How To Replace and Repair Your Oven Light

Although you can still use an oven when the light is not working, it makes cooking a far more inconvenient experience. Without a working bulb, you can’t check on the progress of your food without opening the door. Opening the door causes heat to escape and can disrupt the cooking process, which is not ideal. Read on to find out how you can quickly and easily repair your broken oven light. 

Before you get started, make sure you have all the necessary tools on hand to replace your oven light. There is nothing more frustrating than getting partway through a project and realizing you are missing a vital piece of equipment!

You will need:

• A replacement bulb
• A screwdriver
• Your oven manual

Diagnosing the Problem

First, make sure that the oven light is definitely the problem. Check that your oven is connected to the power source and that it is still heating up as normal. If other oven functions are not working, you may be dealing with a bigger electrical issue. If everything except the light is working fine, then move on to the next step.

Finding the Right Replacement Bulb

Most modern ovens use a standard 40-watt incandescent appliance bulb (A15), but it is important to know for sure what sort of bulb your oven takes before you begin. 

You should be able to find out what type of bulb you need by consulting your oven manual. If you can’t locate the manual, you can always try googling the make and model of your oven online and you should be able to find a copy of the manual. 

You can buy a replacement bulb online or from a hardware store. 

Removing the Broken Oven Light

The first step before doing any repair work on your oven is always to ensure it is turned off. It is also a good idea to make sure it has totally cooled to room temperature, as a hot oven will be unpleasant and difficult to work with. 

Next, remove all the racks and trays from your oven so it is easy to access the bulb. Then you will need to locate the bulb within your oven. They are often found at the top back panel of the oven, on either the right or left side. 

Once you have located the bulb, here’s how to remove it:

• Remove the clear bulb cover. In some cases they can simply be pulled off, but sometimes they are screwed down or attached with metal clips. If yours is screwed down, use your screwdriver to remove the screws and put them somewhere safe to use again later. 
• If you can’t see any screws but you are struggling to remove the bulb cover, it may be stuck down with some built up grime from cooking. In this case, try spraying around the bulb cover with some detergent mixed with water, and leaving it for a couple of minutes so that it can dissolve the grease. You should then find the cover comes off easily. 
• Once the cover is removed, gently take out the light bulb. Some bulbs can be pulled out and some need to be unscrewed. You can try both methods as long as you are careful, it should be obvious pretty quickly which type of bulb you are dealing with.
• Take care in case the bulb is cracked or broken. Put the lightbulb in some old newspaper or similar so it can be safely thrown away. 
• If you need to get information on the type of bulb in order to purchase a replacement, make sure you get a close look at it. The wattage and other information should be printed on the glass. If still unsure, you can take the old bulb to a hardware store and they will be able to help you find the correct replacement. 

Installing the New Light

Once the old bulb is removed, put the new one in. Then, before you put the cover back on, turn your oven back on and test if the new bulb is working. If it is, then you can replace the cover right away. If it is not working, then it could indicate either a fault with the new bulb or a deeper electrical issue with your oven. You will need to either contact an electrician or take another look at your user’s manual in order to figure out what the problem might be. 

Once the bulb is working and the bulb cover is back on, replace any shelves or racks that you removed. Your oven will now be working perfectly once again!

Please note:

When you are working on removing and replacing your oven light, make sure you are not putting too much weight on the open door. Leaning on the open oven door can damage the hinges and prevent the oven from closing properly in the future.