshooting our cooker before and this post might be very useful when the time comes. Do the fan motors have different brands in-case I will buy a spare?
Thanks for providing and sharing that very useful DIY guide, it will be very useful for someone who love to DIY. But for those who are not sure what they’re doing, you’re right it’s better to ask for help or let the professionals fix it, for safety purposes.
Each brand has its own fan motor. In an ideal world the industry would be standardized but, unfortunately, that isn’t the case. If you follow the cooker spares link in my ‘About the author’ section you’ll see some examples.
You are really detailed in these steps and I think it will really work. My father is good at that, he almost fixed our appliances that damaged already. He told also that when fixing it, you should be ready. Tools are with you nearby and as much as possible there is an assistant to help him.