GE Oven Bad Line Code

This code usually has only a few causes. The three most common are a tripped circuit breaker, a faulty power connection to the unit, and faulty wiring in the home.

If you have a multimeter you can make an initial check of the electrical supply for proper voltage if your appliance is connected with a cord and plug. You should read 240V between the two line connections and 120V from each line to the neutral connection. If you get these readings, you can skip the first step below with the tripped circuit breaker.

Occasionally only one leg of a 240V circuit will trip.

• Go to your circuit breaker panel and locate the breaker for the range or oven.
• Turn the breaker completely off for about 5 minutes, and then turn it back on.
  • If it trips again, you know you likely have a wiring problem in the home or your appliance.
• If it stays on, check to see if the error has cleared. It may take time for it to reappear, so give it a few minutes.

This usually happens when two circuit breakers are used with a handle tie that joins their operating toggles. One breaker may trip, but the other does not. This will make it so your unit cannot operate and will display the Bad Line code.

• If the code reappears, go to the next solution.

• Inspect the terminal block connection to the oven or range where the cord or the building wiring connects.
• Look for burned connections or connections that have become loose.
  • Miswired connections could occur, but that would only happen at the initial installation, so it is unlikely, as the unit would not operate properly.
• Tighten anything loose.
  • If the connections are burnt, you should clean everything with an emery cloth before reconnecting. You may need to replace the terminal block or the cord, or both.
• Inspect the cord and look for pinches or kinks. With these types of cords, it isn't likely to happen, but it's worth a quick look.

This failure at the terminal block may occur because the oven or stove gets hot in use, heating up the connection, which can cause problems like oxidation or gradual loosening.

Occasionally, the cord can be pinched under the foot of an appliance and damaged.

If everything looks good after you check it, you can turn the power on and see if the code has cleared. If not, proceed to the next step.

It may be that the circuit to the stove or oven has a fault. Sometimes, a connection can be poorly made and heat up, eventually failing. These failures will be at junction boxes (if there are any) that serve the cooking appliance.

• Turn off the power at the circuit breaker and trace the wiring.
  • Look for burned or badly pinched wires.
  • Look for an overheated connection, especially at wire nuts in junction boxes
  • You may see discolored wire nuts or insulation.
    • Pull on the wire nuts; they should not come off.
  • When repairing, you will probably need to strip back the wire so that you have good insulation and undamaged wire. Oxidized copper wire will often have a pink color.

This failure may happen when wall ovens and a cooktop are supplied on the same circuit. Often, one of these may be supplied by a tap, which requires a splice. This type of failure will oxidize the wire and damage the insulation, often for some distance from the failed connection. Inspect the wire carefully.