Electric Range Burner Won't Heat in West Hollywood — How to Diagnose

You turn the knob on the stovetop, the indicator light comes on, but the burner stays cold. Or it heats up halfway and then stops. Or one specific burner has stopped working entirely while the others still work fine. Electric range burner problems are some of the easier appliance issues to diagnose, and on coil-style ranges, sometimes you can swap parts yourself in five minutes.

Many West Hollywood condos and remodeled apartments have moved to glass-top electric ranges, while older buildings around Fairfax, Beverly Grove, and Mid-Wilshire often still have the classic coil-style ranges. The diagnosis is similar, but the parts and the fix are very different. Here's how to figure out what's wrong.

First: which type of electric range do you have?

Coil-style: The burner is a curly metal coil that you can see and lift up. The coil plugs into a socket under the surface. These are easy to service yourself — most parts are not bolted in, just plugged in.

Glass-top (smooth-top): Flat ceramic glass surface with the heating element underneath. Element is hidden, the surface is one piece, and any service requires lifting the cooktop. Much harder to DIY.

Induction: Looks like glass-top but uses magnetic coils instead of resistance heat. Diagnostic is different and almost always requires a tech.

For coil-style ranges

1. Try the swap test (the easiest diagnostic)

This is the single best diagnostic trick for coil-style ranges. Turn the range off and let the burners cool down. Then:

1. Lift the dead burner coil — it pulls straight up and out of its socket.
2. Take a working burner of the same size from another position on the range and plug it into the dead burner's socket.
3. Turn it on.

If the swapped (working) coil now heats in the dead position → the original coil is bad. Buy a replacement coil for your range model and plug it in. Five-minute fix.

If the swapped coil also doesn't heat in that position → the coil is fine. The problem is the socket (called the "burner receptacle") or the infinite switch behind the control knob. That needs a technician.

2. Check the burner socket for damage

If the coil is good but the socket is the problem, lift the cooktop (most coil-style ranges have a hinged top — lift from the front edge). Look at the back of the burner socket. Burnt, melted, or charred contacts mean the receptacle needs to be replaced. This is a tech job because it involves wiring inside the range body.

3. Infinite switch failure

The infinite switch is the device behind the control knob that turns power to the burner on and off in pulses. If the switch fails, the burner gets either no power, full power constantly, or unstable power. You'll often notice the burner running too hot or stuck on high regardless of where you turn the knob. Tech replacement.

For glass-top ranges

1. Make sure the right surface element is being used

Glass-top ranges have multiple zones, and they don't all look the same. The bigger zones use more wattage. If you're trying to use a small zone for a big pot, the pot may not contact the element correctly. Try the same pot on a different zone to see if heating works there.

2. Check the indicator lights

Most glass-tops have a "Hot Surface" light that comes on when the element is energized. If you turn the burner on and the light doesn't come on at all → the issue is upstream of the element (control board, switch, wiring). If the light comes on but no heat → the element itself is likely failed or has a broken connection.

3. Listen carefully

Glass-top elements cycle on and off — you'll usually hear a faint click when they energize. No click and no heat = control issue. Click but no heat = element failure.

Glass-top element replacement is a technician job. The cooktop has to be lifted, the element disconnected, and the new one bolted in. Cracked glass tops sometimes get mistaken for element failure — check carefully for cracks before assuming it's electrical.

For all electric ranges — common causes

The whole range is dead, not just one burner

If no burners and no oven works, the issue is at the breaker or the power cord. Electric ranges use a 240-volt circuit with a dedicated breaker — usually a double-pole 40A or 50A in the panel. A tripped breaker takes out the whole range. A loose connection at the wall outlet (more common in older WeHo houses where the range has been moved many times) can also kill power.

What to check: Reset the range breaker. Make sure the range is fully plugged in (some ranges plug into a wall outlet, others are hard-wired).

Multiple burners weak — but not completely dead

If two or more burners run hot but not full power, you may be running on a single 120V leg instead of full 240V. This means one of the two hot legs from the breaker is broken — at the breaker, the cord, or the connection inside the range. Always a tech job, and it's important not to keep using the range like that because the wiring is under stress.

Electronic control board fault

On modern glass-top ranges with digital touch controls, the control board can fail in ways that affect specific burners. Symptoms: one burner won't respond to its touch input, error codes flash, or the burner gets stuck on. Board diagnostic and replacement is a technician fix.

What you can safely check

• Try the swap test on coil ranges (with the range off and cool).
• Reset the breaker for the range.
• Check the indicator lights to see if power is reaching the burner.
• Look for cracks in glass-top surfaces — sometimes mistaken for element failure.
• Note the brand, model number, and exactly which burner is the problem before calling.

What you should not touch

Don't open the back of an electric range or pull the cooktop apart yourself. Even when unplugged, the wiring inside is heavy gauge and connections can spark if you accidentally short something.

Don't run a glass-top range with a cracked surface. Liquid can drip into the electrical compartment, and broken glass under heat can shatter further.

Don't attempt to use the oven if all burners are dead. If the whole range is out, leave it off and call us — running half-powered electric components can damage the range and trip the breaker repeatedly.

When to call our technicians

Call us if:

• The swap test confirms the coil is fine but the socket or switch is bad
• You have a glass-top range and any element won't heat
• The whole range is dead and resetting the breaker didn't help
• You see burnt or melted contacts inside the range
• The display panel shows an error code

We service electric ranges across West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Fairfax, Beverly Grove, Mid-Wilshire, and the Miracle Mile area. Most surface element repairs we finish in one visit. For more on what we cover, see our oven and range repair service page, or check the West Hollywood service area page for full coverage.