Stovetop Burner Stuck on High Heat

LESLIE: Raymond in Georgia, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

RAYMOND: I’ve got a dilemma with my last flat-top stove. It’s a Samsung. I’ve had it for about probably close to three years. And my right front burner goes directly to hot and stays there. It has no control. It’s a – you have two burners into one: a small burner and a big burner. And I’m not sure what to exactly do here besides call our appliance person. And I’m just kind of on the poor side trying to figure it out.

TOM: Well, it could be one of two things. It could be the burner, which is replaceable. You do have to disassemble the glass top to do that, to get to that actual element. Or it could be the thermostat itself. In either case, we’re talking about a repair that has to be done here, a product that’s going to – a part that’s going to have to be switched out. Because what you’re describing is obviously not normal, nor does it sound very safe.

So, unfortunately, this is a circumstance where you may need to turn to an expert because we don’t know what parts you’re going to need. And I could send you to a site like RepairClinic.com, for example, where you could order these parts and perhaps get some online instruction on how to do it yourself. But it’s going to be somewhat trial and error, because you just don’t have the tools to determine which part of the circuit has gone bad. Nor do I feel like it’s a really good idea for you to do it yourself unless it’s something you have some significant experience with.

RAYMOND: Sorry to hear that but I kind of understood that was probably what’s going to be the answer anyway. I’ve been playing with it and keep looking around and YouTubed a lot of things. But I haven’t found anything that really helped me.

TOM: Well, there’s only so many parts to these ranges. And it’s got to be either the element or part of the control circuit that’s controlling the element or in your case, not controlling the element. So either way, one or the other has to be replaced.

I mean look, you could call Samsung directly, describe the problem, see if you can get through to customer service or write them and see if they can provide any advice or direction. Perhaps this is something they’re familiar with, something that’s been reported by other customers. Maybe there’s even a recall on it that you’re not aware of. It wouldn’t hurt you to do that before you start spending money.

But I don’t encourage you to do it yourself unless it’s something you’re really comfortable with, because we’re talking about taking apart some electronics here. And if you make an error putting it back together, it could be unsafe. OK?

RAYMOND: Right. I’ve called Samsung and I’ve talked to them and they can’t give me any answers, either. Best thing they were telling me is no different than what you’re telling me it’s about: get an appliance person out there that’s professional, doing the job itself. And of course, again, there’s only so many parts and I’m – I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet.

TOM: Alright. Well, sorry we couldn’t give you more do-it-yourself advice. But sometimes, the best advice we can give you is to tell you to not do it yourself.

Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.