RGA724EK7WH Hotpoint Range - Instructions

This gas range had an oven that would heat, but it wouldn't hold it at a stable temperature. Say you set it at 300 degrees. Well, it'd head up to broiling temperatures, then drop down to like 200 degrees, then 400 degrees (You get the picture).

My guess was that the thermostat, given that this oven was ~20+ years old, was no longer able to detect correctly the temperature inside the oven.

The thermostat sensor is made up of the housing (The part that sits behind the oven temperature control knob), a long wire (so you can route it to the inside of the oven), and the probe itself (Which I boldly assume is the thing that measures the temperature inside the oven)

TL;DR:

-Pull oven from wall.
-Turn off electric and gas.
-Remove the grates and drip pans off the top.
-Pry the range's cooktop up (It's on like a hinge and is designed to lift up. You have to play with it a bit with like a screwdriver on the sides (One on each side). If you pry just a tad, you'll notice these prongs that act like detents. (LIFT CAREFULLY, the heating elements are still connected via their gas lines! They're flexible, but don't man handle the thing!
-Once that's up, it's time to finally start removing the thermostat which is the knob that controls the oven temperature. Pull the plastic knob off which will expose the two screws you need to detach it from the oven (Phillips head). Be super careful. You don't want to drop these screws. You'll be struggling to fish them out of the empty space that sits between the thermostat and plastic knob.
-Once that's loose, open the oven door and detach the thermostat from the back of the oven. Recycle the prongs holding the old thermostat sensor for the new one.
-Go to the back of the range. Like the actual back part of it.
-Frustrate yourself with pulling out the thermostat through the route it's been put in. It's difficult to route it through the tight spaces, but not complicated. Keep a mental note of this route and copy it with the new thermostat that you have to install.
-Don't fret, when it comes time to wire the new thermostat sensor, it's actually a lot easier than you would think to find that little hole in the back of the range that you have to slot it through. It's just slightly covered by insulation. Pulling it slightly aside, you'll see it very easily.
-Screw in the thermostat housing at the front of the oven.
-Frustrate yourself again by routing the wire while taking care not to bend the probe (This is my assumption not to bend it and I think it's a safe assumption to make)
-Find that tiny little hold in the back of the range again, insert the probe through it, then use those recycled prongs to hook that probe into place.
-Yay, you're almost done.
-Reinsert knob on thermostat.
-Turn gas and electricity back on.
-Give it a test run to see if you did it right.
-if it still doesn't work, then it might not have been the thermostat giving you problems.
-If it does work, put everything back the way it was.
-You're done.

Followed you tube instructions I found on line via parts select recommendations.

First of all I had to find the right part from Partselect, which was very easy, delivery was fantastically fast even tho I didn`t order special delivery. After reading installation suggestions on the website, it was simple, open the top, disconnect the burners, removed the thermo from the inside. The only hard part was threading the sensor through the correct hole. I had to remove a couple of cover plates to see where the hole was. Put it back together, lit the oven and the temps were correct, as shown by an oven thermometer.

Unplugged stove. Removed the top rear panel to see where the thermostat cable fed into the oven. Left the current cable in place and fed new cable along side the old one. Pulled out the old cable once new one was installed. Attached wires to new thermostat and installed. Turned oven on to test. Everything went great.

Opened up the top of the stove using a screwdriver. Lifted it up about 3 inches and legs popped out on each corner and held it in that position. Traced the wire to the back and down to the oven. Pulled new thermostat along that route. When I got to the back it was a little tricky moving the thicker end around and down into the hole without removing anything from the back- but I did manage to do it. I then unhooked old thermostat from 2 clips, inserted new one and then went to the front and unsrewed the 2 small screws behind the oven control knob. Magnetic bit on screwdriver is a must! Pulled it back and removed wires one at atime and put onto new unit, then screwed it back in place and replaced knob. Plugged it in and turned it on. It came on ,stayed lit. Turned it off and it stayed lit- surprised me. . . . . . 25 Seconds or so and it went out. . . . . Job done!!

I read the instructions from other peoples repairs. One note: unplug stove, and turn gas off, remember where wires go. I didnt have to remove top of stove completly.

Cut off the power. unscrewed the cover. fed the new thermostat inside the over and rescrewed. Feeding the line was the most time consuming finding the hole to insert it in the back of the oven.

Unplugged the range. Took out all the necessary screws and lifted up the cooktop cover. Unscrewed each gas tubes connecting to each gas burner's dial to allow more working space. Pulled out the old thermostat, installed the new one. Put back the gas tubes and all other necessary screws. Plugged the range and tested out the new thermostat.

Replaced the oven thermostat and calibrated the new thermostat by adjusting the temperature setting knob. Instruction I found on-line were very helpful and the repair was moderately difficult. Trickiest part was threading the new thermostat into the oven. Total repair time about 1 hour.