Cooker Not Working? Common Causes and Quick Fixes

When your cooker, a kitchen appliance used for cooking food, typically combining an oven and hob. Also known as a range, it suddenly stops working, it’s not just an inconvenience—it’s a disruption to your whole day. Whether it’s the oven not heating, the hob refusing to ignite, or the whole unit going dead, the problem is usually one of a few simple things. Most of the time, you don’t need to replace the whole thing. You just need to know where to look.

A tripped circuit breaker, a safety device that cuts power when too much current flows is one of the most common culprits. It’s easy to miss because the lights in your kitchen might still work, but the cooker runs on its own dedicated circuit. Check your fuse box. If a switch is flipped to the off position, reset it. If it trips again right away, something’s drawing too much power—probably a faulty element or thermostat. A faulty heating element, the metal coil inside the oven that glows red when it heats up is another frequent issue. If the oven doesn’t heat but the fan runs, or you see a dark spot or broken coil inside, that’s your culprit. Replacing it isn’t hard if you’re comfortable with basic tools. Then there’s the thermostat, the control that senses temperature and turns the heat on and off. If your oven runs too hot or never gets hot enough, the thermostat might be out of calibration—or dead. And if you have a gas cooker, don’t forget the gas supply, the line that delivers fuel to the burners and oven. A valve turned off, a blocked jet, or a faulty gas valve can all stop your cooker from working, even if the power is fine.

Before you call a repair technician, do a quick 5-minute check: Is the cooker plugged in? Is the power switch on? Did you accidentally turn on the child lock? Did you recently clean it with steam or harsh chemicals that might have damaged the control panel? These simple things fix more problems than people realize. If you’re still stuck, the problem might be deeper—a failed control board, a broken ignition system, or wiring damage. That’s when you need a certified gas engineer, especially if you smell gas or hear unusual clicking. The good news? Most cooker issues are fixable. You don’t always need a new one. The posts below walk you through real cases from Bedford homeowners—what went wrong, what they tried, and what finally worked. You’ll find step-by-step checks for gas and electric models, cost estimates for common repairs, and when it’s smarter to replace than to fix.