Stove
Clicking
The stove keeps clicking: the gas burners go on making their tick-tick-tick sound after the burner has lit, clicks with every knob off, or clicks on all burners when only one is turned on.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- 5 checks before you book
- 5 questions that narrow it
- 7 causes, cheapest first
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What it
usually means.
A gas stove lights its burners with a spark, and the clicking is the spark module firing. On most stoves turning any knob makes every burner spark at once, which is normal, and the clicking should stop as soon as you turn the knob past the light position. When it carries on, either a switch behind a knob is telling the module to keep sparking, often because it is wet or a knob is not fully off, or, on stoves that relight a flame that goes out, the stove cannot sense the flame and keeps trying. After mopping around the stove or a boil-over that ran into the knobs, clicking that stops once everything dries is common. An electric stove can also click quietly as its elements switch on and off to hold a setting, which is how it works.
The 7 causes, cheapest first
Answer these first
With every knob at off, does the ticking carry on, or do you hear it only while cooking?
Did it start after cleaning the stovetop or after a pot boiled over?
Does it click at one burner or at all of them?
Does the flame look even and blue all the way around the burner that clicks?
Is it a gas stove, or an electric stove making a soft click now and then while cooking?
Check these
before you book.
Stove keeps clicking: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.
Turn every knob firmly to off and see whether the clicking stops.
If you smell gas while it clicks and the burner does not light, turn the knob off, leave the house and call the gas utility from outside.
If it still clicks with every knob off after a spill or cleaning, switch off the stove's breaker or unplug it where the plug is easy to reach, and let it dry for a day.
Also worth checking
- With the stove off and cold, wipe the igniter tip at the clicking burner with a dry toothbrush and make sure the cap sits flat.
- Tell us whether the clicking comes from one burner or all, and whether it happens with the knobs off.
How soon does it need a visit?
Clicking by itself is not dangerous, but it can wear out the spark module and keeps the stove from working properly. Treat it as an emergency only if you smell gas: turn the knob off, leave and call the gas utility from outside.
The causes,
cheapest first.
7 things stove clicking turns out to be, from knob not turned all the way off to stove outlet wired without a proper ground.
The cost guide-
01 no repair
Knob not turned all the way off
A knob resting on the light position keeps the spark going. Turn each knob firmly to its off stop and the clicking should stop.
-
02 no repair
Water or cleaner in the spark switches
Liquid that ran behind the knobs can bridge a switch and keep the spark firing. Leave the stove off and let it dry for a day; a fan pointed at the knobs speeds it up.
-
03 no repair
Normal cycling on an electric stove
Smooth-top and coil elements are switched on and off to hold a medium heat, and some make a soft click each time. That sound is normal and does not need a repair.
-
04 low
Dirty or cracked igniter at one burner
On stoves that relight a burner automatically, grease on the igniter tip or a cracked ceramic can stop the stove sensing the flame, so it keeps sparking even while the burner is lit.
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05 low
Spark switch worn or shorted
Each knob has a small switch that triggers the spark. When one fails in the on position, the stove clicks with every knob off until the switch is replaced.
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06 low to moderate
Spark module failing
A module that sparks by itself, or clicks irregularly with a weak spark, can need replacing once the switches have been ruled out.
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07 moderate
Stove outlet wired without a proper ground
Stoves that relight a burner automatically sense the flame through ground. An outlet with its wires swapped or its ground missing can make the stove click without end.
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What it costs
Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side
Open the cost guide
What else
it could be.
Most often confused with gas stove won't light, then stove burner not working.
All problems
The makes
it happens on.
32 makes on this site; stove clicking can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.
All 32 brandsStove Clicking,
where we come out.
9 metros, each with its own page.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions about
stove clicking.
Why do all the burners click when I turn on just one?
My stove started clicking after I mopped the floor. Will it stop?
Is it safe to leave the stove clicking overnight?
My electric stove clicks while cooking. Is that normal?
Back to your everyday
Still seeing stove clicking?
Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.