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We have a 2016 Kenmore gas range practically identical to this one.

For about a year now, when trying to light the rear-right (5K BTU) simmer burner the following happens:

  • The spark activates and stays activated
  • Gas is emitted
  • The burner doesn't light
  • Sometimes it causes the clock to reset as if a power outage happened

The other burners do not exhibit this behavior.

Does this sound homeowner service-able? I'm comfortable with gas, electricity, and opening appliances.

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MonkeyZeus
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2 Answers2

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From first sight and googling it seems like you have degraded insulation in wiring. It seems that lifting the top of the range and inspecting wires should be helpful, and not very difficult for careful DIYer.

aaaaa says reinstate Monica
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5

TL;DR

I found that the simmer burner was severely caked up with something that overflowed at some point so I gave it a boiling water bath with Dawn dish soap.

I think the spark wasn't making proper contact with the metal burner and causing an arc which was shorting the clock. The weird part is that any knob activates all sparks at once so this symptom should have been present regardless of burner. ¯\(ツ)/¯

With the help of this answer, I finally got off my butt and opened up the stove top.

The burner is working properly now so I think I'm all set but below are all the things I did:

  1. Turn off gas and unplug stove
  2. Remove grates
  3. Remove burner caps (soak in boiling water)
  4. Remove burners (soak in boiling water)
  5. Unscrew gas nozzles from stove top
  6. Remove front knobs (soak in boiling water)
  7. Remove front knob cover plate using 4 screws from below
  8. Remove 2 screws below the edge of the stove top
    • This stove does not use push-tabs as advertised in some videos I watched
  9. Push gas nozzles down under the stove top
  10. Slide stove top towards self and lift up
  11. Remove and re-insert all spark wire leads from distribution box
  12. Clean gas orifices using a needle
    • Mine didn't seem dirty but I'm already in this deep =)
    • Do not use a toothpick because the wood can break off and cause a gas clog
  13. Scrub down all the boiled items with a stiff bristled dish brush and dry them off
  14. Re-install everything
MonkeyZeus
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  • You forgot to mention how you got boiling water with the stove disabled. :D – FreeMan Aug 08 '23 at 13:01
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    @FreeMan I was wondering if anyone would catch on to that! I was like "nahhh" but then you were like "yahhh". I have an electric kettle so I put all the stuff in one pot, added soap, boiled the water, poured the water in, and closed the lid =) – MonkeyZeus Aug 08 '23 at 13:03
  • I figured it was the microwave, but that'll work too. ;) – FreeMan Aug 08 '23 at 13:04
  • And I thought he just used his solar water pasteurizer in the back yard and he cranked it up to produce boiling water. – Jim Stewart Aug 08 '23 at 16:18
  • @JimStewart I mean, who doesn't! – MonkeyZeus Aug 08 '23 at 16:25