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Official Cooktop parts

Inside a typical cooktop are numerous individual parts and safety mechanisms. When you consider that a gas cooktop produces a flame with a temperature of 3,500 degrees, it's easy to understand that a stove will have various built-in safety features that may activate to protect you from injury or property damage. Besides the built-in safety features, it's common for the heating elements themselves to break down from wear and tear. Electric heating elements can be replaced if you discover that they're faulty. Find the cooktop parts you need at Sears PartsDirect.

Cooktop parts that may break down

  • Surface element switch—On radiant cooktops and coil cooktops, the surface element switch provides power to the heating element. If this part is faulty or broken, the heating element may not reach the proper temperature or even work at all. If the surface element switch is broken, replace it.
  • Surface element—Electric cooktops will have either radiant elements or coil elements. Radiant elements are located underneath the glass surface whereas a coil element will be raised slightly over a drip pan. If you have an electric cooktop that isn't working properly, physical damage to the element may be the issue. If the coils or radiant elements are visibly damaged, replace them.
  • Electronic control board—Many newer cooktops, including those with a digital display or controls, will have an electronic control board inside. If the display on your cooktop isn't working, the issue is most likely the control board, which may also keep the burners from working. If any wires coming from the control board are loose or broken, unplug the cooktop and tighten them or splice the broken wires to restore power to the board and burners.
  • Limiter switch—Radiant cooktops will have a limiter switch inside the cooktop. This part regulates the amount of power going to the heating elements, which prevents them from overheating and causing damage to the glass surface. If the limiter switch isn’t allowing current to flow through the element, then you'll need to replace this switch.
  • Pressure regulator—Gas cooktops will have a pressure regulator that limits the flow of gas to the burners as a safety precaution. If there's gas flowing into the cooktop, but burners will not light or have weak flames, then the pressure regulator may be defective and in need of replacement.

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