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Symptom guide / gas stove
The gas burner clicks but will not light
A gas burner that will not light is three free checks and one gas rule: the checks are residue, a cap off its seat and water from the last spill, and the rule is that a smell of gas ends the diagnosis rather than starting it. The safety list on this page opens with an instruction rather than a part: you smell gas while trying to light a burner: stop using the appliance, turn every knob off, open the windows, do not make another ignition attempt, and call the gas supplier - the source puts this ahead of every repair on the page [S1]. That is what puts the gas burner clicks but will not light in the high-risk column, and it is why the machine has to be isolated before any diagnosis. Once the machine is safe to work on, food residue blocking the burner ports is where the search starts — no part needed [S1], about 10 minutes. It is reported as the burner clicks but there is no flame, one burner will not light while the others are fine, it stopped lighting after I cleaned it, the igniter keeps clicking even with the knobs off, there is no clicking sound at all or the flame is small and yellow instead of blue.
medium likelihoodadvanced$305–$442 installedabout 75 minn=223 completed jobs[S2]
the burner clicks but there is no flamethere is no clicking sound at all
The repair the source performs most often on gas equipment - 223 completed igniter jobs - and the reason a stove degrades rather than fails: the electrode still sparks, just not reliably enough to light the gas every time, so one burner becomes fussy before it stops working. The source's warning about doing this by eye is worth keeping: it measures amp draw at the igniter rather than judging the glow, because an igniter that looks perfectly alive is often the failed part.
S2 prices a completed oven igniter replacement at $305-442 with a $352 median across 223 jobs, its most frequently performed gas repair; the same page prices a spark electrode or spark module at $315-576
restricted gas flow, or a burner that lights and then goes out [S1]
medium likelihoodpro$295–$455 installedabout 90 min
the flame is small and yellow instead of blueone burner will not light while the others are fine
Two faults the source groups under the same heading and hands to a technician. A flame that is small, yellow or uneven points at restricted flow - partly blocked ports on the household side, a partly closed or worn burner valve on the technician's. A burner that lights and then dies a few seconds later is the flame-sensing side refusing to keep the gas on, which is a valve or a sensing fault and not an ignition one. Both are gas work: the source's rule is that anything past the cap and the ports belongs to somebody insured for it.
S2 prices a burner assembly, head or burner valve at $295-455 installed and quotes an oven safety valve only after inspection; no part-only figures are published
dead igniter, cracked electrode or failed spark module [S2]
medium likelihoodpro$315–$576 installedabout 90 min
there is no clicking sound at allthe igniter keeps clicking even with the knobs off
The silence is the diagnosis: a stove with no click at all has lost its spark rather than its gas, and the module behind the clicking is the part that decides. The source separates the two ends of this cleanly - continuous clicking with the knobs off is the switch or the module, no clicking ever is the module or a cracked electrode - and both sit in the dearest band on its gas price list.
S2 prices a spark electrode or spark module at $315-576 installed, the widest band in its gas price table; no part-only figure is published
Repair or replace?
The verdict
Work the three free causes first, in the order the source lists them - residue in the ports, a cap off its seat, moisture from the last spill - because between them they explain a stove where every burner clicks and a stove with one stubborn burner, and they cost nothing. If it is past that, the repair is an igniter or a burner valve at roughly $300-455, which is inside the half-of-new-price line on a $600 range and clearly inside it on a pro-style one. A burner that lights and goes out, or a smell of gas, is not a repair decision at all: it is a call. [S2]
gas igniter replaced, on the publisher's range page, from a second published dataset: $352 median, middle half $305–$442 [S2] — n=223 completed jobs[S2]
Only one of the six causes on this page has a published job count - the worn igniter, at 223 completed igniter jobs - and that row is printed above as its own labelled band, with the $352 median and the $305-442 middle half its own page publishes, beside its own count. The five others have none: their sections describe the mechanism and the check, and the sources attach no job count to a blocked burner port, a cap off its seat, moisture in the igniter, restricted gas flow or a dead igniter or spark module. The nearest thing to a published count is the sources' own note that gas valves and regulators are quoted after inspection because they have too few of them on record to publish an honest range. Five of six causes therefore stand without a denominator, stated rather than estimated.
The comparison is $300-455 against a new range from $600, and it is not close - which is why the sources treat gas as the most repair-worthy cooking appliance there is. The exception is the same one they name for ovens: a control board past ten years on a machine already near its 15-17 year life, where the part is affordable but the next failure is already queued behind it.
S3 puts a gas range or oven at 15-17 years, the longest-lived appliance in the kitchen and the reason it calls gas burners simple and rugged; the same source gives the comparison figure used here - a new range at $600-3,000 or more for pro-grade - and its own rule for the decision: under ten years old repair almost always wins, between ten and fifteen a small part is still worth fixing while a control board becomes a closer call
Have a quote?
Put your quote and the age of the unit into the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule, with your own numbers.
the burner clicks but there is no flameone burner will not light while the others are fine
The first of the three causes the source says a household can clear in under ten minutes, and the one behind a stove where every burner clicks without lighting. The gas is arriving and the spark is firing; what has changed is the path the gas takes through the ports around the cap. The source's price list treats this as the no-parts tier explicitly - burner port cleaning, reseating and calibration appear on it at the $99 diagnostic and nothing more, which is the invoice for a visit that finds nothing to replace.
one burner will not light while the others are finethe flame is small and yellow instead of blue
The tell is that it is one burner rather than all of them: a cap that has been knocked a millimetre off its seat sends the gas sideways instead of up through the slots, so the igniter sparks into a mixture that is not where it should be. Reseating it costs nothing, and the source puts it in the same self-fix tier as the residue. A cap that is visibly warped or cracked is the one version of this that needs a part, and S2 prices a burner head or assembly at $295-455 installed rather than a cap alone.
moisture left in the igniter after a spill or a cleaning [S1]
high likelihoodeasyno part neededabout 30 min
it stopped lighting after I cleaned itthe igniter keeps clicking even with the knobs off
The cause with the clearest history in the source's table: a stove that stopped lighting right after it was cleaned, or a burner that will not light after a boil-over. Water in the igniter or under the cap shorts the spark, and the same water in the spark switch is what makes a stove click continuously with every knob turned off. The source's own advice is to wait for it to dry and try again - it is in the you-first column, and only becomes a technician's job if the clicking survives being dry.
What each fix costs
Cause
Cost
Time
DIY?
food residue blocking the burner ports
no part needed
10 min
easy
a burner cap sitting off its seat
no part needed
5 min
easy
moisture left in the igniter after a spill or a cleaning
no part needed
30 min
easy
restricted gas flow, or a burner that lights and then goes out
$295–$455 installed
90 min
pro
worn igniter throwing a weak spark
$305–$442 installed
75 min
advanced
dead igniter, cracked electrode or failed spark module
$315–$576 installed
90 min
pro
A technician visit starts with a diagnostic fee of $99 [S2]. Completed repairs run $295–$455 [S2].
Sources
[S1]Bozmanfix (field guide with a symptom-to-cause table; page updated 2026) (2026-09). the five usual causes (residue in the ports, a misaligned cap, moisture from a spill or cleaning, a worn igniter, restricted gas flow) with the note that three of them are household work in under ten minutes, the symptom table that assigns each complaint to a household or technician fix (every burner affected, one burner only, no lighting after cleaning, continuous clicking, no clicking at all, flame going out, a small yellow flame, a dead stove and sparking at the wrong burner), the gas-smell rule, the brand-specific ignition quirks, and the field guide's warning that an igniter is judged by amp draw rather than by eye
[S2]Bozmanfix (full-ticket medians from 1,988 completed gas oven, range, stove and cooktop repairs; page updated 2026) (2026-09). the $379 median across all 1,988 gas repairs that needed a part, the 873 jobs that landed in the $75-99 bracket as cleared-on-the-spot visits, the gas price table (burner port cleaning, reseating and calibration at the $99 diagnostic with no parts, bake or broil element $294-443, oven igniter $305-442, spark electrode or module $315-576, burner assembly or valve $295-455, switch or touchpad $307-470, temperature sensor $328-528, thermostat $349-705, control board $375-593, safety valve quoted after inspection), the igniter as its most frequently performed gas repair at 223 jobs and a $352 median, the flat $300-500 band with the reason for it, the Florida figure of $395, and the note that a paid calibration service does not exist
[S3]Bozmanfix (lifespan guide with repair-cost comparison; page published July 2026) (2026-07). the 15-17 year life of a gas range or oven against 13-16 for electric and 10-15 for induction, the brand lifespan table, and the replacement comparison used in the decision here - a new range at $600-3,000 or more for pro-grade - together with the rule that a repair almost always wins under ten years old and becomes a closer call for a control board between ten and fifteen
Last verified: 2026-09-29. Prices are US market figures from the sources above; your quote may differ.
Built from a fact record, not from a template: every number above is tied to one of the sources and the record is re-checked against them. Editorial choices (which symptom leads, which cause is the single tell) are kept in a separate block so the facts stay auditable.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to fix a gas stove with this problem?
Completed repairs run $295–$455 according to the sources cited on this page, after a diagnostic fee of $99.
How long does a gas stove last?
The decision rule used on this page works from a planning life of 16 years.
Repair or replace?
Work the three free causes first, in the order the source lists them - residue in the ports, a cap off its seat, moisture from the last spill - because between them they explain a stove where every burner clicks and a stove with one stubborn burner, and they cost nothing. If it is past that, the repair is an igniter or a burner valve at roughly $300-455, which is inside the half-of-new-price line on a $600 range and clearly inside it on a pro-style one. A burner that lights and goes out, or a smell of gas, is not a repair decision at all: it is a call.
