Direct answer: If the upper oven still works but the lower oven stays cold, the most common causes are a bad lower oven bake element, a lower oven temperature sensor problem, or a lower oven control failure. Start with settings, door closure, and whether broil still works before you buy anything.
Most likely: Most often, the lower oven bake element has failed or is only heating partway, so the lower cavity never gets up to temperature.
Treat this like a split problem, not a whole-range failure. If the display works and the upper oven heats normally, focus on the lower cavity only. Reality check: a lower oven can look like it is heating for a few minutes and still never bake properly. Common wrong move: replacing parts because the clock and panel seem normal without checking whether the lower bake element actually glows or warms evenly.
Don’t start with: Do not start by ordering a control board. On this symptom, the heating element and sensor clues usually show up first.
The lower oven light, display, and fan may work, but the cavity stays room temperature and food never starts cooking.
Start here: Start with the bake setting, temperature selection, and a quick look for a damaged lower oven bake element.
The top heat in the lower oven comes on in broil, but normal baking leaves the cavity underheated or cold.
Start here: This points hard toward the lower oven bake element or its wiring.
The lower oven gets warm but not hot enough, preheat drags on, and baked food comes out pale or raw in the middle.
Start here: Look for a split, blistered, or weak lower oven bake element, then consider the lower oven temperature sensor.
The lower oven quit heating right after a high-heat cycle or after power was interrupted, while other functions may still respond.
Start here: Check for a tripped breaker first, then move to lower-oven-only heating parts if the upper oven still works.
This is the most common lower-cavity no-heat or low-heat failure on an electric oven. The element can crack, blister, or burn open and still look only lightly damaged.
Quick check: Run lower bake for a few minutes and look for obvious damage or uneven heating on the lower oven bake element after power is shut off and the oven cools.
A sensor that is out of range can make the lower oven underheat, preheat forever, or shut heat off too early even though the controls seem normal.
Quick check: If the lower oven heats some but is far off temperature, and the bake element is intact, the lower oven temperature sensor moves up the list.
If the lower bake element failed hard or arced, the wire connection behind it can burn and leave the new or existing element with no power.
Quick check: After disconnecting power, inspect the lower oven bake element terminals for burned insulation, loose spades, or char marks.
If the lower oven bake and broil circuits both stay dead while the rest of the appliance still powers up, the lower oven control path may not be sending heat.
Quick check: This becomes more likely only after the lower oven bake element, sensor, and visible wiring check out.
Double ovens can be set to the wrong cavity, delayed start, timer mode, or a canceled cycle. It sounds basic, but this is the fastest clean check.
Next move: If the lower oven starts heating normally, the problem was a setting, interrupted cycle, or incomplete door closure. If the lower oven still stays cold or barely warms, move to the heating-pattern check.
What to conclude: You have ruled out the easy false alarms before opening anything up.
The fastest useful split is whether the lower oven broil function still heats. That tells you if the lower cavity has some heat output and narrows the likely part.
Next move: If broil works in the lower oven, you have a strong clue that the lower oven bake element circuit is the problem. If neither function heats, the failure is less likely to be just the bake element alone.
What to conclude: A working broil circuit with a dead bake cycle usually points to the lower oven bake element or its connection. No heat on either function raises the odds of a sensor, wiring, or control issue.
A failed lower oven bake element often gives itself away with physical damage. This is the most common repairable cause and the least destructive place to look.
Next move: If the lower oven bake element is visibly damaged, or the terminals are burned at the element, you have a solid repair direction. If the element looks intact and the wiring looks clean, do not assume it is good yet, but move next to the sensor and broader lower-oven checks.
When the lower oven heats weakly, overshoots, or never seems to finish preheating, the lower oven temperature sensor becomes the next likely part after the bake element.
Next move: If the lower oven has been heating inaccurately rather than staying stone cold, and the sensor shows damage or looseness, the lower oven temperature sensor is a supported fix path. If there is no sign of sensor trouble and the lower oven has zero heat on both bake and broil, the remaining likely cause is in the lower oven control or hidden wiring.
By now you should have a real direction. Either the lower oven bake element is clearly failed, the lower oven temperature sensor fits the symptom, or the problem has moved into control-level diagnosis.
A good result: If the lower oven now preheats and holds temperature, you found the right repair path.
If not: If the lower oven still will not heat after the supported part check, the fault is likely in the lower oven control path or hidden wiring and is no longer a good guess-and-buy repair.
What to conclude: This keeps the repair focused on the parts most often responsible and avoids throwing a discouraged control part at the problem without proof.
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That usually means the appliance still has power and the problem is isolated to the lower cavity. The most common lower-only cause is a failed lower oven bake element, followed by a lower oven temperature sensor issue or a lower oven control problem.
Yes. Some failed elements show a clear split or blister, but others look almost normal until you inspect closely or test continuity with power disconnected. If lower broil works and lower bake does not, the lower oven bake element is still the first thing to suspect.
Often, yes. A weak bake element can also cause slow preheat, but a lower oven temperature sensor that reads wrong commonly causes underheating, long preheat times, or temperature drift without a dramatic visible failure.
No. A working display does not prove the lower oven heat circuits are being driven correctly, but control failure is not the first bet here. Check the lower oven bake element, its wiring, and the lower oven temperature sensor before moving to control-level diagnosis.
It can make the lower oven run cool or struggle to hold temperature, but it usually does not make the cavity stay completely cold. If you feel strong heat leaking around the lower door and the gasket is torn or flattened, it is worth addressing after the main heating parts are ruled in or out.
Start with the breaker and a fresh bake test. If the upper oven still works, self-clean may have pushed a weak lower oven bake element, sensor, or connection over the edge. Burned wiring and control issues are also more believable after a high-heat cycle, so stop if you find charring or repeated breaker trips.