--- title: "KitchenAid E21: an open thermal sensor circuit on a convection model" description: "What E21 means on KitchenAid E21: an open thermal sensor circuit on a convection models, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all." url: "https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-e21/" --- # KitchenAid E21: an open thermal sensor circuit on a convection model Convection hood combinations from KitchenAid hold their baking temperature with a thermal sensor. ## What E21 actually means. Convection hood combinations from KitchenAid hold their baking temperature with a thermal sensor. An open reading, as if the wire were cut, gives the control nothing to work with, and E21 is how it refuses to run convection blind. KitchenAid microwave display What to do when E21 shows on the microwave ### Kind of code Sensors 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 to Microwave 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 as What 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. ### Make KitchenAid KitchenAid microwave problems sorted out on site, from a turntable that stands still to a panel that ignores every press. ### Source KitchenAid Product Help, over-the-range microwave: E21 Listed on KitchenAid's help pages for over-the-range microwaves; the lettered F-codes belong to the newer hood controls, and the exact code set depends on the model generation. E21 applies only to models with convection. ## Before you book, in this order. Each step comes from KitchenAid's own guidance for E21 on its microwaves. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit. 01 Switch the microwave off at the breaker for one full minute, then switch it back on. 02 Leave it idle for a minute and watch the display; if the code does not return, run a short test cycle. 03 If the unit was baking, let the cavity cool down fully before the next try. 04 If E21 repeats, book a visit so the sensor, board and harness can be measured. ### Still there? It usually turns into [microwave control board and touchpad repair](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-control-board-and-touchpad-repair/). Book with the code and the model number. ### What not to do E21 is an open circuit and E22 is the same sensor reading shorted; neither code condemns the heating element. Microwave-only cooking uses different parts and may keep working. ## 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](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/) Before you call ### [What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/) [All 7 causes, cheapest first](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-error-code/) It also comes with - [**Microwave Runs but Food Stays Cold**](https://microwaverepair.center/problems/microwave-not-heating/) Problem ### What a Microwave Error Code Is Telling You 7 causes, cheapest first Where E21 usually leads ## Microwave control board and touchpad repair. **Control board, keypad membrane or display · moderate to highest.** Book a visit [What the job involves](https://microwaverepair.center/services/microwave-control-board-and-touchpad-repair/) ## KitchenAid microwaves. KitchenAid microwave problems sorted out on site, from a turntable that stands still to a panel that ignores every press. [KitchenAid microwave repair](https://microwaverepair.center/brands/kitchenaid/) More KitchenAid codes [LOC](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-loc/) [DOOR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-door/) [PF](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-pf/) [Demo](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-demo/) [Change the Charcoal Filter](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-change-charcoal-filter/) [F2](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f2/) [SE](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-se/) [F2H1](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f2h1/) [F3T4](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f3t4/) [F3H1](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f3h1/) [F7E9](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-f7e9/) [E23](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-e23/) [All 22 KitchenAid codes](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/#codes-kitchenaid) Sensors and temperature on other makes [Bertazzoni ERROR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-error/) [Bosch ERROR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/bosch-error/) [Café HOT](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/cafe-hot/) [Dacor C-10](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/dacor-c-10/) [Fisher & Paykel A1](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/fisher-and-paykel-a1/) [Fulgor Milano ERROR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/fulgor-milano-error/) [GE Profile ERR](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-err/) [JennAir E11](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/jennair-e11/) [All 39 codes of this kind](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/#family-sensor) KitchenAid builds this ### 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. KitchenAid builds this ### 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. KitchenAid builds this ### Countertop microwave A microwave that stands on the counter or a shelf and plugs into an outlet beside it, from a compact model for a dorm to a large inverter or convection unit in a busy family kitchen. ## In KitchenAid's own words > The Thermal Sensor circuit reported open to the control board. [KitchenAid Product Help, over-the-range microwave: E21](https://producthelp.kitchenaid.com/Cooking/Microwaves/Over-the-Range_Microwave/Error_Code/Starts_with_an_E/E21_-_Error_Code_-_Over-the-Range_Microwave) [KitchenAid Product Help, over-the-range microwave: E21](https://producthelp.kitchenaid.com/Cooking/Microwaves/Over-the-Range_Microwave/Error_Code/Starts_with_an_E/E21_-_Error_Code_-_Over-the-Range_Microwave) Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Listed on KitchenAid's help pages for over-the-range microwaves; the lettered F-codes belong to the newer hood controls, and the exact code set depends on the model generation. E21 applies only to models with convection. ## KitchenAid 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. 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Switch the microwave off at the breaker for one full minute, then switch it back on. If it comes back, it needs a visit. ### Can I still reheat coffee on my KitchenAid with E21? Often yes, because plain microwave heating does not read the thermal sensor. Convection baking is what E21 shuts down. ### What usually breaks to cause E21 on a KitchenAid? An internal break in the sensor or a connector loosened by years of heat cycling. KitchenAid also lists the control board as a possible cause. ### How is E21 different from E24 on a KitchenAid? E21 is a sensor circuit that reads open. E24 is the control seeing a real or false overheat near 500°F. --- **[Read on the site: KitchenAid E21: an open thermal sensor circuit on a convection model](https://microwaverepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-e21/)** **[Book a visit with MicrowaveRepair.center](https://microwaverepair.center/schedule/)**