Gas Range Igniter

Problem

The oven won't heat.  There is no glow showing through the slots of the oven bottom.  I did a quick check on the internet and it is clear that the most likely problem is that the igniter has failed.  It is also clear that the repair is fairly easy for DIY.

The purpose of the igniter is to generate heat which in turn open up the gas supply.  When the igniter is not working or when there is no electrical power to the gas range, the oven would not heat.

Looking For Parts

On the front panel of the range is printed XL44.  That means nothing.  The model number is on the side of the oven door frame - JGB519GEP3WH.  I have had this GE range for 26 years and of course the model is no longer available. Looking through the GE website is no help. It does not even have a model number that is close.  Looking through my own record, the igniter actually was replaced in 2004 by professionals.  Too bad they did not write done the part number.

                                          

For me, partselect.ca has been very helpful in locating parts. I searched for the model number, nothing.  I looked into some GE gas range with somewhat similar model numbers and found part numbers for igniters.  These newer models have different igniters for baking and broiling parts, with the flat type igniter for the lower burner for baking and round type igniter for the upper burner for broiling.  The round type is also labelled bake and broil igniter.  It also looks like that there are only these two types of universal igniters that everybody uses.  Well, at least for GE and sister brands.

Opening up the oven confirms that my oven uses the round type for both baking and broiling and I got the replacement part number from partselect.ca - WB2X9154.

Bottom of the oven removed

Igniter attached to the burner inside the oven

I would like to support partselect.ca by shopping there and I have done so before but this time, I found the exact same part on Amazon.ca from Amre Supply, a Canadian company, for $50 dollars less.  The difference is just too big and I went with Amazon.  The igniter is here in less than a week.  Beware that Amazon prices change for no reason and also some of the cheaper ones may come with ridiculous shipping charges.

Old and replacement igniters

Installation

There are many videos on YouTube as well as from some of the parts suppliers showing how it is done.  There are many models of gas ranges out there and they are all different.  I finally found one that looks very similar to my model where he took out the burner and did the wiring before putting the burner back in.  I did not do a video for my repair but interested party can visit this video.

Here are the steps:

1. Unplug the electrical supply; turn off the gas supply.
2. Remove the oven door (optional but it makes life easier) by opening the door slight and slide it up.
3. Remove the oven racks.
4. Remove the oven bottom. Undo the two screws at the back of the oven, lift up the back and slide the panel towards the back to release the front of the panel.
5. Remove the heat shield. Undo the one screw near the front so the shield can slide away from the locating tabs. You can now see the burner in the middle of the oven.
6. Remove the bottom drawer of the oven.
7. Go underneath to the oven drawer space. Look for the two wires coming down from the burner. (This may be different for different ovens).  
8. One wire is plugged in towards the back of this bottom space. Undo it.  The other goes through a hole into the back of a metal panel.  Pull the wire out until the connector is also out.  Unhook the connector. 
9. At the end of the part of the burner that runs down to the bottom space, there is a screw holding the burner end to a seat for the gas supply.  Unscrew it.
10. Go back up to the top, unscrew the burner screw near the front of the oven.  Now, the burner is free to be moved.  There is a little pin at the far end of the long part of the burner that sit is a slot on the oven wall for positioning.  Wiggle the burner out, pulling the wires with it. (Note that other models may have the burner clamped to the back of the oven)
11. The unit is now outside the oven. The igniter is held onto the burner by two screws. Remove the igniter and install the replacement.  
12. The replacement part did not come with the proper connectors but instead came with two ceramic wire nuts.  Cut the two wires on the old igniter to save the connectors.  Strip the wires and use the wire nuts to connect the connectors to the wire on the replacement igniter.
13. Now you have a completed new part!
14. Wiggle the burner back into position.  Make sure that the pin positioning is in place and the burner end in the bottom space goes back to the seat.  Screw on the burner at the bottom space and in the oven cavity.
15. Plug the connectors back in.  For the square plastic connector, make sure you push the connector back through the hole into the back of the oven behind the metal panel.  You don't want the plastic connector to feel too much heat.
16. If you want, you can plug in the electrical power and turn on the gas to see if it is working.
17. Replace the heat shield.
18. Replace the oven bottom,
19. Replace oven rack and door.
20. You are done! 

Bottom drawer removed (step 7)

Install old connectors to the replacement igniter (step 12)

Burner end comes to the drawer level of the oven (step 14)