My Rowenta iron will only heat when plugged into one specific outlet (other things work in the outlets that the iron "doesn't like"), and sometimes it will only heat if you giggle the cord around a bit in the "preferred" outlet. The iron is probably 7 or 8 years old.

AUto shut off is not working properly.

see thi steps and fix it.God bless you
If the iron doesn't heat, make sure 1) power is on to the outlet, 2) check the electrical cord and 3) check the thermostat and replace if necessary. Use the VOM.

see the causes and proceed according, fix it. God bless you
If the iron doesn't heat, make sure power is on to the outlet, check the electrical cord, and check the thermostat (see the Appliance Controls Fix-It Guide) and replace if necessary.
If the iron heats but steams improperly, inspect the soleplate and clean the vents (see below) and flush sediment out of the steam chamber (see below).
If the iron produces too much or too little heat, test the electrical cord . Also test and, if needed, adjust calibration of the thermostat (see the Appliance Controls Fix-It Guide).

see the causes and proceed according. fix it. God bless you
If the iron doesn't heat, make sure power is on to the outlet, check the electrical cord, and check the thermostat (see the Appliance Controls Fix-It Guide) and replace if necessary.
If the iron heats but steams improperly, inspect the soleplate and clean the vents (see below) and flush sediment out of the steam chamber (see below).
If the iron produces too much or too little heat, test the electrical cord . Also test and, if needed, adjust calibration of the thermostat (see the Appliance Controls Fix-It Guide).

sounds like it could be a thermal breaker to protect the iron from overheating, might be a thermastat problem or a broken element shorting unfortunately there are a few things that could cause your problem

Most irons for which you pay more than $10 (like this nice Rowenta) will have a replaceable heating element. The problem seems to be to try to find where you can get the heating element. My best bet would be for you to contact a Rowenta service center (see listing at http://tinyurl.com/danr9x). They should be able to tell you where you can get the heating element.

Before you go that route, I am assuming you already plugged the iron directly into the outlet in the wall (not in the surge strip)? Wouldn't be the first time a single outlet of a power strip goes bad.

Good Luck,

A lot of rowenta irons have a safety or auto shutoff built in them that fails. The only way I have found to fix them is to disassemble it and permanently connect the switch then it works fine, just does not auto shut off.

Hi,
The thermostat is bad...

Here is a tip that will help you to troubleshoot your iron and figure out what is wrong with it.

Electric Iron not Heating Up or not Working Right
http://www.fixya.com/support/r5300202-electric_iron_not_heating_up_or_not

heatman101

Hi! Ensure that the unit is tightly plugged into a working outlet.
Some units are equipped with our patented Motion Smart Auto Off technology. Moving the iron will cause it to begin to reheat.

Like what was posted before, the cause of the iron lights is on but the heaters are not hot is because either your heater connection is melted or rusted due to water seepage(steam irons). The lights power supply are tapped parallel to the heater supply thus lights is on. Solution is to dismantle the iron to replace the connectors or cables. Though not all iron is easy to dismantle