If you smell gas, stop reading and leave — this page is for a burner that will not light with no gas odour present. A gas burner that clicks but never catches is almost always a burner cap seated wrong or a port clogged with boil-over, and the fix is free. An electric coil that stays cold is usually a burnt receptacle rather than the element, which is why swapping in a known-good element is the single most useful test you can run.
Read this first
- A gas smell is an evacuation, not a diagnosis. Leave the building, do not touch switches or phones inside, and call the gas utility or 911 from outside. Never try to locate a gas leak yourself.
- Never use a match or a lighter to test a burner that has been flowing unlit gas. Turn everything off, ventilate the room, and wait several minutes before trying again.
- Pull the breaker before touching a scorched electric cooktop receptacle — arcing damage means the connection was running hot under load.
- Never poke a burner port with a wooden toothpick. A snapped tip inside the port is a much harder problem than the original blockage.
What it usually means
On a gas cooktop the spark and the gas are two separate systems, so the symptom tells you which failed. Clicking with no flame means gas is not reaching the electrode: a wet or misaligned cap, a blocked port, or a burner head that was refitted incorrectly after a clean. No clicking at all means the spark module or the switch failed, and if one burner lights while all electrodes click, that is normal — most cooktops spark every electrode from one module.
On an electric cooktop, coil elements fail far less often than the receptacle they plug into. Heat and arcing burn the terminals, and the classic sign is a scorched or discoloured socket. Smoothtop radiant elements are different again: they fail invisibly, and the honest diagnosis needs a meter and the glass lifted, which is why that one is a technician's job.
What to check first
Confirm there is no gas smell — and if there is, get out
A gas odour is not a symptom to investigate. Leave the building, take everyone with you, do not operate switches, appliances or phones inside, and call your gas utility's emergency line or 911 once you are outside. Do not go back in until they say so.
Lift the cap and let it dry
A burner that was recently cleaned or boiled over is usually just wet. Pull the cap and head, dry them completely, and check the electrode tip is dry too. A damp electrode will click endlessly and never light.
Clear the ports with a straightened paperclip
Work around every port on the burner head. Never use a toothpick — a broken tip inside a port is worse than the blockage. A pin or a paperclip and a good look at each hole restores the flame ring on the large majority of these calls.
Reseat the cap dead square
Burner caps have one correct orientation and they sit flat. A cap set a few millimetres off centre puts the flame path away from the electrode and the burner will click forever. Compare it against a burner that works.
Swap an electric coil with a working one
Pull a coil that works and plug it into the dead socket. If it heats, the original element is bad. If it stays cold, the receptacle or its wiring is the fault — and a scorched socket needs replacing as an assembly with its pigtail, not just cleaning up.
Check the whole cooktop, not just one burner
One dead burner is a burner problem. Every burner dead is upstream: a tripped breaker, a gas supply valve closed after other work, or on a gas range the safety valve. Knowing which one you have saves the wrong service call.
DIY, technician, or licensed trade?
This is about who is allowed to do the work, not how hard it is. The bottom row is not a difficulty rating — it is the legal and safety line, and it does not move for confidence or experience.
- Cleaning, drying and reseating burner caps and heads
- Clearing burner ports and the electrode tip
- Swapping a plug-in electric coil element
- Resetting a tripped breaker after confirming nothing is scorched
- Replacing a spark module, an igniter switch, or a burner electrode assembly
- Replacing a coil receptacle and pigtail after arcing damage
- Diagnosing and replacing a smoothtop radiant element under the glass
- Anything upstream of the appliance shutoff — gas piping, the flexible connector, or the shutoff valve itself
- Gas safety valves, pressure regulators, and converting an appliance between natural gas and propane
- Any investigation that follows a gas odour
Likely parts and what they cost
Our estimates for a typical US job, not quotes. “Part only” is what the component costs bought online against a model number; “installed” adds a technician’s diagnostic and labor.
| Part | Part only | Installed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burner cap and head set | $15–$60 | $120–$250 | Warped or corroded caps never seat right no matter how clean they are. |
| Spark module | $40–$120 | $150–$350 | One module usually serves every burner, which is why they all click together. |
| Igniter switch | $12–$40 | $130–$300 | A switch stuck closed makes the cooktop click continuously even when off. |
| Coil element and receptacle kit | $20–$60 | $130–$280 | Fit both together — a burnt socket destroys a new element. |
| Radiant element (smoothtop) | $45–$150 | $180–$400 | Requires lifting the glass; not a DIY job on most ranges. |
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. Get the model number off the appliance before ordering — the same part varies in price across models.
Step-by-step guides for this symptom
2 guides cover this fault across 1 appliance types. Each one works through it in diagnostic order, with tools, parts and the point at which it stops being a DIY job.
- 20–45 minutesOven & Range
Gas Burner Won't Light — Clean It and Get the Spark Back
A cooktop burner that clicks without lighting is usually a wet cap, clogged ports or a dirty electrode. Clean and realign it safely with this step-by-step guide.
- 20–60 minutesOven & Range
Electric Burner Not Working — Coil and Smoothtop Diagnosis
One burner dead or weak on an electric range? Swap-test coil elements, check the receptacle for arcing, test the infinite switch, and check dual-ring selectors.