If Your Viking Gas Range Burners Won’t Light, Try This

It can be hard to enjoy the superior power and precision of your Viking gas range if the burners won’t even ignite. Wondering why your Viking gas range burners won’t light? They may need a good cleaning to remove grease and food buildup. Follow these troubleshooting tips to ensure your burners light properly every time.

Problem-Solving When Your Viking Gas Range Burners Won’t Light

While burners that don’t light can seem like a major malfunction, there’s usually a simple fix. Whether it’s adjusting power or gas connections or performing more consistent maintenance, try this when your Viking gas range burners won’t light.

Inspect Power and Gas Connections

Your Viking gas range burners won’t light if they don’t have adequate electrical power or gas flow. Even though it’s a gas range, the igniter still requires electricity to spark and light the gas.

Here’s how to inspect your range’s power and gas connections:

• Make sure the range is properly plugged in: Ensure that the cord is plugged in and that it’s outlet functions properly. Avoid using an extension cord, as it can’t safely conduct the voltage the range requires.
• Check your home’s circuit breaker box: Look for tripped breakers, resetting any if necessary.
• Assess the gas line connection: Make sure the range is connected to the gas line and the connection is turned on. If you find all your Viking stove burners not igniting, the gas connection or line may be faulty, requiring a professional evaluation.

Clean Viking Gas Range Burners

Viking range cleaning tips recommend using hot, soapy water and a clean cloth to clean the burner base and caps after each use. However, this may not always prevent food particles, grease, and debris from building up around the igniter and burner ports. Cleaning the burner components on a monthly basis with the following methods can break down this buildup, avoiding ignition problems. 

Here’s how to clean Viking range burners to remove buildup:

Burner Cap:

1. Lift burner head straight up to remove
2. Mix the commercial cleaner Bar Keeper’s Friend with water to make a thick paste
3. Spread paste on the burner head and let sit for 30 minutes
4. Place the burner head on a towel and scrub with a non-abrasive pad.
5. Rinse burner head in warm water and dry completely before replacing

Burner Head:

1. Remove the burner head by lifting straight up
2. Use a straight pin to gently unclog ports
3. When replacing, make sure the head is properly aligned with the burner base

Burner Base: 

1. To remove caked-on debris, soak the area with a warm towel
2. Use a wooden or nylon spatula to gently scrape up softened debris
3. Scrub gently with a damp cloth before drying thoroughly

Igniter:

1. Dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol and gently dab the igniter to remove debris
2. Blot dry with a paper towel
3. Allow to air dry completely

Gas Igniter is Faulty

If your Viking gas range burners won’t light after a power assessment and cleaning, chances are the igniter is faulty. When functioning properly, the igniter gathers up enough electricity to open the gas valve, allowing gas to flow. It then produces an electrical spark that lights the gas at the burner. If a gas stove igniter won’t spark or open the gas valve, the burner won’t light.

To determine if the igniter is faulty, observe it as you attempt to light the burner. If the gas takes longer than 90 seconds to light or the igniter doesn’t spark at all, it’s likely faulty. If multimeter testing confirms this with a lack of continuity, the igniter should be replaced by a professional or an experienced DIYer.

Need a Viking range repair or beyond? The team at RD Appliance Service can help. Schedule your professional assessment today!