RU383C1 Hotpoint Range - Instructions

The Surface Element on our GE stove made in the mid 70's finally gave up and would not heat. I went to several of the big home improvement stove with not luck in finding the right heating element for our stove so I turned to a local appliance stove that carries GE products, they did sell me an element and asured me it was the correct one, but once again the element was the wrong one. Then with a simple google search for GE replacment parts I found partselect.com. With the detailed description and images with measuring grids I was able to quickly find the correct heating element for me stove. I am very pleased and the stove is back to 100%.
Thanks partselect.com

First I removed the one screw that hold the terminal block in place. I then pulled the terminal block out about 3 inches and unscrewed the two screws and disconnected the two wires. Then I got the new terminal block and re-attached the two wires with the two screws. Then I screwed the terminal blocked with the one screw and then I inserted the 8" Surface Element and I turned it on and it heated up very quickly. It works better than it has in many years.

The very first thing we did was turned the circuit breaker off and unplugged the range.
My husband removed the back panel and unplugged the switch. Drew a diaghram of the color coded wires. When we received the new one he broke the extension bar off to fit the knob, plugged it in and we were back in business. It was very easy for my husband as he is a mechanic (millwright). However, if you are mechanically inclined it is an easy fix.

Pulled range out from the wall. Unplugged cord from outlet. Removed old knob, removed two phillips screws a very top of chrome trim, removed six nut-head screws from back to reveal the switches...removed two set screws from the front at knob base. Visually checked to make sure wiring post of new switch matched the old one. There was enough slack in the wiring to remove one wire at a time and connect it to the new switch in its appropriate place. Put new switch in the panel and secured with the two set screws. Select the bushing that would take up the slack for the old knob to fit on the new switch stem. Held new stem at its base with pliers and used another pair of pliers to snap the stem at appropriate length. (The new stem could not be broken off short enough to have the knob as flush to the panel as the other knobs...this was the only negative factor in the repair) Replaced nut-head screws and phillips screws. I was especially pleased with the quick delivery of the part...even without special shipping rates I received the part in less than 18 hours from the time I ordered it online!

Drilled out the screw on one wire as it was corroded to the metal socket. Sanded both wire terminations. Installed wires into terminal block. Reassembled all loose parts and installed into burner slot. Worked perfectly.

removed the end caps from the stove panel, unscrewed the back, unscrewed the old switch, CAREFULLY noting which wire went to which terminal, removed the wires.
Reversed the process. took a little longer because I felt compelled to do a thorough cleaning while I was there.

The terminal blocks become brittle and carbonized with age resulting in very poor contact with the electric burners. The burners lose capacity to heat fully and eventually stop working.

Unplug the stove first! There is a risk of dangerous electrical shock if the power is not disconnected.

Repair involves removing the burner and the drip cup to expose the terminal block. Remove one screw on top to detach the block from the stove top. Remove the insulating cover and the clip that holds it in place on the back of the block. Detatch the two wires. At this point the age and brittleness of the blocks became apparent as they crumbled in my hand while removing the terminal screws. One screw had several layers of carbonization covering it and required needle nose pliers to get a firm grip in order to loosen it.

Inspect the wires to make sure there are no holes or cracks in the insulation.

Attach the wires to the new terminal block using the new screws provided. The new kit also included quick lock screw fastener clips to place over the holes in the stove top. It's a good idea to use these for more secure mounting and better grounding. Place the new terminal block under the stove top and mount it with the new screw provided. I had to unbend the mounting clip slightly to get it to fit, but it was easy enough to do with bare fingers.

Replace the drip pan and the burner. Plug the stove back in.

A pot of water now boils in under a minute compared to the 5 to 10 minutes it used to take.

Removed the old drip pans and put the new ones in.

Order special parts from PartSelect. Electric Burner was rare 3 level 4,6 8 inch selectable. Raise burner unit on hinge. Place drip pan, then trim ring under burner. Lower burner.

Unplugged oven from mains.

Removed screw holding terminal block to oven top. Used screwdriver to remove clip holding protective card to terminal block. Removed Philips screws holding wires onto terminal block.

Replacing the terminal block was just doing the above instructions in reverse. The only thing different was to put the speed clip on the range top before attaching the block to the range top.

I followed the easy instructions and everything went well. I had the new switch installed in about 30 minutes. My wires were different colors than on the instructions but it was still easy to figure out where the wires went on the new switch. Just do not be in a hurry and make sure you measure before you break off the extension bar. My knob fit on the new switch without any of the parts that came with the switch.

Removed old terminal block by removing one mounting screw. Removed two wires from block. Installed new terminal block by reversing procedure.

First of all I did this repair because the wire to the burner shorted out. I did the wire portion first - only then did I know I needed the switch kit. (The burner was operating while my old swithch was OFF). The first (wire replacement) repair took about 10 minutes - I followed the guidance on this web-site. The second repair (The switch) took about 20 minutes. The switch ws not the same as the original. Just be careful to mark each wire as you remove them from the old switch's posts. The posts on the switch are marked and you need to place them on the like-marked corresponding posts on the new switch. All is well, my burner is operational.

I removed the burner, then the chrome dish. The nuts for the wires were rusted to the terminals, so I had to break the module apart and grind the nuts off.After that the new module went fine.

Your "virtual repairman" was fantastic. I would have purchased the wrong part without trhe diagnostic service. It said that 53% of the time the infinite switch was the problem. In my case it was 100%. Why I put up with this problem for 6 years I will never know.

Repair job was easy but longer than the 15 minutes that it said it would take.