Model #KGSA906PSS1, the slide in gas range was being used by the customer when rather unexpectedly, the control beeped and displayed an F6E4 communication error message. Shortly there after, a very strong burning plastic oder filled the kitchen along with some associated smoke. The customer quickly shut off the circuit breaker to the unit and opened up the windows. Once the smoke cleared, turning the breaker back on resulted in the same error message, the surface burners were still operational, and the broil element started getting hot. They decided leaving the unit off was a good plan until help could arrive.



I arrived at this call, and with power applied again to the range, I was able to quickly verify the error message along with the always on element. The error, indicates a communication problem between the display board, located behind the control panel and the appliance manager located above the oven cavity. These two boards talk to each other via a wiring harness and if anything prevents this communication an error is displayed. The problem can be as simple as a loose or dirty connector, to the failure of one of the boards. This can make for difficult troubleshooting as it isn't always clear which one is causing the problem, but as techs, we do our best to be logical in our diagnostic processes.

Because of the error, I went straight to removing the control panel as that would allow me the quickest access to all the components I needed to get my hands, and multimeter on. With all the screws removed, I pulled the panel from the chassis hoping to find a loose wire, but instead, found the source of the customers described burning smell and smoke. It seems there must have been a loose connector on the appliance manager board which resulted in some higher than normal temperatures in the general area. Most likely, the temperatures reached the point of ignition given the looks of the board and its components.


I would like to point out that whenever any electrical connection is loose, it allows for arcing which produces very high temperatures and carbon deposits on the connectors. This will continue to get worse as the current draw increases due to the increased resistance of the dirty contacts until an eventual failure. It may take days or even years for the damage to be done, so always ensure all electrical connections are tight and the terminal connections are clean.

Back to the problem at hand. With the failure located, the solution was to replace the appliance manager board, along with a new wiring harness. The harness took some time to replace, but once it was all back together, I turned the breaker back on to test things out. All the operational components were functioning as expected, and with the control panel back in place, I wrapped up this call and headed out to another.


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