Maytag MER5730AAW range heating problem

[ChrisW50]

My mother-in-law owns a Maytag range, model MER5730AAW. About 3-4 months ago she complained that the broil element wasn't heating, so I replaced the element, and that solved the problem. Today she said that the broil element wasn't heating again. I turned the oven to bake, and checked both elements for voltage. The bake element was getting 240V, but the broil element wasn't. Occasionally I could hear a click from the area of the clock control panel and the broil element would get 240V for a few seconds, then another click and no voltage. This cycle repeated every minute or so. I put the oven on broil and the broil element continuously received 240V and became red hot, so I'm sure the element is not the problem. Does this sound like a relay problem in the clock control panel? I don't have a service manual, but is there any way to test the control panel before replacing. I've found prices on the panel anywhere from $192-$325, so would like to confirm I'm on the right track. Any help and advice is appreciated.

[MajorApp]

It sounds like the oven is working properly. In the preheat bake cycle the broil element will cycle on and off to help the oven heat up faster.

[ChrisW50]

Thanks for the reply MajorApp. My mother-in-law tells me that the broil element should stay on continuously in bake mode. When I replaced the element and turned the oven to bake to test it, the element stayed on and became red hot, so I thought she was correct. Are you saying that the broil element isn't supposed to stay on in bake mode?

[ChrisW50]

Well, after some Googling, it does appear that the broil element is used to help preheat the oven in some models but isn't used in bake mode except to maintain the temperature. I assume that when I installed the broil element and turned the oven to bake, the broil element became red hot to preheat the oven, and would have eventually turned off? I'm wondering why this time when I checked it, it never stayed on long enough to really get hot? So it may be that the mother-in-law's oven may be working normally. Maybe that's one more thing I can strike off her list of things for me to do? Thanks MajorApp.

[MajorApp]

It's possible that when you replaced the broil element and tested it that you could have had the control set to broil.

[ChrisW50]

Since I didn't know the difference between bake and broil, I turned my oven to bake and it did a 6 minute preheat as displayed on the control panel. The bake element stayed on continuously and the broil element cycled on and off, just beginning to blow red before cycling off. This was signaled by the clicking in the control panel similar to what I heard on the MIL's oven. Once the oven went into the normal bake mode, the bottom element cycled off, so I'm assuming it has to do this to not overheat. I didn't see the broil element ever come on, or if it did it wasn't long enough to glow red. I heard some clicks but sometimes couldn't tell which element was doing what. I had the lights off in the kitchen in an attempt to see the color of the elements. My MIL's broil element only had power for a matter of seconds, which doesn't seem like enough time to heat up, but maybe that's the way this oven works.

My MIL claims that she can tell if the oven is working right by the way it's cooking, and it's hard to argue with your 92 year old mother-in-law, if you know what I mean.

EDIT: I'll check with her tomorrow, but is it possible that this range has a manual preheat, and when I tested the element, she put it into preheat causing it to stay on? And maybe this time she put it on just bake? Would that have made any difference?

EDIT2: Now that I understand a little more what to look for I'll check the range tomorrow, and I'm wondering if when I installed the element she put the oven on bake and cranked up the temperature. Maybe this caused the broil element to run longer. Yesterday I know the oven was on 350. I found a copy of the manual online and didn't see anything about preheating. Anyway MajorApp, I appreciate your time and advice.

[MajorApp]

It's hard to say without being their. Keep us updated.