Gas Stove Burner Not Lighting? (Or Electric Burner Not Working)

A gas stove burner not lighting, clicking but never catching, is usually wet, dirty or has its cap sitting crooked, and you can often fix it yourself in a few minutes. A burner that does not click at all, or keeps clicking after it lights, points to the igniter, the spark module or a burner switch. Electric coil and glass-top burners are covered further down.

If you smell gas

Safety comes before any troubleshooting:

• Do not light anything, and do not touch light switches or other electrical switches. Do not use your phone inside.
• Get everyone out of the house.
• Once you are outside and away from the house, call 911 or your gas utility.
• Do not go back in until the fire department or the utility says it is safe.

Never work on gas lines, valves or connections yourself. And if a burner is clicking without lighting, turn the knob off rather than letting it click on, because gas can flow without a flame.

Burner not lighting? Checks you can do yourself

Turn every knob off and let the cooktop cool. On an electric range, switch off the breaker or unplug the range before you remove a coil or touch a receptacle.

1. Make sure the knob is fully off, then try again on Lite. GE notes that a knob not turned completely off and popped back out can keep the igniters clicking.
2. Let wet burners dry. A boil-over or a wipe-down can leave water in the ports and on the igniter. GE says to shake the water out of the burner heads and let everything dry, which can take a few hours; Whirlpool says a hair dryer on a cool setting speeds it up.
3. Seat the burner cap. Each cap has to match its burner head and sit flat and level. A cap that is crooked or on the wrong burner will not light properly.
4. Clean the burner ports. Lift off the grate, cap and burner head, and clear the small gas ports with a straight pin or needle. Whirlpool warns not to enlarge or distort the ports and not to use a wooden toothpick, which can break off inside.
5. Wipe the igniter. With the knobs off, wipe the ceramic igniter tip with a clean, dry paper towel. GE also says to press the electrode down if it does not sit flush with the cooktop.
6. Check the power. Spark ignition needs electricity, so check the range's breaker and plug. After an outage, some ranges with electronic burner controls come back locked; your manual shows how to unlock them.
7. Compare the burners. If only one burner fails, the problem is local to it. If none light even though they all click, the gas supply may be off; call your gas utility or a technician rather than touching the gas valve.

Stove burner clicking but won't light

Clicking means the spark system works and the gas is not catching. It is normal for every burner to click when one knob is on Lite. If that burner still will not catch after drying, capping and clearing the ports, the likely causes are:

• A cracked igniter. A hairline crack in the white ceramic can send the spark to the wrong place.
• A loose or damaged igniter wire.
• A blocked burner orifice, the small jet under the burner head. Clearing it means taking apart gas components, so leave it to a technician.

Burner keeps clicking after it lights

A few clicks after a spill or a cleaning are normal and stop once everything dries. Whirlpool also notes that a draft can cause occasional clicking on ranges that re-spark when a flame blows out. Constant clicking with every knob off and the cooktop dry usually means a failed spark module or a shorted burner switch behind a knob; switching off the range's breaker stops it until the repair. Boil-overs are a common trigger, and near the coast, salt air is hard on igniters too, as our Florida humidity guide explains.

Weak, uneven or yellow flame

A healthy gas flame is blue and may have a slight yellow tip, according to GE Appliances. Other patterns:

• Uneven flame or gaps around the ring. Clogged ports or a crooked cap. Clean and reseat them as above.
• Mostly yellow or orange flame, or soot around the burner. Whirlpool lists an unseated cap, clogged ports and an incorrect propane conversion. GE says a mostly yellow flame needs a gas professional to check the gas connection. If cleaning and reseating do not fix it, stop using that burner and call.
• Weak flame on every burner. That points to the gas supply or the range's regulator, which is work for your gas utility or a technician.

A burner that is not burning cleanly is also a carbon monoxide concern. The CPSC lists improper burner adjustment and sooting among the warning signs of a CO problem, warns never to use a gas range or oven to heat your home, and recommends a CO alarm in the hallway near each sleeping area. Early CO poisoning feels like the flu without a fever: headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. If you suspect it, get everyone outside into fresh air, call for help from a neighbor's home and get medical attention.

Electric burner not working (coil)

Coil burners are simple to test with GE's swap method:

1. With the coils cool, switch off the breaker or unplug the range.
2. Pull the dead coil straight out of its receptacle and plug it into another receptacle of the same size.
3. Restore power and turn that burner on.
4. If the coil heats in the new spot, the problem is the original receptacle or its switch. If it still does not heat, the coil has failed; replacement coils are inexpensive.

With the power off, check the receptacle too: burned or loose terminals mean it needs replacing. If a burner only heats on high, or will not turn off, the infinite switch behind that knob is the usual cause. On coils with a sensor button in the center, such as GE's Sensi-Temp models, the button must touch the bottom of the pan, so use flat-bottomed cookware.

Glass-top burner not working

Whirlpool lists the easy causes first: a control lock, a tripped breaker, and normal cycling, since radiant elements glow and go dark as they hold temperature. If one element stays cold on every setting, the usual causes are a failed element, its infinite switch or, on touch-control models, the control board.

The hot-surface light is a clue too. GE notes it normally stays on for up to about 30 minutes after the last burner is turned off. If it is still lit 45 minutes to an hour later with the burner off and cool, or an element will not turn off, GE says to switch off the range at the breaker and call for service. GE also does not recommend using a cracked glass cooktop until it is repaired.

What usually fails

• Spark igniter. One burner clicks weakly or not at all.
• Spark module. No burner clicks, or they all click nonstop.
• Burner switch. One burner keeps clicking after it lights.
• Burner head or cap. Warped or corroded, causing an uneven flame.
• Coil element or receptacle. One coil dead; the swap test tells you which.
• Infinite switch. A burner stuck on high, or dead with a good element.
• Radiant element or control board. One glass-top burner dead on every setting.

What it costs in Jacksonville

The diagnostic is 79, waived when you approve the repair. Stove, range and cooktop repairs start at 179 plus parts, with a written flat-rate estimate before any work begins. Igniters, coils and switches are among the less expensive parts; control boards and glass tops cost more. We carry common parts on the van, so most repairs are finished on the first visit, and every repair carries our 90-day parts-and-labor warranty. See our pricing. If the oven will not heat either, see oven not heating up.

Schedule stove and range repair or call (904) 561-4790 for same-day service across Jacksonville & the First Coast.