In every toaster, you can find a lever that pulls down the bread into the heating element and starts toasting it. But sometimes this lever doesn’t actuate down, and you cannot toast your bread. So, what might be the reason for it? Let us find it out in this blog post.
Why Toaster Latch Won’t Stay Down?
A toaster latch may not be able to stay down due to breadcrumbs blocking the electromagnet that holds it down. Also, if there is an issue with the electrical circuit, the electromagnet cannot function and it cannot hold down the toaster latch. If you can rectify the issue with the electromagnet, you can enable proper lowering and popping up of the toaster latch.
Reasons for a Toaster Latch Not Lowering Down
There are two possible reasons that can cause the issue:
- Either the metal tabs or the electromagnet will have debris like breadcrumbs or dust which will block the tabs from sticking onto the magnet.
- If there is an issue in the electromagnetic circuit, then it cannot magnetize properly and keep the toaster down.
So, to make the toaster stay down until it cooks the bread, you have to fix any issues related to the electromagnet and its circuit.
How to Fix a Toaster Latch that Doesn’t Stay Down?
Now we know the reason for this issue to occur. So, to fix this issue, you must open up the toaster to reach the electromagnet and related components. Here is a detailed guide on how to do it.
Precautions Before Trying To Fix the Toaster
- Don’t fix the toaster while it is plugged in.
- If the toaster was working fine just before the issue occurred, then let the heating element cool down before you open the toaster.
- Don’t disturb any of the circuit components while cleaning.
- Use proper gloves for fixing the toaster. You can use rubber gloves for better safety.
Toaster Latch Fixing Procedure
- First, unplug the toaster and take it to a spacious workspace.
- Remove the breadcrumbs tray and turn the toaster upside down.
- You will have screws holding down the toaster. Unscrew them using the appropriate screwdriver. (We are mentioning it in general since the screw model may vary from toaster to toaster).
- After unscrewing, remove the cap fixed onto the lever used for lowering. Then you can lift the toaster body away from the element and circuit setup.
- Before completely removing the body, you can find a small wire plugged into the circuit from a board on the body. This board consists of the buttons you will press to pop up the toaster or change the timing of toast.
- Remove this plug from the circuit of the toaster and now lift the toaster body completely.
- You can now look at the electromagnet circuit and other parts. If you find breadcrumbs and other debris, clean it up thoroughly using a brush.
- After a complete cleaning, fix the lever cap back and plug in the toaster. Turn it on and press the lever down.
- If the tray stays down, then it is the dust and debris that was blocking the electromagnet.
- If the tray didn’t stay down, then there is an issue with the electromagnetic circuit and you have to take the appliance to a repair technician to fix it.
- Plug the board back in and replace the toaster body. Put the screws back and you have now fixed the toaster perfectly.
With this procedure, you can now easily fix a toaster latch that doesn’t stay down and start toasting your bread without any difficulty.
You may wonder, what is the relation between an electromagnet and the toaster latch staying down? So, we shall discuss the mechanism with which the toaster works and understand the cause.
How Does a Toaster Latch Stay Down and Pops Up After Toasting?
If you look at the anatomy of the lowering mechanism in a toaster, you can find:
- A spring-loaded holding tray
- A lever to lower the tray
- A solenoid or electromagnetic circuit
- The metal tab attached to the lever setup
These are the major used in the lowering mechanism in every toaster. Now let us understand how these components work together.
First, we put the bread inside the toaster and press the lever on the side to lower the spring-loaded tray.
When the spring-loaded tray is lowered, the metal tabs fixed on the lever attachment encounter the electromagnet circuit.
Since metals can be magnetic in nature, they easily stick to the electromagnet and keeps the toaster down. This is how the toasters keep the tray lowered down.
As soon as the metal tab contacts the magnet, the timer circuit and the heating element circuit will be activated.
The heating element will get hot and starts toasting the bread for a fixed time as per the timer circuit. Once the timer stops, it will cut the power supply to the electromagnet which will demagnetize and pop up the spring-loaded holding tray.
So, this is how the lowering and popping up mechanism works in a toaster. Understanding this will be helpful for you to fix the toaster properly.
Read Other Post Too: Top 5 Common Toaster Problems
Conclusion
Most of the issues that occur with an appliance are due to poor maintenance. The same goes for the toaster too. If you clean the toaster periodically and maintain it with care, you can easily prevent such malfunctions. Now, you can easily fix the toaster that doesn’t stay down with the help of this guide.
