Oven Igniter

I removed bottom drawer of the kitchen aid oven.I could see the gas valve.I opened the door of the oven and removed plate on bottom of the oven .there was no screws holding it down ,I removed a couple of screw for the burner and took out 2 screws for the heating element . In the back of the oven .there is 2 wires .one goes to the gas valve located behind the bottom draw.you know can see it from the front with the draw removed,than move the oven out and take the 4 screws holding the back plate .you will see the other wire the element plugs into .you unplug 2 wires and a few screws and you are done.you save alot of money and since this happens alot .you can compare this to changinging a light bulb.It needs maintence from time to time.

Although the ignitors glowed brilliant yellow I learned from an expert there are 2 fail modes. 1. that they break and don't glow well enough to ignite the gas or 2. they get resistive over the years and do not pass enough current to open the valve. This is important to know because the current passes through the ignitor before it gets to the valve. If the ignitor resists too much then the valve never gets enough power to open. As evidence you get slow ignitions until one day it stops altogether.

There are 2 ignitors in this oven. one for the broiler and 1 for the oven. The broiler is exposed so easily removed. For the oven you need to remove the flame spreader cover and the flame spreader. Need a good screw driver for all the screws in the oven because they get corroded from the hostile environment and also the factory torques them in pretty good when new. It is hard to get leverage leaning into an oven without leaning on the oven door which could unhinge it. With a good screw driver and getting a good seat into the screw you can break it loose. Then some muscle power to get it out. 1 screw refused to come out all the way so I grabbed it with some pliers and pulled and twisted it out. A trick I learned from my days as a mechanic is to use valve lapping compound on the screw driver. The diamond dust bites into the screw for a grip on those really bad ones.

The last tricky part is you have to remove the back cover on the oven, unplug the wires and pull the ignitor out through the oven. When you see the wires in the back you will see insulation packing.
Hint: If your smart you will tie a string to the wires before you pull it though so it is easier to pull the new ignitor wires back the same way. Else you need to use a stick to feel your way through the insulation packing to find the wires.

Hardest part of this job is undoing the screws. The rest is easy.

slide out range shut off main gas.

remove storage drawer.

disconnect supply hose.

remove oven door (esier access to burner assy

remove burner covers. unscrew igniter assy.

remove rear panel, disconect igniter, pull wires through
front, remove igniter.

reverse process to install new igniter.

I researched the problem on the internet, and all of the data led me to believe I had a bad igniter. My husband and I viewed a youtube video about installing a new one, and then I read step by step instructions on another site. We thought we would be able to easily do this ourselves, so we ordered the part from PartSelect, and I received the part within a couple of days. After taking the back off the stove, and the pan off the bottom of the oven, we attached a string and pulled through the old wires, and then attached the new wires on the igniter and pulled them to the back of the stove and connected them. The part was exactly what we needed, and now the stove works like it did when it was brand new! I was very happy with the results! MEF

There were two screws holding the igniter in place but one was stripped and had to be cut off with the Dremel tool. Then it was a matter of removing 3 screws from the back of the oven and disconnecting the two wires to the igniter. The description for the igniter implies that there will be screws but I supplied my own to finish the job.

had to take the stove out to get the back off to replace the part.

Very easy, unscrew the old one remove the back panel tie a string to the wires pull though the front of the oven remove the string tie it to the new ingiter and pull the wires back though the oven back wall and hook up the wires and screw it back into place.

Replaced the oven igniter. The most difficult part for me was getting the stove out to gain access to the back. Used sheet metal to guide the rear legs up onto the tile. Used string to guide the wiring to the rear connectors. The rest was easy and it worked.

I unscrewed the igniter from the top of the oven, and removed the back panel of the stove. I had a friend in the back while I jiggled the two wires to see which ones they where. Then I had to use two pliers to pull the connectors apart. I tied a string to the two wires and pulled them out through the oven and left the string and tied the new wires to the string and pulled the new wires through the back of the stove, and replaced the back and screws.

My son had first removed the 2 screws to disconnect the damaged element. He then removed the element
by pulling it out and disconnected the wires.

I was si grateful when he was able to connect the new igniter so we could have cookies for Christmas...thank you for your very prompt delivery of the element and the ease to reconnect it.