Rice cookers are easy to use, so you may be surprised if one day, you load it up with rice and water, and push the button, but it doesn’t get hot as it should. If the rice cooker is not heating up, what could be the cause?
The most common causes of a rice cooker failing to heat up are a broken power cord, heating element, thermal fuse, or thermostat. These parts work together to produce and regular the heating process inside the rice cooker, and if any of them go bad, the cooker will not heat up.
Rice cookers generally last about 7 or 8 years with average use. If your rice cooker stops heating up as it should, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your cooker.
Since rice cookers are rather simple appliances, so it’s not too difficult to determine what problem is causing a failure to heat up. After diagnosing the issue, you’ll have to evaluate whether you want to fix it or get a new rice cooker.
How To Fix A Rice Cooker Not Heating Up
The first step in fixing a rice cooker that’s not heating up is figuring out which part is causing the problem. That takes some trial and error. You’ll need to troubleshoot the common problems one at a time until you find the culprit.
Once you determine which part is faulty, you can usually repair or replace the part. However, some replacement parts are difficult to find, and others are quite expensive.
Another factor to consider is the time and trouble it takes to troubleshoot and repair the rice cooker. You may decide you’d rather buy a new cooker. However, if you know something about electric appliances, replacing a part could mean adding a few years to the life of your rice cooker.
Power Cord
The power cord is the first part you should check.
The power cord can get frayed and worn out, especially if it gets bent frequently or handled roughly. You may notice the insulation has worn away, exposing the wires inside, or that the plug on either end feels loose. However, this isn’t always the case; sometimes wires can get loose inside with no outward signs.
You can use a multimeter to test whether the cord is functioning as it should. If the cord is not carrying a current, it could be the reason why your rice cooker is failing to heat up.
Almost all rice cookers have a detachable cord, so you can easily buy a replacement. You may find a cord specially made for your brand and model. If not, you can buy a generic one, as long as it has the same number of prongs.
Heating Element
The heating element is located at the bottom of the rice cooker, below the removable food pot. When functioning properly, it heats up the water that cooks the rice. But it can go bad and stop working.
To access the heating element, first turn the rice cooker off and unplug it for safety.
Next, turn the rice cooker upside down and remove the bottom panel with a screwdriver. You may see a rectangular opening where two metal tabs are protruding. These are the terminals for the heating element.
Use a multimeter on the terminals to check whether current is flowing through the heating element. If it’s okay, your problem is elsewhere, but if not, it means the heating element has stopped working.
Some websites sell replacement heating elements for some rice cookers, but they are not brand-specific. It might be difficult to locate a heating element that will fit your rice cooker exactly.
Moreover, the new heating elements that are available are nearly as expensive as the average new rice cooker would cost. Add shopping fees, and it might be a better choice to buy a new cooker.
Fuse
The thermal fuse in a rice cooker is located on one of the wires connected to the heating element terminal. It may be covered with a white rubber insulation tube that you can easily slide off.
After you slide off the insulation, you should find a small cylinder with wires at both ends. This is the thermal fuse. The fuse in a rice cooker works just like any other fuse—if the appliance starts to overheat, it cuts off the electric circuit.
If the fuse is burned out, it permanently breaks the circuit so that there’s no way the heating element can heat up at all.
To determine whether the fuse is bad, visually inspect it. You may see blackened areas on it. You can also test it with the multimeter to see if the current will flow.
Thermal fuses are inexpensive and easily available online. Just make sure you buy one that’s the same size and type. On the fuse, you should see numbers telling voltage, amps, and maximum temperature.
Replacing the fuse doesn’t take much effort. It’s a repair worth making.
Thermostat
It’s not always easy to tell whether the problem with the rice cooker is the thermal fuse of the thermostat. They are similar in function, though they look quite different.
The rice cooker thermostat, sometimes called the temperature limiter, keeps the heating element from overheating. Once the rice is fully cooked, it switches the cooker to the “keep warm” setting.
The thermostat is a thick, cylindrical metal piece located in the center of the heating element on a spring. If the thermostat is malfunctioning, it causes the heating element to turn off before it gets a chance to heat up sufficiently.
You can’t tell by looking at it whether the thermostat is bad, but you can test it with your multimeter.
You can buy a replacement thermostat for about $10 that may fit your rice cooker. Removing the old thermostat and putting a new one is a bit complex. You will need manual dexterity and a few tools like a screwdriver.