A dead range hood light is usually the bulb, and the only complication is that hoods use a surprising variety of them — appliance-rated incandescent, halogen GU10 or MR16 capsules, and increasingly integrated LED modules that are not user-replaceable at all. Get the type right before you buy anything, then work outward from the bulb to the socket, the switch, and the driver.
Read this first
- Switch the hood off at the breaker before touching a socket or opening the housing — many hoods are hardwired and the wall switch does not isolate them.
- Fit only the bulb type and wattage printed on the hood's rating plate. Over-wattage bulbs in an enclosed hood over a hot cooktop are a genuine fire risk.
- Let halogen bulbs cool fully — they run extremely hot and shatter when handled warm.
- Never touch a halogen capsule with bare fingers; skin oil creates a hot spot that fails the bulb early.
Step by step
Find the exact bulb specification
Look at the rating plate inside the hood, under the filters, or in the manual. It will give a bulb type and a maximum wattage — commonly a 40-watt appliance-rated incandescent with an E17 intermediate base, a 20 to 50 watt halogen GU10 or MR16, or a bespoke LED module. Do not substitute a higher wattage or a standard household bulb: an ordinary bulb in the heat of a hood over a working cooktop fails fast, and over-wattage is an actual fire hazard in an enclosed housing.
Replace the bulb and test it elsewhere if you can
Kill the power at the breaker, let everything cool, remove the lens or trim ring, and change the bulb. Halogen capsules push in and twist, or clip into spring retainers; handle them through a cloth or with gloves so you never touch the glass. If you have another fixture that takes the same bulb, test the old one there — it eliminates the possibility that you have replaced a good bulb and the fault is further along.
Inspect the socket for grease and corrosion
This is the range hood specific failure, and it is common. Grease-laden air condenses into the lamp socket and, combined with heat, corrodes the contacts until they no longer conduct. With the power off, look into the socket with a flashlight for black residue, green corrosion, or a centre contact that has been flattened. Clean it with contact cleaner on a cotton bud and gently lift a flattened centre contact with a small screwdriver. Replace the socket if the plastic has browned or gone brittle.
Confirm both lamps have not failed at once
If your hood has two or more lamps and all of them died together, the odds of simultaneous bulb failure are low — the fault is shared. That points at the switch, the wiring, or the LED driver rather than the bulbs. If one is out and one works, you have narrowed it to that lamp's bulb, socket or wiring, and you can swap the working bulb into the dead socket as a free diagnostic.
Test the light switch
The rocker or push switch on the hood face takes years of greasy fingers and eventually the contacts fail. With the breaker off, get to the back of the switch, disconnect it, and test for continuity between its terminals in each position. Also check the spade connectors — heat cycling loosens them, and a connector that has backed half off gives an intermittent light that works when you press on the panel.
Check the LED driver on LED hoods
Integrated LED hoods run their lamps from a small driver module — a sealed box with a mains input and a low-voltage output, usually tucked inside the hood housing or in the chimney. Drivers fail more often than the LEDs they feed. With the power off you can identify it by its labelling; with the power restored and appropriate care, its low-voltage output can be measured against the rating printed on it. On many hoods the LED strip is not separately replaceable and the driver is the only serviceable part.
What this repair costs
Doing it yourself
$5–$70
Hiring a technician
$120–$300
Prices are general estimates for typical US jobs, not quotes. What you actually pay depends on your appliance's brand and age, the part required, your region, and each shop's labour rate. The DIY figure assumes you supply the labour and buy the part yourself.
Parts you may end up buying
| Part | Install | Typical price | Typical lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grease Filter | easy | $15–$65 | Wash monthly; replace every 2–5 years |
| Charcoal Filter | easy | $15–$55 | 6–12 months |
| Blower Wheel | moderate | $20–$80 | 10–15 years |
| Blower Motor | moderate | $60–$260 | 10–15 years |
| Speed Switch | easy | $12–$90 | 8–15 years |
| Light Socket and Lamp | easy | $8–$40 | 3–10 years |
| Damper Flap | easy | $10–$40 | 8–15 years |
Still not fixed
When to call a pro
If the bulb, socket and switch all test good and the light still does not work, the fault is in the hood's wiring or its control board, and on a hardwired hood that is reasonable to hand over — particularly on a chimney or island hood mounted high over a cooktop. Call an electrician if you find scorched wiring, a browned or melted socket, or evidence of overheating in the housing, since that indicates something more than a failed lamp. On integrated LED hoods where the strip itself has failed and no replacement part exists, be aware that the manufacturer's only remedy may be a new hood.
More range hood guides
- Range Hood Fan Weak or Not Venting — Restore Airflow45–120 minutes
- Range Hood Won't Turn On — Power, Switch and Control Checks30–75 minutes
- Range Hood Loud or Rattling — Quiet It Down45–120 minutes
- Range Hood Dripping Grease — Fix the Cause, Not the Drip60–150 minutes
- Range Hood Fan Won't Turn Off or Starts On Its Own30–75 minutes
- Downdraft Vent Won't Rise or Lower — Free the Lift45–120 minutes