How to Troubleshoot an Oster Blender

Whether you paid $30 or $500, all blenders have the potential for not working quite right, regardless of the brand and model. If you have an Oster blender, Consumer Reports notes that this brand offers budget pricing for its models, which typically max out at $100. But if your model is acting finicky, a few common troubleshooting tips may help you to diagnose what ails it and get it humming again in no time.

By the time you notice that your Oster blender won't turn on, you've likely already filled its jar with delicious ingredients to make your favorite smoothie, for example. So if you flip the switch and nothing happens, first check for the obvious — that it's actually plugged into an electrical outlet. You may have unplugged your blender while cleaning your kitchen counters and simply forgot to plug it back in.

Another easy solution if your Oster blender won't turn on is to make sure that the jar is correctly positioned on the base. If the jar is not properly positioned, the blender's safety feature ensures that it will not turn on. Another safety feature prohibits operation if the blade assembly is not properly tightened.

A leaky Oster blender can make a big mess, but a few heads-up tips can prevent a messy cleanup. The gray sealing ring must be intact in the blade assembly to form a leak-proof seal. When you wash blender parts, make sure to replace this ring. And the blade assembly must be fully tightened in place to prevent leaks. But even if the gray sealing ring is in place and the blade assembly is properly tightened, your Oster blender may still leak if either of these components is cracked or broken.

Also, if you overfill your blender with the item(s) you're blending, exceeding the jar's filling capacity, you may be mopping up a mess on your kitchen counter when the jar leaks. Check the Oster Pro 1200 blender manual, or the manual that matches your blender's model, for correct filling capacity.

You added all the ingredients to the blender jar for your favorite smoothie, but before everything was mixed together, your Oster blender stopped. Nothing seems to be jammed, and there was no disruption in the power. The fix for this may be as simple as unplugging your blender and waiting for 15 minutes before plugging it back in.

If, for example, your blender was working overtime to make smoothies for the entire family, the motor may have become overheated. When this happens, the blender's thermal fuse became activated, which stopped the blender from working to allow the motor to cool down. The 15-minute wait time resets the fuse and allows the blender to work again.

If you have a digital Oster blender, you may notice the display panel lights flashing if the power to the electrical outlet was interrupted. A power surge or a temporary outage during a storm, for example, are two common causes. Simply unplug your appliance, wait a few minutes, and plug it in again to reset the digital display and stop the blinking lights.