Gas Oven Clicking But Not Lighting | Range and Cooktop Troubleshooting

You own a pretty reliable appliance if you own a gas oven or yet better, a gas range. The gas ovens are intended to be efficient and easy to operate. They are comprised of a built-in drip pan, an ignitor, and a cap to protect the gas oven igniter and flame from debris. Nonetheless, just like most home appliances, your gas oven is not immortal. As time passes by, every sort of appliance starts showing a decline in its operation.

In the case of a gas oven, it is the oven igniter that is the most worrisome part to go faulty. You must have found that, sometimes, even though your gas oven clicks, it does not light. However, before giving a call to the technician for service, you can consider solving this problem by yourself. Here’s how you get started with diagnosing and troubleshooting this issue.

How to Solve: Gas Oven Igniter Not Working

Diagnosing the Igniter Issue

Two of the most reliable ways to diagnose ignitor problems is by either noticing the noise of the ignitor or checking if the oven is producing heat or not. By listening to the sound of your ignitor you might possibly detect if there’s a problem with the ignitor. Also, we all know that gas ovens are not connected to the power supply. Hence, when the igniter doesn’t work, the oven produces no heat at all which may be another indicator that there’s something fishy about the ignitor of your gas oven. This applies to both, conventional and convection ovens.

You might have heard a “hissing” sound followed by a “whoosh” sound as your gas oven ignites. These are the sounds produced by a healthy oven ignitor that is considered to be normal. However, if you happen to encounter a loud “boom” noise, that may be a concern you want to address immediately. This happens when the ignitor works, but inefficiently. What happens is, when the gas is released, it gets built up until the ignitor ignites fully. So, it causes a small explosion on finally getting ignited. This is a sign of slow ignition that usually comes from dirty igniters. This calls for immediate action as it is potentially dangerous as well as hard on your gas oven.

Excessive clicking is another noise to look out for. This clicking happens when the ignitor is trying hard to ignite the gas oven. In these cases, although the ignitor clicks, the gas oven won’t ignite or light. It is highly recommended that you should not mess around with the oven when it is clicking and not lighting. This is because the gas is being released continuously and getting built up instead of igniting the gas oven. This indicates that your ignitor has gone faulty and needs to be replaced.

Troubleshooting

If the oven does not work properly:

• Check if the oven is plugged properly in the outlet and that the breaker has not tripped. Try to turn the oven on again if you find the breaker to be tripped.
• Check if the timer is flashing or the oven is set at “Timed Bake.” If you find your oven to be on a “Timed Bake” mode, press the “Cancel” button to reset the timer, or else it won’t work.
• The ovens won’t usually work if the “self-clean high-limit breaker” mode is on. Find this button at the bottom of the control panel or under the range on the right side (in few models) and push the red plunger to turn it off.

If the burner does not work properly:

• If you encounter an orange flame, let the burner heat up for few minutes. The orange flame is often caused by the accumulation of dust particles in the mainline.
• Sometimes, the burners do not ignite if the knob hasn’t been turned on properly. In such cases, push and turn off the burner and then turn it back to the “light” position. That shall do your work.
• Adjust the knob to the desired flame once the burner has ignited.
• However, if the burner still does not light up, disconnect the gas oven from the main power outlet.
• Clean the ports of the burner with a small gauge wire or a needle. Even though the cap is meant to protect the burner from dust and debris, the particles can get inside the burner.
• Use a screwdriver for removing the cover from the control panel.
• Ensure all the terminals and connections are plugged in properly and there aren’t any loose wires/connections.
• Turn on the power after replacing the cover and ensure to fully plug the cord into the outlet.
• Sometimes the flame of the burner gets smothered upon using cooking utensils that are large than they should be. You can use smaller pots instead or reduce the flame size to correct this.
• If the troubleshooting hasn’t still resolved the problem, try calling a technician.

Cleaning A Gas Igniter

A majority of the gas ovens have their ignitors hidden under the bottom covering. This is because it protects the ignitors from direct exposure to food that sometimes boils over from pan or any kind of dust/debris. However, the dust particles, grease, or the boiled-over food somehow manages to reach the ignitor. This usually has a bad impact on the ignitor and subsequently affects its efficiency. But a lot of gas ovens’ ignitors utilized hot-surface ignition that makes it difficult for the user to clean it without breaking or damaging the ignitor. In these cases, replacing the ignitor would be the best choice.

Replacing A Faulty Oven Igniter

• You definitely need an ignitor replacement if the one in your oven does not work or is too dirty to even think of cleaning. First things first, disconnect your oven from the power source and shut off the gas to it before beginning.
• Remove the oven racks and loosen the screws to the base plate for easy removal.
• Remember the position of your ignitor that it is fitted in, before taking it out.
• Start removing the mounts present on the ignitor and then slowly pull upwards. This shall reveal two wires that are required to be removed.
• Be extra careful while installing the new ignitor as even one accidental drop could leave it useless.
• Make sure to remount the ignitor before connecting its wires. This will ensure that the ignitor is fitted in a proper position.
• For the ignitors having a wire nut, it is advisable to use metal nuts instead of plastic nuts as the heat of your oven might melt away the plastic pieces.
• Now you can replace the cover and wire racks of your oven.
• You can go ahead with a test run once the gas oven is connected back to the power source.
• The oven will ignite immediately and you’ll hear a hissing sound along with a few clicking as well as a whoosh sound. This will confirm the proper lighting of the ignitor.
• However, if it still does not light up, check all the gas ports and see if they are needed to be cleaned.

Conclusion

Repairing any sort of gas appliance is a concern for many. However, by following the instructions one can easily diagnose, troubleshoot, and replace the faulty ignitor. If you still feel that it isn’t a cup of your tea, then maybe, you should leave it to the professionals. Nevertheless, if at all you try to do this yourself, always remember to turn off the power to the circuit you will be working on. If while working, you happen to come across a gas smell, immediately turn off the gas valve and open windows for cross-ventilation of that area.