--- title: "Cooktop Guides — Repair, Costs and What to Check" description: "18 guides in 6 sections, split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns." url: "https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/" --- Read first, book second # Cooktop guides, read first. A cooktop repair guide is only useful if it answers the question you actually have, so these are split by what you are trying to find out — is this worth paying for, what is that noise, what can I check myself — rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. ## Work out what you are dealing with. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by what part of the appliance it concerns. [All 18 guides](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/) Why the cooktop behaves that way ### [Common problems](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why a cooktop burner clicks but won't light, from the cap to the downdraft](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-a-cooktop-burner-clicks-but-wont-light/) - [Why a radiant cooktop element blinks off or never turns red](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-a-radiant-element-cycles-or-stays-dark/) - [Why an induction cooktop ignores a pan: magnet, size and center](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-induction-wont-recognize-a-pan/) Cooktop checks you can safely make ### [Troubleshooting](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Cooktop checks worth making before you book a technician](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-checks-before-booking-a-visit/) - [Unlocking a touch-control cooktop that ignores every key](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/unlock-a-touch-control-cooktop/) - [Finding a cooktop model number without pulling it from the counter](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/find-a-cooktop-model-number/) Keeping the cooktop out of trouble ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning a glass-ceramic cooktop without harming the glass or the seam](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cleaning-a-glass-ceramic-cooktop/) - [Cookware that marks or scratches cooktop glass, and the pans that are safe](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cookware-that-marks-or-scratches-glass/) - [Cleaning a cooktop's downdraft vent: grate, grease filter and chamber](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cleaning-a-downdraft-vent/) When to stop using the cooktop ### [Gas, fire and burn safety](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [A Gas Smell Over the Cooktop: What to Do in the First Minutes](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-gas-smell-first-steps/) - [Cracked Glass Cooktop: Power Off, Hands Off, Then Replace the Top](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cracked-glass-cooktop-what-to-do/) - [Induction Cooktops, Pacemakers and Other Implants](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/induction-and-implanted-medical-devices/) Which cooktop suits the kitchen ### [Choosing and comparing](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Repair or replace a cooktop: the cutout, the supply and the part that failed](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-cooktop/) - [Gas, radiant or induction cooktop: heat, wiring and upkeep compared](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/gas-radiant-or-induction-cooktop/) - [Rangetop or cooktop: front knobs, a notched counter and a bigger extractor](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/rangetop-or-cooktop/) Set up to last ### [Installation and setup](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Cooktop Cutout Dimensions and a Counter That Fits](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-cutout-and-countertop-fit/) - [A Cooktop Over a Built-In Oven: Approved Pairs and Cabinet Height](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-over-a-wall-oven/) - [Under the Cooktop: Junction Box, Conduit and Gas Shutoff](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-wiring-and-gas-shutoff-under-the-counter/) Reading did not fix it? ### The work itself Every guide here ends in the same place: what a technician actually does about it, in the order it gets done. 10 kinds of work Cheapest cause first What a visit costs See what we do Wondering what a cooktop repair costs? That question has a page to itself rather than a line here, because nobody can fairly name a figure before a technician has lifted the top or opened the cabinet beneath it — [cooktop repair cost](https://cooktoprepair.center/cost/). ## Not sure where to start? Most cooktop calls start from one of a handful of questions. Each is getting a guide that answers it before anything is booked, and a few of them end with a fix that costs nothing. [Or start from the symptom](https://cooktoprepair.center/problems/) ### The cooktop is acting up and the reason is unclear Cooktop checks worth making before you book a technician The breaker and the outlet in the base cabinet, the gas shutoff, the lock, caps and pans on top, one timed boil, and the notes that make a visit shorter. ### Before you phone or fill in the form Finding a cooktop model number without pulling it from the counter The underside of the chassis seen from the cabinet, under a burner pan or grille, the edge of a rangetop control panel, the downdraft blower, and the paperwork that often saves the search. ### There is a gas smell around the cooktop A Gas Smell Over the Cooktop: What to Do in the First Minutes Why no knob, touch key or downdraft switch gets touched, where gas runs in the cabinet below, what to tell the utility and when a burner may be lit again. ### You are choosing between a repair and a new cooktop Repair or replace a cooktop: the cutout, the supply and the part that failed Igniters, elements and switches are worth fixing on nearly any cooktop; a discontinued board, glass nobody stocks or a new model that will not fit the old counter opening are where the sums change. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in a guide did not settle it, a technician picks up from there. The visit, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://cooktoprepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Each burner and zone, tried in turn 2. 02 The price, before any part is fitted 3. 03 The usual parts in the van 4. 04 Repaired, then cooked on ## When there is no time to read. These five can let gas into the kitchen, set a fire going, or keep heating a zone that no control on the counter will shut down. Each page puts the causes in the order worth checking, and says when to stop and book. [All 17 problems](https://cooktoprepair.center/problems/) Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Cooktop Gas Smell 5 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Cooktop Burning Smell 6 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Cooktop Burner or Element Won't Turn Off 6 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Glass Cooktop Cracked 6 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Cooktop Tripping Breaker 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about the guides. ### Can a cooktop guide replace a technician? No. They explain what happens under the grates and the glass and which checks are safe for an owner, so simple causes get crossed off and the rest can be put into words for the technician. Wherever a guide gets close to a gas connection, live wiring or the boards under the glass, it tells you to stop. ### Are the guides written for my make? Most are written for a kind of cooktop rather than a single maker, because sealed gas burners, radiant elements and induction zones behave much alike from brand to brand. When a brand departs from the usual design the guide points it out, and the manual in your kitchen drawer overrules anything written here. ### Which cooktop guide should I start with? If the cooktop is misbehaving right now, the problem pages are quicker, sorted by what you notice. The guides are longer and suit a question you can take time over: why a flame lifts off its burner, what to check before a visit, or whether an older top deserves another repair. ### What sources do the cooktop guides rely on? Specific claims in a cooktop guide point to where they came from: a maker's installation or owner's manual, or gas and fire safety advice published by a public body. Where no source is named, the point is offered as what our technicians have seen on cooktops, never as a rule. --- **[Read on the site: Cooktop Guides — Repair, Costs and What to Check](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/)** **[Book a visit with CooktopRepair.center](https://cooktoprepair.center/schedule/)**