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.