Petrifried

[JohnnyG]

Looking at someone's cooker today, on which the top oven had stopped working, I found these little fluffy bundles of vermin had played chicken with the terminals, and lost:

Untitled

• JohnnyG
• 28 Jul 2010
• 1

Untitled

• JohnnyG
• 28 Jul 2010
• 1

When I persuaded them to let go of the cables and drop out, the top oven started working again.
They didn't seem to be bridging any terminals (unless they dislodged when I pulled the cooker out) so how would they stop it working?

 

[BigJon]

Could there be foul play involved? sorry!!
Were any cables damaged/chewed or they all look ok?

 

[JohnnyG]

All the cables were undamaged, I just couldn't work out why it wasn't working.

 

[TicklyT]

If the oven thermostat is driven by either a thermistor or thermocouple, the control circuitry will be interested in just a few millivolts or milliamps. The conductivity of a dead rodent may have modified the control circuit characteristics enough for the oven to throw it's teddy out of the pram without the dear departed getting fried with more than those few milliamps.