[Pinbyte]

I had a problem with my Frigidaire PLEF398CCD electric range a few months ago I'd like to share. The right front inner burner would not turn off even when the knob was in the OFF position.

The burner was still stuck on, glowing red hot. I had to shut off the circuit breaker. This is a SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD as most people do not expect something like this to happen and it could start a fire. In my case, it just boiled away my soup.

I am not the only one who has had this problem! There are two posts within this forum alone where the same problem occurred:

http://forums.partselect.com/range-r...-off-4422.html

http://forums.partselect.com/range-r...-off-3161.html

IF YOU HAVE OR HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION:
CPSC Home Page

This is a serious safety issue and someone could get injured or worse. I have seen other reports of this on the Web... so there is definitely a problem with these ranges. It is only a matter of time before more unsuspecting people are affected.

In August of 07 when this happened to me, I Googled it and got a few hits. Now in Feb of 08, I get 3X as many hits talking about the same thing. It is up to us who have been affected to pipe up and contact the CPSC in the hope that there will be a recall or something. I am doing my part.

The cause of the problem is in the surface control unit, also known as the power board. This is Frigidaire part number 316239400 made by Spitfire Controls. This board is easy to replace. Partselect is great in that it has all the diagrams and part numbers. Here is the link to that part:

Partselect.com - Frigidaire Range/Stove/Oven/Hood Parts And All Brands of Appliance Parts

Still, I would not waste money replacing the part if you can get around it. I got it replaced for free and was able to compare the old part to the new. As an engineer, I have knowledge of these things, and I can see that my new part is not significantly different from the failed part.

A quick fix is to take the back off of the range (after unplugging, of course). Locate the power board using the diagrams on this site. There are 6 plastic black cubes which are relays that control the power to the burners.

There are physical contacts inside that are fused together and just need a little smack to get them to spring back (you can just flick 'em with your fingernail). In fact, just moving your range to get to the back will probably be enough motion to un-stick the relay contacts that are stuck closed.

SAFETY WARNING!!! This is a temporary fix that may last for minutes or months (the technician who repaired my range hinted that). You will always have to be on your guard when using this range. Don't take this as gospel, but as long as it is off, I think it will stay off. Once you turn it on though, it is an unknown if it will ever turn off.

I made a HUGE stink with Frigidaire (aka Electrolux Home Products) and got nowhere after hours on the phone with them. They SUCK. It was clear I was dealing with someone over in India at first, then later in Georgia. They were not about to lift a finger until a tech came out. I told them that this failure could be LIFE THREATENING and it went in one ear and out the other. Their Web-based support took about a MONTH to respond (the whole thing was resolved by then).

NEVER BUY FRIGIDAIRE / ELECTROLUX!!!!

I have got to give thanks to a special person at Lowes (where I purchased the range). This person in their extended warranty department went to bat for me, even though I had not purchased an extended warranty (cheers for Lowes). That person made sure Frigidaire saw reason. Though there were a couple of more fumbles (like the wrong part being ordered), my power board was replaced completely free of charge on a range that was 3.3 years old.

That chapter is over and it has been a few months. But I vowed to myself that I would let the world know about this fiasco and warn others who may have this or a similar product. I have also been interviewed by a federal agent from the CPSC and gave the investigator all of the information I had researched at that time. Those of you who have experienced this need to bolster the CPSC's investigation so that this product is recalled!

I said earlier that the new power board is no different from the one that failed. This suggests that in another 3 or so years, just when I''ve forgotten, the power board relay is going to get stuck in the on position and burn my soup away again (or worse).

I have analyzed the power board enough to know that the relay that controls the right front inner element also supplies the current to the outer element on the right front. I suspect this was by design, as the outer element should not be on unless the inner element is on.

While I do not have enough information to say for sure, my engineering gut tells me that the relay for the right front inner element is not heavy duty enough to do the job for both the inner and outer. I propose there may be a design flaw. So you can replace the board for around $125 if you do it yourself. If you are so inclined, you could just replace the relay for around $5. Either way, I expect that in a few years the failure will occur again.

This is not acceptable. This is why I urge anybody and everybody who has had or has this problem to make some noise NOW and report to the CPSC. The goal is not to penalize Frigidaire or Spitfire Controls, but to make sure nobody gets hurt and nothing is damaged (soup included).

I don't know for sure which ranges are affected. Based on my research months ago, the following model numbers use the same Spitfire Controls power board / surface control unit:

PLEF398ACA
PLEF398ACB
PLEF398ACC
PLEF398CCA
PLEF398CCB
PLEF398CCC
PLEF398CCD
PLEF398CCE

I don't remember how I compiled this list, but it was probably using the partselect web site. Anyway... the information is now out there. I hope posting it here will reach most of the people affected by it. Please feel free to re-post this on other appliance forums and blogs to get the word out.

On a side note... I am not happy with this range and would not reccommend it even if it was not potentially life-threatening.

- Pinbyte

IF YOU HAVE OR HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION:
CPSC Home Page

[PS Staff - Sheila]

Thank you and I hope a lot more people read this and spread the word.

[davaccaro]

We have experienced the same exact problem with the burner not turning off with the Frigidaire Range Model PLEF308CCD. I needed to trip the breaker in order to turn off the range due to difficulty in reaching the plug.

I will report them to the CPSC, this is a serious safety issue.

[Pinbyte]

I thank you for adding to this thread and supplying evidence to the CPSC!!!

I wish that I did not have to invest effort to help Frigiaires' customers suspect that appliances may not be safe.'

- Pinbyte

Originally Posted by davaccaro

We have experienced the same exact problem with the burner not turning off with the Frigidaire Range Model PLEF308CCD. I needed to trip the breaker in order to turn off the range due to difficulty in reaching the plug.

I will report them to the CPSC, this is a serious safety issue.

[Pinbyte]

Originally Posted by PS Staff - Sheila

Thank you and I hope a lot more people read this and spread the word.

Sheila, I want to thank you for acknowledging my post. I am a newbie to this forum and others like it. This was my first post to such a forum but I think it is very important.

This problem first happened to me many months ago. After filing with the CPSC, I let it go from my mind for a while. I always meant to follow-up, and now that I have, I can see that there is a serious problem. I say that because I can more easily find similar reports and this post has already had a reponse within 48 hours!

I would ask that anybody who has found this thread and has experienced a similar problem, please add to the thread. I am going to supply this information to a federal investigator at the CPSC that has been interacting with me about my incident.

The CPSC needs to see evidence that this is not a random event, but a systemic failure... a design flaw. They have neither the budget nor the resources to make a recall happen unless people get dead. Even then, they are limited.

Still, if this happens to you, please report it immediately to the CPSC, and add it to this thread. Try to go through the 'proper channels' (I know it is a lot to ask.... been there) to get Frigidaire / Electrolux Home Products to make things right.

They don't understand that the failure that causes death to soup could cause death to people. Let us organize in such a way that causes DEATH TO SALES of Frigidaire electric ranges.

I am going to camp this issue on this forum because I think it will get the most exposure and it is free. There are many other forums and blogs on the Internet for DIY help and so forth so you can fix your appliances yourself which I am thankful for. Still... I want to thank Sheila for welcoming me here.

Please help me and others who have purchased this range with potentially unsafe malfunction take the makers to task. I was a little dubious at first about speaking so strongly about this. Without all the votes in, I can declare a win for recall. You MUST help. Please add to this thread if you own one of these ranges. Report the good too, if you can say anything good about it.

- Pinbyte

[Cooke42]

I purchased the same stove in 2004. Have now had the same problem occur twice. We had the board replaced approximately a year ago for around $300.00. It now just happened again and I'm not sure what to do. I tried to tap the black cubes as you mentioned and that doesn't seem to work. I noticed another post regarding this problem suggested disconnecting the P7 wire which will disable the burner. I know that's not a long term solution, but it would at least give us some time to select another stove to replace this piece of junk. Do you know if that will work?

[Cooke42]

I found out that you can disable the burner by pulling the P7(right front inner) and P6(right front outer) wires from the board. You have to remove both because the of the way the switch was designed. I'm with Pinbyte, this oven should never have been made.

[Pinbyte]

Cooke42,

Thanks for adding to this thread. Just for good measure, put electrical tape at the ends of the wires you pulled from the power board. You don't want the dangling ends with the metal sleeves shorting anything out! Sorry to hear that the tapping trick did not work for you.

I'd like to know where you picked up the tip about the P7 wire. It is the right front inner burner. That was the one that was gettting stuck-on for me... and it should have been enough to do the trick for the inner only. You are right in that if you want to be sure to disable the ENTIRE right front, inner and outer, P6 needs to be yanked as well.

You should, of course, do this with with the range UNPLUGGED. If your problem is the right front, this should disable it while you comtemplate future action. Be wary of the other burners as well!

If you already had the board replaced once, you have a serious leg to stand on. I would urge you to at least file with the CPSC. I think you should also try to enlist the help of your retailer. That at least helped me get my board for free (for my first go-around anyway).

It is just wrong to have to buy a new range so soon after having spent so much recently. You might want to contact your attorney general's office and see if you have any recourse. Best of luck to you, you have taken your first course of action bv adding to this thread! Please contact the CPSC. Regards,

- Pinbyte

[rleefamily]

I purchased a Frigidaire wall oven in October 2005. Keep in mind it is my second oven so I only use it for overflow (special dinners, holiday, extra baking, etc.). Anyhow, I noticed from the first day it had a burning odour. I just assumed it was new and that it was burning off any excess chemicals. Well...Christmas and Easter came and it was time to clean the oven. I set it for self clean and within the first ten minutes I could hear a cracking sound. All of the sudden the glass panel formed a rainbow hue, then suddenly turned white and the cracking sound became louder as though it was going to explode. I quickly cancelled the self clean and contacted the supplier. Fortunately, it was still under warranty and the supplier was good enough to replace the entire unit. I received a new unit in April of 2006. Again, the oven never seemed right to me, I just thought I was too sensitive. However, I noticed a humming sound these past few months and watched carefully but nothing happend. The food seemed to cook properly and there were no other effect other than this surge of humming. Well last Friday (February 29, 2008), I preheated the oven and eveything seemd alright. I put in some potatoes at 375 degrees farenheit. Since it was snowing, I thought I would quickly shovel my driveway. My two boys were in the house (ages 14 and 12) doing their homework and I have 4 smoke detectors...so I thought as far as safety went, I would be alright. Well 15 minutes into shovelling, my son opens the window and quickly tells me that there is smoke in the house. I quickly run in and much to my surprise, find the house filled with smoke (no smoke detectors went off). I quickly opened my french doors to let the smoke escape as well as opening all the windows. I then opened up the oven door, since the smoke was billowing out of the oven door vent. My son brought down a fan and we had it blowing on the oven for at least 15 minutes before the smoke finally slowed down.

My husband and a friend dismantled the oven since it had such a strong buring odour. When they removed the oven (much to our surprise), the cabinet below had burned right through. We didn't realise the severity of this incident. Just imagine, this happened with in 15 to 20 minutes. What would have happend if I preprogrammed the oven and wasn't even home! Not to mentioned...what kind of smoke was this. My smoke detectors are all new and hard wired and their batteries were replaced in January!!

I've since had an electrical engineer come and test the wiring which has checked out fine. He opened up the bottom of the oven and the wiring also seems to be fine. He then opened up the top and noticed the control be be made by Spitfire. I then investigated and have found other Spitfire controls being recalled. My Spitfire control model# is: 316418720.

Consumers, please be very careful if purhcasing a Frigidaire wall oven or stove. Not only did my I suffer from smoke inhalation, I've had to have my house clean by professionals for odour by my insurance company, my kitchen cabinet had to be replaced and my kids have had sore throat for two days. Also, these problems occurred when I was home and alert. Imagine if we were sleeping or out of the house!

[Jacki]

I purchased my Frigidaire range Model No. FEFL 79DSH in May, 2006. Nine months later, the front burner would go full on, even when it was turned to the lowest setting. It was still under warranty, and Lowe's arranged to have it repaired. Now, approximately one year later, the same burner goes full on and stays full on, even when the control is turned off. I have to pull the stove away from the wall and pull the plug in order to stop this. These stoves need to be recalled! We have checked with Lowes and they say there is nothing they can do, since we did not buy the extended warranty. My husband is an attorney, and he commented that he would not want to be the one to defend Frigidaire, in the event of a future serious injury or death, because they have full knowledge of this manufacturing defect. Will there have to be a serious injury or death before Frigidaire will recall this dangerous appliance? We will be contacting CPSC as well as Frigidaire. Thanks for this information.