How to fix an electric kettle: why it doesn’t turn on and doesn’t heat

The main causes of breakdown of electric kettles

Often the kettle breaks due to improper care. If it is rarely cleaned, scale will form and accumulate inside the appliance. It becomes a barrier to heat transfer. The spiral begins to heat itself without giving off heat to the water. This leads to failure of the heating element and its burnout.

Scale formation causes the kettle to switch off prematurely. The water does not have time to boil, but the heating element overheats and the thermostat turns off the device.

Failures of the heating element occur due to violations of the operating rules of the device. If you plug in an electrical appliance without adding water, it will burn out. Heating elements also burn out due to voltage drops in the electrical network.

Intensive use of the device over time leads to slight deformation of the plastic at the place where the heating coil is attached. This causes the device to leak.

In kettles with disk heaters, liquid leakage occurs due to corrosion along the seam connecting the disk to the body. The causes of this breakdown are a worn-out seal or a crack in the glass of the water level indicator.

During prolonged use, the rod that transmits force from the switch located on top to the block of contacts located on the bottom wears out. As a result, the power button of the electrical appliance breaks down. Another reason for its malfunction is the formation of soot and oxidation on the contacts.

The more parts a household appliance has, the higher the likelihood of any one of them breaking. So, in electric kettles with a thermostat, the regulator in which the contacts burn or oxidize most often breaks down.

Operating principle and circuit diagram of an electric kettle

Regardless of the model, electrical appliances operate on the same principle. The circuit diagrams of various devices have minor differences.

What does an electric kettle consist of:

a housing that serves as a water reservoir;
heating element of open or closed type, spiral or disk;
stand with a cord for connecting to the electrical network and a connection connector;
power connector block;
a thermostat, which is installed under the button and is responsible for turning off the device when it boils.

More contact groups are contained in a device with a thermostat. It allows you to heat water to the required temperature and keeps it hot.

An electric kettle is a device with a simple operating principle. They plug it into the network and press a button. The heating element heats up, the water heats up from it and boils.

Steam is formed, which moves through the channel to the bimetallic plate. When it heats up, it acts on the lever, the contact group opens, and the kettle turns off.

Types of heating elements

The main heating element of the electric kettle is a tubular electric heater (TEN). It can be done in one of the following 2 options:

An open stainless steel spiral, which is located at the bottom of the body and is constantly in contact with water. This type of heating elements predominates in cheaper models. These devices are characterized by the formation of scale inside the housing, which must be cleaned periodically.
A disk located inside the housing and not in direct contact with water. The advantage of this option is the absence of scale on the walls of the water container and on the heating element of the device; accordingly, these models are easier to clean. However, devices of this type belong to a more expensive category.

Diagnosis of electric kettle malfunctions

If the household appliance does not turn on, does not heat up, or the operation indicator lamp does not light up, faults are diagnosed using an electrical measuring device - a multimeter . It is used to ring the electrical circuit from the plug to the heating element.

Reference. Before diagnosing faults, check the outlet for voltage. They plug in another household appliance or measure the voltage with a tester.

If the socket is working, diagnostics of the device begins. To understand why the electric kettle does not turn on, you will have to check all its main components.

First, check the plug, cord and contact group on the stand. To do this, one probe of the tester in ringing mode is connected to the pin of the plug.

The second one touches the contacts on the base connector one by one. There are usually three of them - they correspond to a ground contact and two current-carrying wires and are located in the middle of the stand in the shape of a circle or on the side in the form of a three-fingered connector.

The device signal on one of the contacts indicates that it corresponds to the pin of the plug and that the cable core is not damaged. Check the second pin and ground contact in the same way. A signal on three lines means that the base is working.

After this, they begin to diagnose the kettle itself. Remove the bottom cover and ring the power connector terminal block at the base of the device. The left and right contacts are connected on the inner and outer rings.

If there is no signal, the block is disassembled by removing the bottom plate of the thermostat. The contacts are cleaned with sandpaper, removing carbon deposits and oxidation. At the same time, check for contact. Then the block is assembled and ringed. If the problem is fixed, then everything is put back in place.

The next step is to check the power button. One probe is placed to the wire contact going to the button, the second to the heating element. There should be no sound in the muted position. When the button is turned on, the signal indicates that it is working.

Then the heating element is checked. They ring the contact of the spiral output, to which the wire from the connector and from the button are connected. A beep means the circuit is not broken. Then they check to see if there is a short circuit. Connect the terminal of the heating element to the housing. The signal indicates its breakdown and malfunction of the heating device.

The presence of a thermostat in the device complicates diagnostics. Such a device has not three contacts in the connector of the base-device connection, but five. Two contacts for the thermistor are added. The ringing is carried out in the same sequence.

First, determine which contacts on the stand correspond to the two wires of the power cable and grounding.

The two remaining rings that are included in the thermistor circuit are checked for resistance. It should be about 100 kOhm. Other indicators (1 or infinity) indicate a malfunction of the thermostat.

Then the kettle is diagnosed (terminal blocks, power button, heating element). But before that, disconnect the electronic part of the thermostat and temperature sensor.

To assess the condition of the heating element, the resistance of the spiral is calculated. The power of the device indicated in the technical documentation in watts is divided by the standard voltage in the network, and the current strength is obtained.

To calculate resistance, voltage is divided by current. Then check with a multimeter. Unscrew the bottom cover, set the tester to ohmmeter mode, and measure the resistance. It should not differ much from the calculated one. A large deviation indicates that the heating element is damaged.

Backlight and power indicator

Most kettles have an on indicator. It is activated when you press the power key, and will let you know if you forgot to plug the appliance into the socket or did not install the kettle on the stand properly. This function can be implemented in the form of a neon light installed in the base or power key, or in the form of an LED water light.

How to fix an electric kettle

Repairs at home are started if the warranty service for the device has expired.

How to disassemble the body of an electric kettle with a closed heating element

Regardless of the model, all electrical appliances are standard. Disassembly of the case proceeds according to the following scheme:

First remove the bottom cover. In the old-style technique, the screws are at the top. In modern models, remove the upper part of the cover, which is secured by two grooves at the base of the handle. They are carefully released and access to the bolts is obtained, which are unscrewed. In some models, the handle is removed along with the lid.
Then the device is turned over and three more bolts are unscrewed, there are more of them. Gradually unclip the locking teeth by lightly pressing a screwdriver.
After removing the bottom, ring it with a heating element tester.
To check the thermostat, unscrew the screw at the bottom of the handle and remove it. Then unscrew the self-tapping screw, which is located under the button. Then all thermostat connection points are called.
Then disassemble the thermostat. Before doing this, remove the switch cover. The part is checked, if it is broken, it is replaced with a new one. If not, they'll look into it further. By pressing and pushing forward, remove the cover, after which the contacts are cleaned.

What to do if the kettle does not turn on

How to repair an electric kettle if it does not turn on? First, the cause of the failure is identified. Most often, this malfunction is associated with a break in the electrical circuit or burnt and oxidized contacts. The break point is found using a ringing tester.

If during diagnostics there is no signal between the plug and the connector on the stand, the cord is replaced with a new one.

A weak or intermittent signal in the base indicates burnt contacts. In order for the kettle to start working, they are cleaned with sandpaper. If they melt, then change the base connector.

If the internal switch breaks down, clean the contacts if they are oxidized or carbon deposits appear on them. The cause of the breakdown may be a frayed rod, which transmits force from the switch located on top to the contact block located on the bottom. In this case, the repair should be entrusted to a specialist.

How to fix it if it won't turn off

If the electrical appliance does not turn off after boiling water, this will eventually lead to the combustion of the heating element.

There are several reasons for the malfunction:

the lid is not closed or not tightly closed, which prevents the formation of the required amount of steam;
the hole through which steam enters the bimetallic plate is clogged;
The button is broken or the plate contacts are burnt out.

How to fix the electric kettle in this case? First check to see if the lid is tightly closed. Clear the clogged hole. If this is not the problem, disassemble the device body. Check the contacts of the bimetallic plate.

If they have become stuck to each other, or the pin that opens them has melted, then their functionality is restored. Contacts are cleaned using a file or sandpaper. When they cannot be repaired, the button is replaced. After that, the device is reassembled in the reverse order and checked to see if the problem is resolved.

How to fix the lid of an electric kettle

Most often, the kettle lid does not fit tightly to the body due to scale that accumulates on the rim. In this case, the device is cleaned. Use folk remedies using citric acid (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water), 70% vinegar (1.5 tablespoons per 1 liter of water) or soda (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water). They are added to water, boiled, then allowed to stand for 30 minutes and drained. If the scale is not completely cleared, the procedure is repeated.

Or they use household chemicals, such as “Cinderella”, “Shine”, “Antinakipin”, etc. They are used in accordance with the instructions, while observing safety measures. After cleaning, the kettle is thoroughly rinsed to remove any remaining chemicals.

How to fix if it heats up slowly

The reason for slow heating of water is often scale accumulated on the heating element . It prevents the liquid from heating up. To fix the problem, the kettle is cleaned using special means or traditional methods. If you ignore this problem, the heating element will burn out.

Citric acid removes scale well. It is poured into water at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. for 1 liter of water. The water is boiled, then allowed to stand for half an hour and drained. The procedure can be repeated 2-3 times. After cleaning, the kettle is thoroughly rinsed.

What to do if the heating element burns out

If the heating element is burnt out, replace it.

The disk heater is changed as follows:
Remove the bottom of the kettle. To do this, unscrew the screws and carefully snap off the locking teeth.
Disconnect the top cover.
Squeeze out the heating element together with the silicone gasket by hand.
All components and parts are disconnected from the disk.
A terminal block, thermostat and other elements are attached to the new heater.
The electrical appliance is assembled in the reverse order and its functionality is checked.

If, when diagnosing a spiral heating element, the multimeter shows a resistance of 1 or infinity, you need to replace it. Replacement is done as follows:

The electric kettle is disassembled, the bottom, lid and handle trim are removed.
Unscrew the heater mounting screws. The spiral is disconnected from the wires. The heating element is removed from the housing.
A silicone gasket is put on the new element and installed in the mounting hole, tightened with screws. Connect the wires.
The device is then reassembled in reverse order and tested for functionality.

How to fix water leaks

First, determine where the electric kettle is leaking . If there is a leak at the junction of the disk heating element with the inner walls of the body, then the kettle is disassembled. Take out the heating element.

The electrical appliance, sealing ring and heating element are washed. The worn gasket is replaced with a new one. All parts are dried with a hairdryer. The device is assembled. Then the kettle is filled with water and placed on a dry cloth for 15-20 minutes. If there are no leaks, it can be used.

If water flows out at the connection point of an open-type heating element, then tighten the fasteners that hold it. To do this, the device is disassembled. Then they are assembled and tested for leaks. If liquid oozes out, the kettle is disassembled again and the gasket is changed.

A leak may form at the point where the glass fragment, which shows the water level, is attached to the body. Microcracks form in the glass itself or liquid leaks out at the place where the gasket is installed. In this case, the seals are changed, and the glass is sealed with sealant or glue (“Acrifix116”, “Acrifix117”, “Moment”, etc.).

If there are microcracks in the body, it is better to replace the kettle. It is not recommended to glue it, since when heated, toxic substances from the glue will leak into the water.

Auto shut off mechanism

All modern models of electric kettles have an automatic shut-off function. It saves many forgetful people from burning out the device and from starting a fire in the room. This function works when the device is turned on and you forget to pour water.

Its action is elementary, the body of the heating element heats up and begins to heat the bimetallic plate, when the temperature exceeds the maximum permissible value, the plate bends and opens the contacts, turning off the kettle.

Attention! If the kettle boils for a long time and does not turn off, check that the lid of the device is tightly closed.