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I have looked all over the internet and have not been able to find the answer for my problem. I have a Whirlpool gas oven / range that will not heat up. The gas burners on top work just fine. I just replaced the "glow" ignitor thinking that was the problem but it still won't light.

When I turn the oven to bake, the element lights up really bright, the gas turns on, I can hear it and smell it, but it just sits there letting gas out and never ignites. I stuck a grill lighter in by where the gas comes out of the holes in the long metal tube and was able to light it up manually just fine.

Please help! Thanks!

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  • Does the gas valve not shut the gas down after the ignition failure?
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Commented Sep 30, 2015 at 23:08
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    Has the oven ever worked? What is the model number of the oven?
    – Tester101
    Commented Sep 30, 2015 at 23:36
  • @Tester101 - I agree. More detailed information would be helpful.
    – user39367
    Commented Sep 30, 2015 at 23:58
  • @ThreePhaseEel No the gas valve does not shut off after ignition failure, it just continues to let gas run into the oven.
    – Kyle Beam
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 13:15
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    I presume you replaced the range to fix the oven problem, but if you do have a similar problem in the future, then go with Chris' Answer. Your igniter just wasn't close enough to the gas or the gas wasn't flowing close enough to the igniter or the connection of the 2 were blocked by grease build-up, carbon, corrosion build-up (clear those by poking them clean with a pin) or a gas reflector fin was bent out of alignment (just bend it or them back to a funnel aimed at the igniter element).
    – Iggy
    Commented Oct 4, 2016 at 14:33

2 Answers 2

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Rather than my making too many assumptions, I will say only that having the fuel-air mixture a bit wrong can cause flame ignition problems. Also, if the ignitor is poorly positioned or the gas flow to the ignitor is impeded in some way, that can also cause flame ignition problems.

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  • When I replaced the ignitor, there was no way to move it to a different position than it had previously been in. How would I modify the fuel-air mixture?
    – Kyle Beam
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 13:21
  • Since the oven used to work reliably, I would look for obstructions near the intake air orifices or inside the burner tubes, something like a spider web. A mixture problem might be due to a failed gas valve adjustment or debris in the valve itself, which would require an experienced tech and is not something I can help you with here.
    – user39367
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 14:09
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Thanks for the responses. Instead of trying to diagnose this issue any further, and spending any more on this oven, we've decided it's time to replace it with something newer.

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