Oven igniters are the parts that light the gas at a Viking oven's bake and broil burners, by glowing red or by sparking.
as used by Viking Appliance Repair Edmonds, (206) 210-3547
06 Care Handbook
Gas Oven Igniter: Glow, Spark and Ageing
For an Edmonds owner with a Viking gas range, an ageing igniter changes how the burner lights long before it stops lighting.
| What you are looking at | Normal | Watch | Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glow igniter, call for heat to flame | Glows, then lights smoothly | Glows longer than it used to | Glows bright, burner never lights |
| Glow igniter, flame once lit | A full, steady flame | A small, lazy flame, slow climb | Too little flame to heat up |
| Spark ignition, where fitted | A few clicks, then flame and quiet | Several rounds of clicking before it catches | Clicks, stops, and stays unlit until reset |
Glow igniters and the current they must pass
Which igniter a Viking gas oven uses goes by generation, not by whether it self-cleans. The 48-inch Professional gas self-clean ranges light their bake and infrared burners with a glo-bar igniter, and the service manual lists glow-coil ignition for the VGSC305 too.
A glow coil is wired in series with the gas valve. Viking’s service manual puts the working point at roughly 3.2 to 3.6 amps: there a bi-metal arm bends and gas reaches the igniter. Below it, the valve opens only partly.
That is how they age. The igniter keeps glowing, often brightly, while its current drifts down, so lighting comes later and the flame gets smaller. A slow preheat is often the first sign, as the Field Note on a slow Viking oven explains.
Spark ignition and the lockout
The VGSC306, VGSC366 and VGSC486 generation uses direct spark with flame sense instead. The control opens the valve, sparks and looks for flame, usually within a couple of sparks. If none is found it shuts the gas, waits through a purge pause and tries again; after several failures it locks out. After an outage it needs a minute to reset.
What an owner can check
Check the breaker and note how the oven lights from cold. Never light an oven burner with a match. If you smell gas, shut the oven off, go outside with everyone, and contact the gas utility or 911 from there.
Measuring the ignition system is Viking oven repair. Replacement cost sits on the oven igniter replacement page.
Oven igniters: questions owners ask
- What does a bright glow with no flame say about the current?
- On a glow-coil oven, that it may be too low. Viking's service manual notes that an igniter can glow and still be defective, because the gas valve opens only when enough current flows through the igniter circuit. Viking Appliance Repair Edmonds measures that current before replacing anything; call (206) 210-3547.
- How is a Viking spark-ignition oven reset?
- On the VGSC306, VGSC366 and VGSC486 ranges the ignition control locks out after failing to light, and resets when bake or broil is turned off and back on. Do that once. If it locks out again, leave it off and call Viking Appliance Repair Edmonds on (206) 210-3547.
- Can I use my gas oven during a power cut?
- No. Viking's guide for its Professional gas self-clean ranges says the electric igniters will not work in a power failure and the oven must not be operated. Leave the controls off until power returns. If it will not light afterwards, Viking Appliance Repair Edmonds can check it on (206) 210-3547.
- Signed
- Hollis Yamada
- Specialism
- Service technician — refrigeration and cooking
- Years in practice
- 21
- Holds
- EPA Section 608 certified
