Why piezo ignition on a gas stove does not work: causes of breakdowns and methods for their elimination

If earlier gas stoves were designed without the function of piezo ignition, which was simply considered unnecessary, today this is an integral part of every new model of technology. Such innovations brought to the user’s life not only new opportunities, since now, from time to time, you have to deal with a situation where piezo ignition on a gas stove does not work, and you absolutely do not know what to do with it.

You must admit that it is somewhat impractical to call a master for every breakdown of electric ignition; moreover, such repair does not require special skills. In this case, it is important to accurately determine the cause of the malfunction and learn how to repair the equipment with your own hands.

Despite the improvement of each new gas stove model, the piezoelectric element can fail from time to time. The reason can be both in the elementary absence of a spark, and in damage to the insulation of the wire or burnout of the transformer. Further in the article the most frequent types of electric ignition breakdowns will be presented, and you can familiarize yourself with the step-by-step repair of the piezo ignition, depending on the type of malfunction.

Piezoelectric principle

The electric ignition function is used only on gas stoves, allowing you to ignite blue fuel in automatic mode, and thereby eliminating the need for the user to come in contact with an open fire.

Such, at first glance, a convenient function of piezo ignition is considered one of the most capricious and unreliable devices of modern gas stove.

If a malfunction is detected, do not try to turn on the system with the burners removed, as this can provoke a breakdown on the case

The electric ignition system is equipped with special piezoelectric elements, which, when the switch is turned on the control panel, produce a spark to ignite the gas stream.

If we consider the principle of operation of the piezo ignition of a gas stove in more detail, it looks like this:

• when you turn the switch on a specific burner, the voltage is applied to the capacitor area;
• then the charging of the capacitor begins, after which the level on the thyristor increases;
• as soon as the level reaches the set limit, the capacitor begins to discharge;
• the resulting voltage drives the arrester, and as a result, the spark ignites the gas.

The process of gas ignition by switching on electric ignition takes a matter of seconds, while in new models of stoves the spark always falls precisely on the area of ​​the included burner. The piezoelectric ignition device operates from an electrical network with a voltage of 220 volts.

Often, a breakdown of the electric stove ignition system of a gas stove occurs as a result of a sharp surge in voltage, due to which it may be necessary to repair the device and replace failed parts.

Symptoms of Electric Ignition Failure

Electric ignition of a gas stove may break completely unexpectedly, while in the process of using the equipment, the switch will continue to spin and click, the gas will exit, but the spark will not appear.

If, when turning the switch, one or all of the burners does not ignite, but a spark is present, then the problem is most likely not in the piezo ignition system, but in the elementary pollution of the nozzle.

It is possible to determine the type of breakdown of electric ignition, and at the same time detect a failed part, depending on the number of non-igniting burners

The absence of a spark when turning on at least one burner already indicates a malfunction in the piezo ignition system. Also, situations are often encountered when gas burners make noise during operation. You can read more about this issue. here.

However, it is possible to understand which particular part failed, only on the basis of the following signs:

• when the burner control knob is pressed, the electric ignition function does not work;
• automatic piezo ignition functions work properly, accompanied by clickshowever, there is no spark;
• the system does not turn off even when the handle is lowered or the shutdown button is pressed;
• when the device is turned on, the circuit breaker is knocked out in the apartment panel.

Often the problem of malfunctioning automatic ignition is the complete absence of sparks, or vice versa - continuous sparking even when the device is turned off.

Also, electric ignition may temporarily fail due to jamming of the power buttons, provoked by the accumulation of fat on the control panel. You can fix the problem by cleaning and drying all components of the gas stove, including buttons and contacts.

Causes and troubleshooting

Regardless of the age of the gas stove, the electric ignition function can break at any time, and the cause of the breakdown is far from always the result of improper operation.

Of course, sometimes a piezoelectric ignition malfunction occurs after wet cleaning of the hob, as a result of which moisture along with the detergent enters the stove. In this case, the breakdown is easily fixed without repair.

If moisture gets into the inside of the gas stove, it is enough to clean the contacts and dry the candles, after which the electric ignition function will be fully restored

If during the operation of a gas stove one or more of the previously listed symptoms is observed, then the problem lies precisely in the piezo ignition.

A malfunction of such an important function may occur for any of the following reasons.

1. No spark on the electrodes.
2. Moisture or grease entering the system.
3. Cracking on the surface of a ceramic candle.
4. Damage to the insulation of the wire going to the candle.
5. Burnout of a transformer - spark generation unit.
6. Oxidation or contamination of the contacts of the power button.

In some cases, the repair of a piezo lighter of a gas stove can be done on its own, however, for this it will be necessary to conduct a complete diagnosis of the equipment and correctly determine the reason for the system to stop working. Further in the article, methods for restoring the piezo ignition function for the most common device failures will be presented.

If after pressing the auto ignition button the burner does not ignite, and at the same time, you noticed that there is no ignition spark, this means only one thing - electric ignition is out of order. The absence of sparks in one, two or all four burners may indicate different breakdowns, which you can learn more about in the following sections of the article.

After removing the top panel of the plate, you should immediately compare each element of the system with the presented diagram in order to understand in which area to look for breakdown

Based on the presented scheme, you can independently figure out how to properly repair a piezoelectric element in a gas stove without calling the master. Since the auto-ignition function for all gas stoves is arranged according to the same pattern, the recovery process will be the same for all models will be the same.

No spark on all rings

If when you turn on the oven you notice that the electric ignition does not click, and at the same time there is no spark on any of the burners, then first you need to check if the plug and power cord are working. Only after eliminating such malfunctions can it be assumed that a failure occurred in the auto ignition system.

If there is no spark on all burners, the problem may be a malfunction of the ignition unit, and it is often the capacitor that gives the spark when the button is pressed, the first to fail. The only way out is to replace the ignition unit.

Another cause of the malfunction can be a breakdown of the auto ignition button (in older models with one button for all burners). In this case, the button itself will be pressed intermittently - too weakly or tightly. Due to oxidation or mechanical damage to the button, the contacts do not close, which means that the electric ignition does not work.

Mechanical damage to the auto-ignition button can occur as a result of prolonged careless use, sometimes in combination with severe contamination.

To fix the problem, you need to clean the contacts from oxidation, or if the button is damaged, replace it. In specialized online stores, you can pick up the electric ignition button for any model of a gas stove, even outdated.

Only one burner does not ignite

If when you turn on the piezo ignition function, the spark does not appear on only one burner, then the first thing you need to do is check the candle for contamination. During operation, water could enter the system, leaving traces of oxidation on the candle, due to which the electric ignition temporarily failed. In this case, you will need to wipe the part with a sponge and WD-40 aerosol, and then try to turn on the burner again.

A further lack of response to the inclusion of the auto ignition button may signal a malfunction of the specific spark plug ignition plug. Often the reason is a breakdown of the power cord coming from the ignition unit to the candle, which can be elementarily damaged.

If food enters the cord during operation, it simply sticks to the body of the stove, due to which it will be punched through the settled fat onto the body.

Do not try to twist the damaged part of the cord with a simple electrical tape, since it is not designed for high temperature, and can melt over time

In this case, the only rational solution to the problem is to replace the power cord with the spark plug. If the burner does not work due to the cord sticking to the body, then you will need to disassemble the stove, and then remove the dirt yourself.

Often in expensive models that are equipped with electric ignition buttons built into the handle of each burner, one or more buttons break down. This situation may occur due to oxidation of the contacts or damage to the button itself. In the first case, it is enough to clean the contacts, however, if the button mechanism is damaged, it will be necessary to replace it.

Electric ignition does not work on two burners

If the auto-ignition function has failed only on a pair of burners, the cause may be a malfunction of the ignition unit. A transformer is installed at the output of the ignition unit, the secondary winding of which consists of two more windings.

The voltage during operation of the first winding of the electric ignition unit is supplied to the right side of the gas stove panel, while the second winding is responsible for supplying current to the two left burners.

In the event of the combustion of one of the windings, the auto-ignition ceases to work on those two burners for which it was responsible for ignition. To restore the operation of failed burners, it will be necessary to replace the electric ignition unit.

When the transformer windings burn out, only two right or two left burners stop working, which eliminates any other malfunctions

If you have the appropriate skills, you can try to independently install a new transformer winding, however, a simpler option will still be to replace the entire electric ignition unit.

It will be much easier to choose a finished part than to repair a broken block yourself.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

How to independently repair the piezo ignition of one gas burner can be found in the following video:

How to restore the operation of electric ignition on two gas burners is explained in detail in this video:

Breaking the piezo ignition of a gas stove today is not a disaster, because if you have all the necessary knowledge, now everyone can repair the device on their own. The main condition is to diagnose all the elements of the electric ignition system in order to correctly identify the breakdown.

If you have already had to repair electric gas stove yourself, then please share your experience with our readers and tell us what nuances should be paid attention to during the repair process. In a special block after the article, you can leave a comment by telling your story of the successful restoration of the operation of the piezo ignition of a gas stove.