JennAir E21: the thermal sensor circuit reads open
Convection-equipped JennAir hood combinations rely on a thermal sensor to hold cavity temperature.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- Sensors and temperature
- Microwave control board and touchpad repair
- Source: JennAir
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What E21
actually means.
Convection-equipped JennAir hood combinations rely on a thermal sensor to hold cavity temperature. With E21 the control reads that circuit as open, as if a wire or the sensor itself has come apart, and it will not trust convection heating.
JennAir microwave display
What to do when E21 shows on the microwaveKind of codeSensors and temperature
The control has stopped trusting what one of its sensors reports: the cook or humidity sensor that ends a sensor reheat when steam rises, or a thermal cutout that trips when the cavity or the magnetron runs too hot. A cutout that opens stops the microwave mid-cycle and often recovers once it cools; one that keeps tripping, or a sensor program that shuts off at once every time, needs the sensor, its wiring or the airflow behind it checked.
Usually leads toMicrowave control board and touchpad repair
Tracing a dead display, keys that do not answer or a code that keeps returning to the keypad, the ribbon, the relays or the main board, and replacing only the part that failed.
Shows up asWhat a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You
A microwave error code may be a letter and a number on the display, a lock or demo word, a row of dashes, or a beep with a blinking clock, and it can show while the microwave still heats or block every key until it is cleared.
MakeJennAir
JennAir microwaves looked at in place, with the breaker, the door switches and a one-minute heat test covered before any part is priced.
SourceJennAir Product Help, over-the-range microwave: E21
From JennAir's help pages for its microwave hood combinations (Euro-style, including the convection models). The code set varies with the control generation, so a code missing from your model's manual may not apply to it. E21 applies to models with convection.
Before you book,
in this order.
Each step comes from JennAir's own guidance for E21 on its microwaves. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.
Turn the microwave off at the circuit breaker, count a full minute, then restore power.
Give it a minute on standby; a code that does not reappear was likely a one-time glitch, so run a short cycle to confirm.
Let the unit cool fully if it had been baking before you try again.
If E21 returns, book a visit to measure the sensor and the harness.
Still there?
It usually turns into microwave control board and touchpad repair. Book with the code and the model number.
What not to do
E21 reports an open circuit, while E22 reports the same sensor shorted. Neither code says the heater element has failed.
What you may
notice with it.
The microwave problems E21 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the microwave before anyone is booked.
All problems
Where E21 usually leads
Microwave control board and touchpad repair.
JennAir
microwaves.
JennAir microwaves looked at in place, with the breaker, the door switches and a one-minute heat test covered before any part is priced.
JennAir microwave repairMore JennAir codes
All 21 JennAir codesSensors and temperature on other makes
Microwave hood combination
The microwave that hangs from the wall cabinets above the burners, heating food in its cavity while its own fan, light and filters handle the steam and grease rising from the pans beneath it.
Built-in microwave
A microwave set into a tall cabinet or a wall of cabinetry at eye level, either a countertop body wrapped in a trim kit or a true built-in model, including speed and convection microwaves that brown as well as heat.
Microwave drawer
A microwave built under a counter or into a kitchen island that opens like a drawer at the touch of a key, with a motor and gears sliding its cavity out toward you.
In JennAir's own words
The Thermal Sensor circuit reported open to the control board.
Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. From JennAir's help pages for its microwave hood combinations (Euro-style, including the convection models). The code set varies with the control generation, so a code missing from your model's manual may not apply to it. E21 applies to models with convection.
JennAir E21 microwave repair,
where we come out.
The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions
about E21.
Can I clear E21 myself?
Does E21 stop microwave cooking on a JennAir?
What causes an open sensor circuit in a JennAir?
Is E21 on JennAir dangerous?
Back to your everyday
Still showing E21?
Three details make the booking useful: the characters or beeps just as they appeared, every character of the model number, and whether a cup of water still warms up. With those, the technician arrives already halfway to the answer.