Direct answer: When the lower oven will not heat but the rest of the unit still works, the usual causes are a wrong mode or delayed-start setting, a tripped power leg, a failed lower oven heating part, or a lower oven sensor reading that is way off.
Most likely: Start by proving the lower cavity is actually being told to heat, then watch what happens in the first few minutes. An electric lower oven that never glows or warms often points to a lower oven bake element or power issue. A gas lower oven that clicks but never lights often points to a weak lower oven igniter. If it starts heating but never gets close to set temperature, the lower oven sensor moves up the list.
Treat the upper and lower ovens as separate systems that share a cabinet and some controls. That matters here. If the upper oven still works, you already know the problem is usually local to the lower oven circuit, lower heating parts, or lower cavity sensing. Reality check: a lower oven can look dead when it is really stuck in the wrong mode or waiting on a timer. Common wrong move: replacing parts before confirming whether the lower oven is electric-style no-glow, gas-style no-ignition, or simply underheating.
Don’t start with: Do not start by ordering a control board. Controls do fail, but they are not the first bet when only one oven cavity quits heating.
The display accepts a bake setting, but the lower cavity never gets warm and food stays raw.
Start here: Start with settings, timer, and power checks, then watch for any glow, flame, or heat from the lower oven during a fresh preheat.
The lower cavity eventually gets warm, but preheat drags on and cooking times are way off.
Start here: Check whether one heating function is missing and whether the lower oven sensor is reading badly.
The top heat works in broil, but normal baking in the lower cavity does not.
Start here: That strongly points toward the lower oven bake side rather than the whole appliance.
It may preheat partway or cycle weakly, then never holds the set temperature.
Start here: Look at the lower oven sensor, door seal, and any obvious signs of a weak heating component.
Double ovens are easy to leave in delay start, timed cook, Sabbath-style hold behavior, or the wrong cavity selection. That can make the lower oven look failed when it is not.
Quick check: Cancel the lower oven cycle fully, clear any timer-based cooking mode, select the lower cavity again, and start a plain bake cycle.
On electric ovens, the lower bake element does most of the work in bake mode. If it is split, blistered, or never glows, the lower oven may stay cold or heat very slowly while broil still works.
Quick check: With the lower oven on bake, look for visible damage or a section of the lower oven bake element that never heats.
On gas ovens, a weak igniter may glow or click without opening the gas valve reliably. The lower oven then stays cold or takes a long time to light.
Quick check: Start bake and listen for ignition attempts. If you hear clicking or see an igniter but never get flame, the lower oven igniter is a strong suspect.
A bad sensor can make the control think the lower cavity is hotter or colder than it really is. That causes no heat, short cycling, or big temperature misses.
Quick check: If the lower oven heats some but is far off from the set temperature, the lower oven sensor becomes more likely than a control failure.
Wrong cavity selection, delayed cooking, or a stuck timer setting is more common than people think, especially on double ovens.
Next move: If the lower oven starts preheating normally after a reset, the problem was likely a mode, timer, or temporary control glitch rather than a failed part. If the lower oven still shows no real heating, move on and watch for physical signs of how it is failing.
What to conclude: You are separating a setup problem from a true heating failure before opening anything up.
An electric oven can light up and still fail to heat right if one power leg is missing. A door that is not closing or being recognized properly can also interrupt normal heating behavior.
Next move: If heat returns after resetting the breaker or correcting the door closure, keep using the oven and watch for repeat failure. If power is steady and the lower door closes normally, the problem is likely inside the lower oven heating system.
What to conclude: This step rules out the easy lookalikes that can mimic a bad element or igniter.
The first 2 to 3 minutes tell you more than a lot of guessing. You are looking for whether the lower oven tries to make heat at all, and what kind of heat source is failing.
Next move: If you now see normal lower-oven heat, the earlier reset or power correction likely solved it. If the lower oven bake element stays dead, or the igniter never lights the burner, you have a much clearer repair path.
If the lower oven is not fully dead but cannot reach or hold temperature, the problem is often sensing or heat loss rather than total control failure.
Next move: If you find a torn gasket or clearly missing bake heat, you can focus on that specific repair instead of chasing the control. If temperature is wildly off with no obvious heating-part failure, the lower oven sensor is the next reasonable part to confirm.
By now you should have enough evidence to avoid guess-buying and choose the most likely repair path.
A good result: If the lower oven now preheats normally and holds temperature, run one full bake cycle before calling the repair finished.
If not: If the lower oven still fails after the matching repair, the remaining suspects are wiring, relay, or control issues that are not good guess-and-buy territory.
What to conclude: You have narrowed the problem to the lower oven component that best matches the actual symptom instead of replacing parts at random.
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That usually means the shared appliance still has some power and the problem is local to the lower cavity. The lower oven bake element, lower oven igniter, lower oven sensor, lower door seal, or lower-cavity wiring is more likely than a whole-unit failure.
It can, but complete no-heat is more often a bake element, igniter, setting, or power issue. A bad lower oven sensor more commonly shows up as slow preheat, short cycling, or temperatures that are far off.
Not completely, but it does tell you a lot. If broil works and bake does not, the lower oven bake side becomes the stronger suspect before the control board does.
Not first. Control problems are possible, but they are a later suspect after you rule out settings, breaker issues, the lower oven bake element or igniter, the lower oven sensor, and obvious wiring damage.
Set it to bake at 350°F and check the cavity after a few minutes. No warmth at all points toward a dead heat source or power problem. Some warmth with very slow preheat points more toward a weak bake component, sensor issue, or heat loss around the door.
Usually yes if there is no gas smell, no tripping breaker, no smoke, and no signs of burnt wiring. If any of those show up, stop using the whole unit until it is checked.