--- title: "A burner will not light" description: "JennAir a burner will not light — clicking with no flame, a flame that goes out on its own, or a simmer that will not hold while the high flame" url: "https://jennairmiami.support/symptoms/burner-will-not-light/" date_modified: "2026-08-24" Appliance type: "Cooktops and rangetops, Ranges" --- # JennAir a burner will not light ### The fastest diagnosis is the code Lift the burner cap off, check it is dry and clean underneath, and put it back squarely — it only goes one way and a cap a fraction out of place is the single commonest reason one of these misbehaves after a cleaning. Then try one other burner: if all of them click and none light, that is one part, not six. ### Four searches under one sentence “The burner will not light” covers a spark that is not happening, a spark that finds no gas, gas that lights and is not recognized, and a cap put back wrong after a cleaning. They are separated by what the burner does rather than by what it fails to do — which is why the questions on the phone are about clicking, smell, and how recently anybody cleaned it. ### All of them, or one of them One spark module usually serves several burners. So a cooktop where every position clicks and none lights is one part, and a cooktop where one position misbehaves while the rest are perfect is that burner. Trying the others takes thirty seconds and halves the diagnosis. ### Why dual-stacked burners get their own paragraph The professional ranges and rangetops on this make use burners with two rings of flame stacked under a single grate, so one position can sear hard and also genuinely simmer. That is why they cook well and why they have more to go wrong: two gas paths and two sets of ports per position. A range where the high flame is perfect and the simmer will not hold has one specific problem rather than a general one, and it is worth saying so when you call. A cap seated wrong or a wet burner After a cleaning, or after a boil-over. Free, immediate, and behind a large share of these. Blocked ports The small holes around the burner head. Clear them with a wooden toothpick, never with anything metal. The spark module or an electrode One module usually serves several burners, so all of them clicking without lighting points at one part rather than at each burner. Flame sensing A burner that lights and then drops out is a range that decided it could not see the flame. Different circuit from the spark. The valve or the simmer stage Specific to a dual-stacked burner, where the low flame has its own gas path and can misbehave alone. Cap off, dry, back on squarely It seats one way. Two minutes, and it is the first thing we would do. Try every other burner All of them or one of them is the whole difference between a module and a burner. Look at the flame, if it lights A crisp blue flame is right. Yellow, lazy or lifting off the ports is worth reporting. High and low separately On a dual-stacked burner, run each stage and note which one misbehaves. It shortens the visit noticeably. Then book it Model number, which burner, which stage, and whether it clicks. Those four sentences decide what we bring. Or lights and will not stay What it usually means Clicking and clicking with nothing lighting It lights and then goes out a minute later The high flame is fine and the simmer will not hold The fastest diagnosis is the code Lift the burner cap off, check it is dry and clean underneath, and put it back squarely — it only goes one way and a cap a fraction out of place is the single commonest reason one of these misbehaves after a cleaning. Then try one other burner: if all of them click and none light, that is one part, not six. Four searches under one sentence “The burner will not light” covers a spark that is not happening, a spark that finds no gas, gas that lights and is not recognized, and a cap put back wrong after a cleaning. They are separated by what the burner does rather than by what it fails to do — which is why the questions on the phone are about clicking, smell, and how recently anybody cleaned it. All of them, or one of them One spark module usually serves several burners. So a cooktop where every position clicks and none lights is one part, and a cooktop where one position misbehaves while the rest are perfect is that burner. Trying the others takes thirty seconds and halves the diagnosis. Why dual-stacked burners get their own paragraph The professional ranges and rangetops on this make use burners with two rings of flame stacked under a single grate, so one position can sear hard and also genuinely simmer. That is why they cook well and why they have more to go wrong: two gas paths and two sets of ports per position. A range where the high flame is perfect and the simmer will not hold has one specific problem rather than a general one, and it is worth saying so when you call. ### It clicks even after the flame is lit. Not necessarily a problem. These burners use flame-sensing re-ignition and will spark again if they think the flame has gone — a pot boiling over, a draft from an open slider, or a cap sitting proud will all do it. Take the pot off, let it cool, reseat the cap. If it still clicks with a clean dry cap and a steady flame, the sensing side needs looking at. ### The simmer will not stay lit but the high flame is perfect. That is a dual-stacked burner telling you something specific. Two rings of flame, two gas paths, two sets of ports, one grate. A low stage that will not hold while the high one is faultless is a different repair from a burner that is simply out, and saying which you have shortens the visit. ### Can I clean the burners myself? Yes, and it is worth doing. Caps and heads lift off, wash, and must go back completely dry and the right way round — the alignment is what people get wrong. Do not poke the ports with anything metal. If it started misbehaving right after a clean, the cap is the first suspect. ### I can smell gas. A brief whiff at ignition is normal. Anything you can smell in the room with the range switched off is not: turn off the supply, leave the house, and call the gas company before anybody else. That is not a service call and we would rather lose the booking. --- **[Read full article: A burner will not light](https://jennairmiami.support/symptoms/burner-will-not-light/)**