How To Replace a Frigidaire Range Ignitor

A broken or defective ignitor can prevent your oven from functioning correctly. It can cause your food to be cooked inefficiently, or it can cause your oven not to heat up at all. Both of which, are not welcome in the kitchen, especially for anyone who values the use of their kitchen appliances.  Fortunately, it is possible to replace a broken or defective Frigidaire range ignitor, but unless you are already knowledgeable about appliance maintenance, we usually recommend leaving this type of repair to a trained appliance professional.

Common Ignitor Problems

One of the most common problems associated with range ignitors is that it simply won’t light your burners. This can often occur after cleaning, where the spark ignitor may have been knocked out of position while scrubbing things clean.

Alternatively, this can also occur if the area has not been cleaned often enough. Leftover food particles and other residues can leave a visible film on the metal, which can prevent the ignitor from sparking. Another common problem is that the ignitor constantly clicks. Again, this might occur from having just been cleaned or not having been cleaned in a long time. But either way, this usually indicates that it’s time to have your ignitor replaced. Finally, yet another sign of a defective ignitor is a change in the colour of sparks it produces. While igniting, a properly functioning ignitor should create roughly 3 to 5 blue sparks per second.

If the sparks are lighter in colour or entirely white, this signifies a weakened ignitor electrode.

When Do You Need to Replace the Ignitor?

If you have cleaned the area and ensured that there are no parts that are out of place, but your ignitor is still not lighting, you will likely need to replace it with a new one.

Even if your ignitor is still working, but it’s producing a weak spark, or it only seems to work when it wants to, it’s a good indication that the ignitor will stop functioning soon and needs to be replaced.

Turn Off the Circuit Breaker and Gas Supply

Even if you’ve turned off your circuit breaker at your home’s main electrical panel, just in case you picked the wrong circuit breaker, it’s always good practice to unplug your unit before getting started. Additionally, you will also want to ensure that the gas supply to your oven is turned off. Keep in mind that working with gas appliances represents its own dangers. Therefore, it’s crucial that you never attempt to connect/disconnect your gas supply on your own.

Instead, contact a certified appliance technician who will be licensed and knowledgeable about working with gas appliances.

Remove the burner cap and the grate

Start by removing the grates over top of the burners and set them aside. Then remove the burner caps from the burner heads and set them aside as well.

Next, using the appropriate tool, remove all nuts from the gas burner heads and put them in a safe place; you don’t want to lose them!

Pull out the burner head

The next thing you will want to do is remove the burner heads completely. This might require a little bit of effort to pry up, but a butter knife or screwdriver can usually be wedged underneath to help you out. Set the burner heads in a safe location. Additionally, this is an ideal time to give them a good cleaning before you put things back together.

Replace the Ignitor

To gain access to the defective part, remove any other screws or nuts that are holding it in place.

At this point, you will want to pull out some of the wiring and then use a wire crimp tool to snip off about ¼ inch of the old wire connector. Then take off another ¼ of an inch of the wire’s insulation. Next, you can slide the new connector onto the wiring and use the crimper to keep it in place.

Now you are ready to install the new wire connectors onto your new ignitor.

Reassemble the burner

At this point, you have to put everything back together again, starting with the wiring. Connect the ignitor with its bracket and refasten any screws you’ve removed in the previous steps. Then, put the burner heads back on and place the grates back in their spot.

Finally, you’re ready to plug your unit back in, turn on the power, and test out your next ignitor, which should produce and bright blue spark, and should light your burner with ease!