How To Replace An Oven Igniter (With Video!)

Dinner taking unusually long in the broiler? Bread baking experiments cut short by a cold oven? Your oven's igniter may have given up, but you don't have to. Replacing this component is easier than you may think. You can do it for a fraction of the cost of a new appliance or even a professional repair, and you don't have to go it alone! AppliancePartsPros.com is here to help with another great video guide and companion tutorial.

Keep reading to learn how to replace your oven's igniter.

Need a replacement oven igniter? Search below using your specific oven model number to identify the exact part needed:

Signs That An Oven Ignitor Has Gone Bad

If your oven isn't heating up, or if it's taking an unusually long time to heat up, there's a good chance the oven ignitor is to blame. A gas oven should take 10 to 15 minutes to reach 350 degrees, so if it's taking a lot longer to get there, you might be having oven trouble. The quickest way to check to see if the issue is your ignitor is by turning your oven on, opening the broiler drawer, and watching the component. The heating element on the ignitor should turn white hot. If it's not glowing at all, or if it only ever reaches a red or yellow color, then the heating element is bad. Even if it's lighting up a little, it won't get hot enough to fully activate the safety valve, and gas won't be released into the oven for ignition.

What about gas smells?

A bad oven ignitor could also be causing your oven to smell like gas. A little bit of that natural gas smell isn't unusual when you turn your oven on, but if it is particularly strong, or if it lingers, that's a bad sign. If an ignitor's heating element is going bad, it probably isn't getting hot enough to light the gas. If you're smelling gas and you think the ignitor may be to blame, you can test the ignitor with a multimeter to verify that this is the problem part. However, if you suspect that there is a serious gas leak, you need to shut off the gas in your home, call the utility company, and leave your house immediately. Staying in a home with a gas leak can be dangerous.

Finding The Right Replacement Part

Oven ignitors come in a couple of different styles, so it's important to make sure you're getting a compatible part. Start with your appliance's model number. If you don't have the manual, you can find it printed on a label on your oven or in the appliance model diagram on AppliancePartsPros.com.

Check the following places:

  • Open the oven door and check around the frame.
  • Open the broiler or range drawer and check along the sides or on the inside of the door, itself.
  • Lift the cooktop and check beneath that.
  • Check the exterior of the stove, it could be on the sides or back, behind the main control panel.

Once you have the model number, search below to find the right part on AppliancePartsPros.com. You'll be able to buy a genuine OEM replacement part and have it shipped to you in just a few days! Our product listings also feature manufacturer diagrams and FAQs and tips from do-it-yourselfers just like you.

How To Replace An Oven Ignitor

We completed our tutorial on a Whirlpool oven. Since oven ignitors generally only come in two or three styles and are generally found in the same place in any oven, you should still be able to use our guide, even if you have a different brand or model of appliance. Don't forget to check out our video walkthrough for an indepth look at each step! If our guide isn't lining up with your appliance, you can consult the diagrams in your oven's manual to see where a particular component should be.

Tools for the Job

This is a quick and easy job, and you'll only need a few

  • A compatible OEM oven ignitor
  • Phillips & flathead screwdrivers
  • Nut driver
  • Work gloves
  • See Step 7 below. If this applies, you may need the following:
    • Two wire nuts
    • A pair of wire cutters

Before You Begin

Before starting any repairs, make sure that your appliance is unpowered either at the wall outlet or circuit breaker, make absolutely sure to turn the gas valve off, and don't begin work until the appliance is completely cool. You should never work on an appliance that is still receiving power, especially when you're working with the wiring.

For this job, you may need access to the back of the stove. Before pulling your oven away from the wall, though, you may want to check to see if you can disconnect the oven igniter's wire harness from inside the oven (check steps three through six below for instructions on how to access the ignitor).
If the ignitor's wire is long enough to pull into the oven, this will save you from having to pull your oven away from the wall. However, if you can't get the harness into the oven, either because the wires are not long enough or the harness is too big, you will need to get at the rear access panel.

Replacing an Oven Ignitor

  1. If you can't disconnect your wire harness from inside the oven, remove the access panel on the back of the stove. It is held in by four screws, and should come away easily once they are removed.
  2. Disconnect the ignitor from its wire harness. You may need to use a flathead screwdriver to release the two halves of the wire harness. Feed the side of the plug that's coming through the oven into the oven now so that you'll have an easier time removing it later.
  3. Time to move to the front of the oven. Open the oven door and remove the racks and anything else that may be inside the oven.
  4. Remove the bottom oven panel. This may or may not be held in place by screws or a nut. Once that mounting hardware is out, lift the bottom panel up slightly and slide it toward the rear of the oven interior to free it from any tabs. After that, you should be able to lift it out.
  5. Remove the flame spreader. This is a metal shield that you'll find directly beneath the bottom panel. It will be held in place by a few screws. Once those are out, slide the flame spreader forward to remove it from its seating tabs and then lift it up.
  6. Remove the hardware securing the ignitor. Depending on your oven, the ignitor may be held in place by nuts, Phillips or flathead screws. On the Whirlpool oven we worked on, the ignitor was held in place by 5/16 nuts.
  7. Remove the old ignitor and compare it to your new ignitor. There's a chance these two parts won't look exactly the same. In an effort to ensure compatibility with as many models as possible, OEM replacement oven ignitors often come without a wire harness. If this is the case with your replacement part, don't panic! Here's what to do:
    1. If your oven igniter ends in a couple of raw wires, it should also come with some wire nuts. If it doesn't, you will need two to complete this part.
    2. Cut the plastic connector off the old ignitor, giving yourself a few inches of spare wire.
    3. Strip the wires on the connector from the old ignitor.
    4. Use those wire nuts to attach the connector to the new ignitor's wires.
  8. Pre-thread the screws into the new ignitor and put the ignitor into place. Once you've reinstalled your mounting hardware, check and see if the wires have enough slack that you can reconnect the ignitor to the safety valve. If you can, do so now and then feed the wires all through the rear opening. If you can't connect the wires from within the oven, just feed the ignitor's wires through the rear opening for now.
  9. Replace the flame spreader, making sure each tab is properly seated before screwing it back into place.
  10. Put the oven floor panel back into place. You may have to seat the front lip first before lowering the back portion onto the tabs. Don't forget to reinstall any securing hardware you may have.
  11. Put the racks back into place and shut the oven door.
  12. If you weren't able to attach the ignitor's wires to the safety valve's wires from within the oven, go back around to the rear access panel and attach the two wire harnesses together now.
  13. Reinstall the rear access panel if you need to, and move the oven back into place.
  14. Restore power to your range, turn the gas valve back on, and take your oven for a test run. If it heats up as normal, you're all done!

Wrapping Up

We hope this how-to has helped you out, and if you need a bit more guidance on this particular task, don't forget to check out our tutorial video. It provides a detailed look at how the job is done. The next time you need tips, tutorials, or genuine OEM replacement parts, keep us in mind. At AppliancePartsPros.com, our friendly staff is happy to help you fix your appliance yourself!