A while back, my oven stopped heating. The broiler still worked, and the burners all worked, but the oven just wouldn’t light. For a while, I was considering getting a new oven, but at something over $500 for a decent model, I didn’t want to plunk down that kind of cash.
Then, I did some research, and found some good news and some bad news. The bad is that GE doesn’t make reliable ignitors. The good is they made it relatively-easy to replace. Relatively-easy because the bolts to get the burner assembly off aren’t easy to reach, and you pretty much can’t get the ignitor off with the burner assembly still in the oven. So, I traipsed to Laabs Parts and picked up a new Whirlpool ignitor for $65 (a few bucks cheaper than the GE model, and the guy behind the counter said it worked just as well). He even stripped off the Whirlpool connector (it’s not the same as the GE connectors) there. Got it home, and it was about a 25-minute job to wire-nut the proper connectors on, put the ignitor on the burner assembly, put the burner assembly back in (it was easier getting the bolts in than out), test to make sure I got flame in only the right spot, put the storage pan and the racks back in place, and put the oven door back on.
Ah, I can now bake again (I don’t do much baking, but some things just don’t taste right any other way.
