If there is power to the stove, the top element will come on by itself and stay on. The only way to turn it off is to manually trip the breaker. My wife was baking when it happen and not only did it ruin her dinner, it nearly started a fire. She had great presence of mind and went and turned off the breaker. I have turned the power back on a couple of times and the top burner comes on immediately, regardless of the settings on the digital control panel.