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sixdeaftaxis  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, July 13, 2010 5:42:25 PM(UTC)
sixdeaftaxis

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One night, the two stovetop igniters on my GE Hotpoint RGA524EW3 started clicking all on their own while the front knobs are turned off and won't stop. This had happened once before a month or two ago when I was cleaning the stove, but that time letting everything dry out solved the problem. This time, it happened all on its own when everyone was sleeping and it won't go away.

The stove is in a studio apartment, so I don't want to leave it clicking all the time. For now I have turned off the propane and unplugged the stove.

As I understand it, this could be a problem with one or both igniters or the spark module or the wiring or the switches or something else. Apparently, the igniters for this stove are about $60 each and the spark module $100 or more. It is a great little stove that is still in like new condition other than the clicking, so I'd rather not replace it.

Any suggestion as to which part it might be, or how to determine which one? Should I unplug the igniters in turn and see if that makes the problem go away
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sixdeaftaxis  
#2 Posted : Tuesday, July 13, 2010 6:13:01 PM(UTC)
sixdeaftaxis

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Additional information: There are three wires from the ignitor switches to the spark module: Yellow (common), Red (oven switch), Blue (stovetop switches). When I disconnect the Yellow/common wire from the spark module, and reconnect the power there is no clicking. If I disconnect just the Red/oven wire, there is still clicking. If I disconnect just the Blue/stovetop wire, there is no clicking.

Am I right in concluding that one of the stovetop ignitor switches is bad, or could this still be a spark module problem? If it is one of the switches, I assume I have to swap in a new switch for each of the four burner controls one by one to isolate it. Are the wires on this model soldered on or do they use blade connectors, in which case I can just pull them off and test the switches in place? Since it isn't a simple matter of just looking (I'll have to disassemble the front panel), I'm hoping someone might be able to answer before I start taking things apart.
sixdeaftaxis  
#3 Posted : Tuesday, July 13, 2010 7:31:42 PM(UTC)
sixdeaftaxis

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Yet more information:

I went ahead and disassembled the front panel and disconnected the switches. When I tried connecting them one at a time, odd combinations of them worked or didn't work. I checked the resistance on the 4 switches and found that they varied from 400 Kohm to 1.2Mohm in the off position. Throw those all in parallel and the circuit resistance drops down to around 150Kohm, which the spark module apparently considers a closed switch. Various combinations of two or three also act as a closed switch and make the clicking start.

So, did all of my switches fail at once (maybe due to moisture?) or are these normal resistances for these switches when open, and my spark module is just being overly picky?
sixdeaftaxis  
#4 Posted : Wednesday, July 14, 2010 2:57:14 AM(UTC)
sixdeaftaxis

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I'm answering my own question, just so that anyone else with this problem will known what's up.

I found another suggestion on the web that it might still be moisture, and to try a hairdryer. I ran a hairdryer on one of the switches for a minute, and the resistance jumped from 600kohm to 1.9Mohm, suggesting that it really was moisture. I ran the hairdryer for 2 or 3 minutes on all of the switches, and there was no longer a measurable connection when the switches were open!

I then reinstalled the switches, reassembled my stovetop, and everything worked great.

So, if your burners keep clicking on your stovetop, I highly recommend using a hair dryer to dry the ignitors and the switches before taking anything apart or panicking or buying new parts. It can't hurt, and it just might solve your problem!
sixdeaftaxis  
#5 Posted : Friday, August 6, 2010 6:51:45 AM(UTC)
sixdeaftaxis

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A week or two later, we got another run of humid weather and they started clicking again. Tried the blowdrier trick without disassembling the range top, and no luck. Took the range ignition switches out, and they have the same symptoms as before. Drying them with the blowdrier seems to bring the resistance back up to the "no connection" stage, but after letting them sit, it is back down to just a few Mohms, although one of the switches is acting very flaky and resistance is all over the place.

I am starting to suspect that when I washed the stove front a few months ago that I got something into the switches (soapy water? cleaning solution? grease?) and that's what is causing the problem.

So, spend $100 to replace all 4 fifty cent switches, or buy a new range for $300?

Next attempt is to dry them gently in an electric warming oven for an hour, then seal any obvious seams in the switches with a smear of silicone caulk.
jtwright  
#6 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 12:10:19 PM(UTC)
jtwright

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I have a thermadore with igniters, I thought the igniter went out.
After my experience I am now convinced it was just the insulation on the wires that went bad. Here is how it happened:
First I had one burner that would not ignite, so I ordered the parts and put the new igniter in.
I tested the old one by moving the wires around, Having taken a digital picture first so I could get back to my starting place.
Everthing worked fine.
I closed up the stovetop cabinet and they all worked for about a week, then I got some clicking, then a burner igniter stopped working altogether.
I opened up the stovetop and put coiled insulation around the wires and all worked again. Then first one then three of the igniters stopped working and the one that did work started clicking.
It is a pain to get to the wires, I have to pull the asperators out to get the case open
So it seems te real problem is bad insulation around the wires. The igniter must work only when it sees an open circuit and when the burner lights the ionized gas looks like a low resistance. When the insulation goes bad, the igniter see a low resistance, and they don't work.
That is my current experience: replace the wires first, then the igniter if needed, test things by moving the wires from one igniter to another to see if a the circuits work, or the igniter module works. Mine has four igniter coils in one molded case, and each igniter coil looks at a different burner
I bought the new igniter, tested the switches on the knobs by moving the wires over to another switch
I put the whole thing back in and it worked for a while, then one after the other started clicking, some didn't light, one clicked inside the burner chamber, not at the spark ignition area.
.so I put curly wire separator binder around the ignition wires, it worked for a couple of weeks, then threke of them quit again.
I bought new wire from McMaster.com a great mail order commercial parts place: Wire 8296K16, 30,000 volt 302 F degree high temp wire. about $ 2.50 per foot. and a pck of crimp connectors: 69525K11, .110 "w by .02 thick tab, pack of 100...about 10$. They are all working now.
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