Broiler stays completely cold
No heat, no glow on electric, and no flame or ignition signs on gas.
Start here: Check the broil setting, door position, and whether bake still works before moving to a failed broil heating part.
Oven broil troubleshooting
LG Oven Broiler Not Working
Direct answer: When an LG oven broiler stops working, the usual causes are the wrong mode or door position, a failed broil heating part, or less often a sensor or control problem. Start with the settings and a quick visual heating check before you buy anything.
Most likely: On electric ovens, a bad oven broil element is the most common hardware failure. On gas ovens, a weak oven igniter is the usual culprit when the broiler never lights or lights late and weak.
First separate the lookalikes: does the oven bake normally, does the broiler stay completely cold, or does it glow or light but never get hot enough? That pattern tells you a lot. Reality check: a broiler can seem dead when it is actually in the wrong mode or waiting on a door position. Common wrong move: replacing the sensor or control before checking whether the broil element heats or the igniter glows.
Don’t start with: Do not start by ordering an oven control board. Controls do fail, but they are not the first bet when the broiler alone quits.
If bake still worksFocus on the broil-specific heating part first, not the whole oven.
If both bake and broil are offSuspect power supply, settings, or a larger control problem and stop short of guess-buying parts.
Last reviewed: 2026-04-17
What the broiler is doing tells you where to look first
Broiler heats weakly
Food takes much longer than normal to brown, or only part of the oven gets strong top heat.
Start here: Look for a damaged electric broil element or a gas oven igniter that glows but does not light the burner strongly.
Bake works but broil does not
The oven still bakes, but broil mode gives little or no top heat.
Start here: That usually points to the broil element on electric models or the broil igniter on gas models, with sensor and control issues farther down the list.
Neither bake nor broil works right
The oven is generally not heating, or both modes are erratic.
Start here: Back up and check power, breaker status, and whether the control is responding normally before chasing broil-only parts.
Most likely causes
1. Wrong mode, timer state, or door position
Broil problems are often setup problems first, especially after a power blink, self-clean cycle, or someone changed the mode without noticing.
Quick check: Cancel the cycle, set a fresh broil cycle, wait a full minute, and confirm the door position your oven expects for broil.
2. Failed oven broil element on an electric oven
If bake still works but the top of the oven stays cold, the broil element is the most likely failed part. It may show blistering, cracks, or a burned spot.
Quick check: With power off and the oven cool, inspect the oven broil element for splits, rough bubbles, or obvious burn damage.
3. Weak or failed oven igniter on a gas oven
A gas broiler may show no flame at all, or the igniter may glow without opening the gas valve fully. That gives you little or no broil heat.
Quick check: Start broil and watch through the broiler opening for igniter glow and burner ignition within a short time.
4. Oven temperature sensor or control issue
If the broil part looks normal and the heating pattern is inconsistent, the oven may be getting bad temperature feedback or not sending power to the broil circuit.
Quick check: Notice whether the display acts normally, whether bake is also off-temperature, and whether the broiler ever works intermittently.
Step-by-step fix
Step 1: Confirm the broil cycle is actually being called for
A surprising number of broiler complaints come down to mode selection, a delayed cycle, or the door not being where the oven expects it.
- Cancel anything running and let the control return to idle.
- Set the oven to broil again, choosing a normal broil setting rather than warm, keep warm, or air fry.
- Wait at least 60 seconds. Some ovens do not heat instantly in broil mode.
- Check the door position. If your oven normally broils with the door closed, latch it fully. If it has a known cracked-open broil position, use that position only if your manual specifically calls for it.
- If the control panel is acting odd, try a simple power reset by switching the oven off at the breaker for a minute, then restore power and test broil again.
Next move: You were dealing with a settings or control-state issue, not a failed heating part. Move on and identify whether you have an electric heating element problem, a gas ignition problem, or a larger oven issue.
What to conclude: If the broiler still does nothing after a clean restart, the problem is more likely in the heating circuit than in the way the cycle was started.
Stop if:
- The display is dead, flashing errors repeatedly, or the breaker trips again.
- You smell gas at any point.
- You see smoke, arcing, or melted wiring.
Step 2: Separate electric broiler failure from gas broiler failure
The next checks are different. Electric broilers fail one way, gas broilers another, and the visual clues are usually clear.
- If your oven is electric, look at the top broil element while broil is on. It should begin heating and usually show visible red glow after a short time.
- If your oven is gas, watch for the broil igniter to glow and for the burner to light shortly after.
- Notice whether bake still works. A working bake cycle with a dead broil cycle usually points to a broil-specific part.
- If neither bake nor broil works, check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker or half-tripped double breaker before going deeper.
Next move: You now know which repair path makes sense and can avoid buying the wrong part. If you cannot safely observe the heating pattern, stop at basic checks and plan for a meter-based diagnosis or service call.
What to conclude: Electric: no glow usually points to the oven broil element or its circuit. Gas: no flame or a lazy ignition pattern usually points to the oven igniter first.
Step 3: Inspect the broil heating part for obvious physical failure
A lot of broil failures can be confirmed with your eyes before you ever reach for a meter.
- Turn power off at the breaker and make sure the oven is cool.
- For an electric oven, inspect the oven broil element closely for cracks, blisters, separated metal, or a burned-through spot.
- Look at the element mounting area for heat damage or loose, scorched wire terminals if they are visible without pulling the oven apart.
- For a gas oven, inspect the broil burner area for heavy grease buildup, blocked flame ports, or an igniter that looks damaged or chalky.
- Clean loose grease and debris from accessible surfaces with a dry cloth or a cloth lightly dampened with warm water and mild soap, then dry fully before restoring power.
Next move: Visible damage gives you a strong reason to replace that failed broil heating part. If everything looks intact, the part may still be electrically weak, so keep going instead of assuming it is good.
Step 4: Use the heating pattern to choose the most likely failed part
At this point you want the strongest likely fix, not a pile of maybes.
- Electric oven: if the oven broil element never heats and bake still works, treat the oven broil element as the leading failure.
- Electric oven: if the broil element heats only in one section or shows bright hot spots and dead sections, replace the oven broil element.
- Gas oven: if the igniter glows but the broiler does not light, or lights very late and weak, treat the oven igniter as the leading failure.
- If bake and broil temperatures have both been off, or the oven overheats or underheats in general, keep the oven temperature sensor in play.
- If the broil part tests or behaves like the likely failure but the oven still does not send heat to it, the remaining suspect is the oven control or wiring, which is usually the point to bring in a pro.
Next move: You have a supported repair path instead of guessing between unrelated parts. If the symptoms do not match any clear pattern, stop before ordering parts and get a proper electrical diagnosis.
Step 5: Replace the confirmed part or book service for the control-side diagnosis
Once the failure pattern is clear, the right next move is straightforward.
- Replace the oven broil element if it is visibly damaged or if an electric oven bakes normally but the broiler stays cold or heats unevenly.
- Replace the oven igniter if a gas broiler will not light, lights late, or only gives weak broil heat while the igniter behavior points that way.
- Replace the oven temperature sensor only when both heating performance and temperature control symptoms support that branch.
- After replacement, run broil for several minutes and confirm the top heat comes on promptly and evenly.
- If the broiler still does not work after the likely part is replaced, stop and schedule service for wiring or oven control diagnosis rather than stacking more parts.
A good result: The broiler should heat promptly and brown food normally again.
If not: Do not keep ordering parts. The remaining problem is likely in the control circuit, wiring, or a model-specific issue that needs testing.
What to conclude: A clean result after the right part replacement confirms the diagnosis. No change after a supported part replacement usually means the fault is upstream, not that you picked three more random parts to try.
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FAQ
Why does my LG oven bake but not broil?
That usually means the broil-specific heating part has failed. On an electric oven, the oven broil element is the first suspect. On a gas oven, the oven igniter is the usual failure if the broiler will not light.
How do I know if the oven broil element is bad?
With power off and the oven cool, look for cracks, blistering, or a burned-through spot. In use, a bad oven broil element may stay completely cold, heat only in sections, or glow unevenly.
Can a gas oven igniter glow and still be bad?
Yes. A weak oven igniter can glow but still fail to draw enough current to open the gas valve properly. That gives you delayed ignition, weak flame, or no broil flame at all.
Is the oven temperature sensor a common cause of broil failure?
Not as common as the broil element on electric models or the igniter on gas models. Keep the sensor in play when broil is off along with wider temperature-control problems, not as the first blind guess.
Should I replace the oven control board if the broiler is not working?
Usually no, not first. Control problems are farther down the list unless the oven has broader symptoms like dead functions, erratic display behavior, repeated errors, or no power being sent to a proven-good broil circuit.
Can I keep using the oven if broil is not working?
If bake works normally and there are no burning smells, sparks, or gas odor, you can often still use bake for a short time. Stop using the oven if the breaker trips, wiring smells hot, or the broiler area shows visible damage.