Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

[Fortinbras]

We have endured years of misery from this hopelessly unreliable oven (frequent failures of elements, thermostats, etc.). And it has just failed yet again, but unfortunately for us, the local Smeg repair engineer has recently retired (very comfortably I imagine!) and we have a large family gathering expecting a roast dinner this evening!

Basically, all the heating element for the oven appear to have died. The fan is whirring, the temperature light comes on and the clock is working but there is no heat coming from either the fan element or the top or bottom elements. The grill also fails to heat.
Is it possible that all the elements have failed in unison?
If one of them had failed might it prevent the others from working?
Is the thermal cut-out device likely to be the problem?
Are there any fuses or other components likely to be at fault?

If anyone can help I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks! 😡

[Martin]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Thermal cut out THE most likely I would think. It will involve isolating the oven power and removing panels so not a DIY job for the uninitiated.:(

[electrofix]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

as far as your engineer goes there are plenty of good quality engineers who use this site and you can search for one in your local area

Dave

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Many thanks for your help.

I decided to dive in and remove the rear panel. I located what looks like a small round safety thermostat (labelled: Campini Ty60). I discovered that there was an open circuit between the two terminals, so removed the wires and by-passed the device by joining them together, then reconnected the power… and still nothing works!

None of the oven elements, or the grill, are functioning. But the fan works, the thermostat lights works (but not the grill light) and the clock continues to remind me that time is running-out!

Any more thoughts?

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

…I did, incidentally, use this site to find a local Smeg engineer.

But the earliest they can visit is the week after next!!!
(obviously lots of repair work needed on Smeg devices!)

[electrofix]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

first of all if the clock is not in manual mode the oven wont work. also the clocks can go faulty so dont rule it out
next thing i would look at is the multibank switch behind the knob. get contact burn out all the time on them on various ovens

also think you may have a letter missing in model as its not coming up on the smeg site

Dave

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Thanks Dave,

Yes the clock is in manual mode. I have switched the mains off and on again and the oven temperature light and fan do not come on until the time has been set, I am presuming that if the elements were working they would also come on with them.

I’m not sure what the ‘multibank’ switch is ‘behind the knob’… would that be for temperature control or grill? Is there any way this could be tested?

You are quite correct, the model number is SUK81MFX1 (although SUK81MFX5 seems to be more common and looks, to all intents and purpose, identical as far as I can tell anyway).

Thanks a lot for your help!

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Just one additional thought… is it possible that the Ty60 device works in reverse, i.e. blocking current at normal temperature and conducting at high temperature?

Would it be worth pulling-out the cooker again, removing the rear panel and disconnecting the two wires I had joined together? (Too later for tonight’s dinner, unfortunately, but there is still hope for tomorrow’s Sunday lunch!).

[electrofix]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

can only find SUK81MFX as the closest model

this is the switch that should fot yours

http://www.servevastdirect.co.uk/index. … ct_id=1319

but i would ring servast and check. this is behind the knob you turn to select the elements. it has a number of contacts and the fail often. if you look at it you may be able to see melted terminals

Dave

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Thanks Dave, that is very helpful.

I will try to summon the appetite to remove the fascia panel tomorrow and see whether the switch has melted. Not sure whether I can test it with a meter?

If so, I will order a new one. Still slightly suspicious that the thermal switch that I removed from the rear of the cooker was ‘open circuit’ across its connections (I think it should have been ‘closed’). Maybe there are a number of contributing factors to this oven failure?

I appreciate you assistance. Thank you!

[electrofix]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

that thermostat may have been to bring the cooling fan on when things get hot. did you happen to notice if the fan was running when you shorted it

Dave

[Fortinbras]

Re: Smeg SUK81MX: Oven not working

Absolutely right again Dave!

I noticed hours later that the fan at the front was still running. I have since reinstated the thermostat and the fan has switched-off. I have also tested the other, square-shaped. thermostat which breaks the circuit at high temperatures, that seems to be working properly.

That just leaves the rotary knob on the fascia to investigate. It looks like it could be quite a fiddle (I am not used to this kind of thing… but am reasonably competent with a screwdriver!). Is this likely to be the culprit? I suppose it is just a question of removing and replacing it?

Many thanks, again, for your help.

[Author]

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