Preparing home-cooked meals is one of the most important tasks in every kitchen, so your cooktop must be in tip-top shape. Electric cooktops built into your cooking range need to provide the best heating sources for creating your delicious meals. Nevertheless, from time to time, electric cooktops can face heating problems and might require cooktop repair.
Whenever your cooktop isn’t working or not working at peak efficiency, it’s best to call a professional cooktop repair service. First, to help you troubleshoot your current cooktop issues, let’s examine six common reasons why your cooktop isn’t turning on and how to resolve them.
1. It’s not plugged in
The most common issue with an electric cooktop that won’t turn on is that it’s not plugged in. Your home may have experienced a temporary short circuit while no one was at home, and all the kitchen appliances were suddenly shut off for several seconds.
When this happens, and your kitchen appliances shut back on, they might appear to be in working order because they are still plugged in; however, some appliances such as your cooktop might need to be reset again.
To troubleshoot, unplug the cord and check to see that the electrical outlet is not defective. To test if the electrical socket is not defective, test the unit by plugging in another small appliance such as a blow dryer or alarm clock. If these don’t turn on, the problem is not your cooktop but the outlet. In this case, an electrician should be called to fix the outlet.
If the outlet is working fine and you plugged the cooktop back in, and it still isn’t working, its malfunctions are probably related to the appliance’s internal components. At this point, we recommend that you call a local professional electric cooktop repair technician.
2. The electric coils aren’t heating up
When you turn on your electric cooktop, you expect the electric coil burners to heat up for cooking. But what happens if your cooktop is turned on to the maximum and is receiving power, but the coils aren’t heating up?
The most common reason for electric coil burners that aren’t receiving heat is a loose connection between the cooktop and coils.
Here is what you can do to troubleshoot electric coils that won’t heat up. Unplug the cooktop and remove the coils for deep cleaning. Use dish detergent and a new sponge to clean each electric coil burner. Make sure to dry them thoroughly with a clean paper towel.
Place each of the electric coils back in properly and replug the cooktop. Double-check that nothing is blocking the coil element with the stove. Then switch the cooktop on, and they should start heating up. If they are not placed back in securely, they will remain cold.
If they remain unaffected by heat, the next issue could be related to the cooktop’s internal ignition switch that supplies the action required to heat the burners. At this point, we recommend that you leave this issue to the professionals and seek electric cooktop repair services.
3. The indicator lights aren’t turning on
The majority of the latest cooktops are made with various indicator lights in the form of electronic displays that show you the temperature settings. If the indicator lights won’t turn on, the control switch is probably defective, and nothing will show up on the cooktop’s electronic displays.
On the other hand, indicator lights that won’t turn on are caused by the burned-out bulbs in your cooktop. The good news is that a professional appliance repair technician can replace these components.
Related article: What to Do If the Gas Cooktop Surface Burner Won’t Light
4. The electric coils are damaged on the cooktop
Similar to other kitchen appliances such as microwaves and blenders, electric coil burners eventually wear out, even more so when you cook all the time. Examine your electric coil burners for any cracks and bubbles on the coils.
If the electric coils are damaged, you cannot undo the damage. They will need to be replaced with brand new electric coils. When buying new coils, they should be the exact size of your unit’s burners. If they are too big or too small, these coils can experience an electrical surge that can produce cooking hazards.
5. The temperature cannot be adjusted on the burners
When you cannot adjust your burners’ temperature, the problem might be with the unit’s infinite switch. A malfunctioning infinite switch forces the burners to heat inconsistently with the settings you place them on.
Another reason why you cannot change the temperature on your burners is due to a burned-out internal ignition switch. In this case, we don’t recommend you try to fix it yourself and contact a cooktop repair technician to resolve the issue.
6. The cooktop starts to spark when switched on
If your electric cooktops spark up when you turn them on, you should not attempt to fix this problem because the heating element is probably damaged, and it can get dangerous. Another common reason for sparks might be due to loose wiring. In this case, unplug your cooktop immediately and let the professionals handle it.
Now that we have covered six of the most common reasons why your cooktop isn’t turning on, the initial troubleshooting tips should help detect the problem.
If your cooktop experiences the following issues, such as:
- They won’t turn on after replugging them into undamaged electric units
- Your electric coils aren’t heating up
- The indicator lights aren’t turning on or showing information on the displays
- Electric coil damage with cracks and bubbles
- The temperature cannot be adjusted on the burners
- The cooktop starts to spark when turned on
After you have exhausted our troubleshooting tips and your cooktops are still not operating properly, then it’s time for one of our professional technicians at Prime Appliance Repair to head on over to take a look.
To learn more about why your cooktop isn’t turning on, call Prime Appliance Repairs at 647-952-1517 or contact us here.
