# Kenmore electric stove beeps forever and displays "fO"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 11, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668 "2006-12-11T10:38:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/1 "2006-12-11T10:38:45Z")
Just a quick question here before I… spend money, I guess.
My newish\* Kenmore stove/oven with a glass top\*\* just quit all at once.
I was was baking chicken wings when the oven started beeping nonstop, and all the buttons became non-responsive.
I had to unplug it.
Replugging resulted in normal behavior for roughly 20 seconds before the beep and error “fO” again.
It’s the only 220v circuit in my house.
So, I guess the GQ here is, WTF is wrong with my stove and how much will it cost me?
Thanks
\*(3 years or so, out of warranty)
\*\*(glass tops SUCK, gas is the way to go)
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### Author:  [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/2 "2006-12-11T10:53:34Z")
Pull the stove out from the wall. The manual will probably still be in a bag attached to the back and the manual will have a listing of trouble codes for your model.
Most stoves have all of the electronics on a single board which does go out and costs $100-200. I’m not an appliance tech, but I live next to one and I have seen one Kenmore stove go out and display that code. IIRC, F0 is the general error for board failure.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/3 "2006-12-11T11:11:41Z")
Thanks, cornflakes… if it’s a board failure, then screw it…
I’d much rather buy a new one.
… still open to suggestions, however.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/4 "2006-12-11T11:13:30Z")
p.s. pulling it from the wall was the first thing I did, only way to unplug it…
I’m sure the manual is around here somewhere but I really hate this thing.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/5 "2006-12-11T11:18:29Z")
If you _really_ hate the thing, this is the perfect excuse to replace it - especially since it told you to “f0”. That’s just asking for it.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/6 "2006-12-11T11:21:32Z")
[QUOTE=Manduck]
If you _really_ hate the thing, this is the perfect excuse to replace it - especially since it told you to “f0”. That’s just asking for it.
[/QUOTE]
😃
That’s what I’m saying, man.
The fucking _oven_ told me to FUCK OFF.
I was already pissed off at it.
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### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/7 "2006-12-11T11:24:33Z")
[QUOTE=Manduck]
If you _really_ hate the thing, this is the perfect excuse to replace it - especially since it told you to “f0”. That’s just asking for it.
[/QUOTE]
Seriously though, we have gas for the furnace and water heater, but the pipes remain 20 feet from my kitchen.
I may be a “handy-assed-motherfucker”, but natural gas is beyond my capabilities.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/8 "2006-12-11T11:58:45Z")
Moved to MPSIMS at the request of the OP.
**samclem**
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### Author:  [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/9 "2006-12-11T12:10:24Z")
Flash the bios with v. 6.1, and re-boot into safemode… oh, wait never mind, it’s an oven.
I like computers as much as the next guy or gal, but sheesh. It’s a fricking gas oven, how could anyone screw that up?
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### Author:  [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/10 "2006-12-11T13:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=Common Tater]
a fricking gas oven, how could anyone screw that up?
[/QUOTE]
Well, but the sounds of it Kenmore did. They made it an electric.
f0 - f\*cked 00p. It’s obviously too l33t for your kitchen.
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### Author:  [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/11 "2006-12-11T13:58:18Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead]
but
[/QUOTE]
buy. :smack: I’ll get me coat.
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### Author:  [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/12 "2006-12-11T14:39:56Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead]
buy. :smack: I’ll get me coat.
[/QUOTE]
You mean ‘by’, right?
(The closet’s down the hall…)
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/13 "2006-12-11T14:59:47Z")
Maybe fO means “fuck the off position… leave me on!”
Naw, your oven is being a dick.
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### Author:  [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/14 "2006-12-11T16:04:22Z")
[QUOTE=lieu]
Maybe fO means “fuck the off position… leave me on!”
Naw, your oven is being a dick.
[/QUOTE]
Hmm Oven Dick.
Realtor: Here, in the kitchen, there are granite countertops, a double basin with disposal, tiled backsplash, a Bosch dishwasher, Sub Zero double door refrigerator freezer with icemaker, a garden window, and a Kenmore electric penis.
Wife: _gasp_ It’s just what I’ve been dreaming of.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/15 "2006-12-11T16:07:47Z")
We were warned by Sears to buy an extended warranty because electronic control boards are sensitive to voltage fluctuations. So I did. And my dishwasher conked out after two years. It’s probably the only time you should consider an extended warranty program, IMO.
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### Author:  [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/16 "2006-12-11T16:11:45Z")
[QUOTE=Eleusis]
Seriously though, we have gas for the furnace and water heater, but the pipes remain 20 feet from my kitchen.
I may be a “handy-assed-motherfucker”, but natural gas is beyond my capabilities.
[/QUOTE]
Have you tried eating some beans and salsa? Always produces plenty of “natural gas” for me.
Seriously, though, if you like the idea of a gas stove/oven (and I do), I’d look into having it installed. It would probably cost about 100 bucks for a qualified professional, as running the pipe doesn’t take that long at all, and black pipe is pretty cheap.
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### Author:  [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/17 "2006-12-11T16:15:07Z")
Judging by the codes on [this page](http://www.repairclinic.com/0078.asp#Sears), it’s the logic board that’s the problem. I’d say it’s time for a new stove.
Would the cost of a cheap gas stove plus a gas line to your kitchen be about the same as a fancy logic-board-addled electric stove? I honestly don’t know, but that would be my first choice if it were possible.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/18 "2006-12-11T16:28:36Z")
Start shopping for a new range. And look seriously at having someone run the gas into the kitchen so you can enjoy cooking.
Our Kenmore gas range (In reality, it’s made by Electrolux, the European counterpart to Whirlpool - a vast, enormous appliance manufacturer\*) decided to abruptly stop baking at whim. It would just shut off, the display blanked and it would take a power cycle to reboot. The repair guy said we were very lucky to have the home-buyer’s warranty to cover it as the main controller board costs very nearly as much to replace as it would to buy a new range on sale. And Sears \*always \* has something on sale.
- It’s gotten to the point that it’s difficult to buy an appliance that’s not made by either Whirlpool or Electrolux. I think GE is about the only sizeable company that makes its own products under just one brand name.
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/19 "2006-12-11T16:32:27Z")
Reading the comments on applianceblog, it looks like the Kenmore logic board is particularly shady. You can replace it yourself easily enough – I guess you can buy a refurbed one for $130.00 or so.
At least one theory is that water gets into the contacts on the keypad, causing a short.
Basically sounds like a botched piece of engineering.
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### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kenmore-electric-stove-beeps-forever-and-displays-fo/383668/20 "2006-12-11T16:54:29Z")
Life’s too short to cook on a range that sucks. If you liked the thing, I’d encourage you to fix it. You don’t, though, so get a new gas range. Paying a plumber to extend your gas line will be the best money you ever spent.
**Sanibel Man** gave us a link already to [www.repairclinic.com](http://www.repairclinic.com) and I recommend the site. They’ll even tell you where to look for your model number, and once you get that, they’ll show you how to find what’s broken and how to replace it. Of course, they want to sell you the part, which is why they are so helpful. 🙂
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