One of the reasons why the burners on your gas stove will not light up anymore may be because the igniter is faulty. Here is what you need to do to fix a faulty igniter on your gas stove.

Confirm the Problem

The first thing you need to do is confirm that the igniter is faulty. To do this, you are going to want to turn out the lights in the kitchen. It may be best to do this test in the evening when your kitchen will be darker, instead of during the day when their will be a lot of daylight filtering into your kitchen as well.

Then, turn the knob on your stove so that the burner is in the process of igniting. As you do this, carefully watch where the igniter is on the burner and see what color it puts out. If the spark that the igniter creates is a yellow or orange color, that means that you do indeed have a faulty igniter switch that you need to replace. However, if the spark is blue or white, then the ignition switch is fine.

Purchase a New Igniter

Before you start working on your stove, you should purchase a new igniter from an appliance part store. You are going to need to know the make and model of your stove in order to find the right replacement part. If you are not sure what type of stove you have, take some pictures of it with your phone and bring these to the appliance store so they can help you identify your unit and select the correct new igniter for it.

Prepare the Stove

The first thing that you need to do is prepare the stove. Since you will be working on the stove, you should turn off all power to it. Flip off the breaker for your stove and be sure to turn off the gas as well. This will ensure that gas doesn't leak or ignite as you work on your stove and that you are not electrocuted.

Gain Access to Ignition Switch

Now you need to gain access to the ignition switch. To do this, you'll first want to take off the grate that covers the burners. Then, you'll want to pull the burner cover off the affected burner. Finally, you are going to need to remove the burner base. To do that, you are going to use a screwdriver to disconnect the burner base. Doing this will give you access to the ignition switch.

Fix the Ignition Switch

Once you are inside of the burner base, you are going to need to take the wires that are connected to the igniter and disconnect them. To do this, you are most likely just going to have to untwist the wires from around the igniter or unplug them, depending on the type of igniter that your gas oven has. You shouldn't have to cut any wire.

Take the new igniter and put in the exact same place where the old one was located. Connect the wires in the same manner to the new igniter as they were connected to the old igniter. This means wrapping them around the receptacles on the igniter or plugging them in, depending on the set-up.

Put Everything Back in Place

Now you just need to put everything back in place. Screw the burner base back so that it is secure, place the burner cover back on, and then position the grate. Next, turn on the power and the gas to your stove. Finally, test your stove to make sure that the new igniter switch properly lights up the burner on your stove. 

For more appliance tips, talk to a company like Preferred Appliance.