Stove Repair in Golden Hill & Southeastern San Diego

Turn a knob on a modern gas stove and two things happen. A valve behind the knob opens and sends gas to that burner, and a small switch on the valve stem tells the spark module to fire. The module sends high voltage to every igniter electrode at once, which is why all burners click when you turn any one knob. Gas flows up through an orifice, mixes with air, passes under the burner cap and out through a ring of small ports, where the spark lights it.

That gives four places it can fail. One: the igniter can't spark across to the burner, usually because the electrode is wet, caked with food, or cracked. Two: gas can't get out evenly because the ports are clogged or the cap is crooked. Three: the switch or module misbehaves, so you get no clicking at all, or clicking that never stops. Four: the valve itself fails, which is rare, but shows up as a burner that won't adjust or won't fully shut off.

Sealed burners, the kind most stoves have today, keep spills out of the area underneath. Older open-burner stoves have a removable drip pan and a burner you can lift out entirely, which makes cleaning easier but lets more food fall onto parts below.