I am puzzled why temperature would have such a big effect on an electronic component, but your evidence does seem to suggest that this would be the case. Instead of questioning it, I'd just get the replacement parts. If that fixes it, then good. No need to question why :-)

If you didn't already know how to get access to the modules, then my answer would be different. But sounds as if you figured all those bit out. Then it's just a matter of buying the spare parts. I suppose Capital uses industry-standard components? If I recall correctly, generic spark igniters cost something on the order of $50. That sounds like a cheap price to pay to get your range working again.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if the official Capital-branded part was much more expensive. That's often the case. So, spend some time and research what you really need (or ask your friendly local appliance repair company, they should know; if in doubt, look for a company that services commercial rather than residential ranges).

Thanks for the supply. The modules are EGO W10116108 which I found online for around $40, but prices vary greatly.

I called Capital today and the tech guy thought that because I heard clicking, that the modules and switches were working(is this true?)He thought it must be a wire. The problem is 3 burners are affected when it's cold. I looked at the wiring again and all looks good, no wires touching metal anywhere that I can see. Doesn't make sense that 3 wires out of 4 going to the burners would be causing trouble. He countered with it doesn't make sense that 3 out of 4 modules would be defective at the same time.

I have moved the "good burner" assembly to other locations and the spark is not as strong, so it's not the ignitors. There is only 1 knob that when I press, the spark is strong. Less time between clicks and stronger sparks.

So, my question would be is the tech guy correct is saying that any clicking sound when knob is pressed mean that both the switch and module are working correctly? Can a module slowly degrade over time and slowly produce a weaker spark?....and how does cold weather in the kitchen factor in to any of this?

I personally have never seen any of these problems, so it's hard to guess. Your approach with moving parts around to narrow down the root cause sounds good to me. I think it is more typical for spark igniters to either work or not work, but I could see how condensation or contamination could cause problems with creepage.

In my experience, any time I heard clicking, but didn't actually see sparks, it was always caused by the igniter wires passing too closely to some other metal surface and shorting out. If you looked carefully, you could actually see the spark happen where the wire touched the metal, instead of happening at the igniter.

But all my experience is with Bluestar. I suspect a lot of this knowledge is transferable to Capital, but might need some tweaking to apply.

do you mean wire touching metal even when encased in the protective plastic...or a fray in the plastic and the wire itself actually touching metal?

I see no frays , but the wires are zip tied together with one going to front burner and one to back, and they are certainly touching the metal pan. When I seperate a bit and have one not touching, the clicking sound is still much slower than the one that always works.

When I push the knobs in, 1 is a very fast clicking sound and spark is produced at a much faster rate than the other 3. This will produce a spark when kitchen is cold The others light the burners effectively on most occasions, but when kitchen is cold, as I said, the slower clicking knobs sometimes click but don't produce any spark. When warmer, they will click at the same slower speed, but will produce a spark. Once they produce that first spark, they will continually work when I turn off, then back on. It seems like something has "warmed" up to the point that it will work effectively.

I was hoping it was the modules, but it appears you are agreeing with the Capital tech guy...that modules work or they don't, no in between?

So you don't think it's possible that modules can become less effective as they age and not be able to produce the spark needed(especially when cold)?

Of course, I can easily test by switching in a new module, but I have a stripped bolt that I need to deal with to get the face plate off..ugh.

I have actually seen sparks from insulated wires. I think, it's just a bad combination of just how the wires are routed, and how much grime helps reduce insulation. Shifting the wires around has resulted in distinct improvements.

The other thing that I have noticed causing problems are bad connections to ground. If the burner heads aren't properly seated or if the igniters aren't installed tightly, sparks sometimes don't work.

You comment about "slower speed" has me puzzled. That might indicate a problem with the module. Normally, speed shouldn't be affected by sparks happening in places, where they aren't intended.

So, I would work on fixing that stripped bolt and switching out spark modules -- or at least rotating spark modules around. Keep us posted what you discover.

The clicking sound is the spark itself. It just may not be occurring in the location that it should be.

See if you can audibly locate it. Using a paper tube as a make shift stethoscope can sometimes help.

John or M,

What would this indicate to you. If I unplug the wires to the igniters and then press the knobs in as I would to ignite the burners, the clicking sounds are different coming from each knob pressed. The knob that controls the igniter that sparks the best will have a faster clicking sound. The weakest will have the slowest clicking sound, meaning more time between clicks.

If the spark modules sound different when nothing is connected to them, that certainly suggests that there might be differences between them ... and that possibly one or more of the modules might be defective. So, you could either go ahead and order a few replacements, or you could rotate them around to corroborate your hypothesis. I guess, it's time to get started working on that stripped bolt.

thanks.....screw extractor coming on Sunday. I do have a replacement module I can swap out to test if they are the problem. 3 out of 4 clicking slower than normal does sound fishy though. 8 years old.

Good luck with the screw extractor. I have tried many times, but they never really worked well for me. In the end, I usually just drill out the old screw and then maybe tap a new thread.

Ideally, things should last forever. In practice, after 8 years, I can accept if some minor defects and wear/tear shows up. At that point, what matters is how difficult/expensive the repair will be. If it's easy to pull out and if it's a standard component, then I won't complain too much. Hopefully, this is one of those cases.

Having said that, 8 years is a little early for a spark module to die. But maybe, Capital just had bad luck and bought a bad batch from their supplier. You could call their customer support and ask them if this is a known problem with this model year? Or substitute with a different but equivalent brand?

the module they are shipping now is different from what was originally installed, so we shall see. I'm hoping the extractor will work, it's not like the bolt is rusted or embedded in a hard material. I stripped it re-attaching with power drill set too high. Hopefully it will spin easily if the extractor can grip it at all.

Follow up.

So, I first put a new switch in one of the burners that was clicking slowly...no improvement.

Next, I swapped out the wire from the module to the igniter on a "good burner" to a slow clicking burner-no improvement.

Lastly, I put in a brand new spark module on a slow clicking burner and the clicking speed was fixed...much faster. I would like to confirm on a cold morning, but I'm pretty sure it will be fine, the clicking speed was vastly improved.

I will say, Capital didn't make it easy to get to the modules and the module they sent didn't quite match up. I could only secure to the unit with one screw, bottom hole did not line up. The 2 wires from the switch went in the bottom of the original module, but had to snap in from the top on the replacement module. This meant undoing some zip ties and re-arranging the wires for enough play.

I only had 1 replacement module, now I need to order 2 more and take apart again at some point.

The original module was SKG Model AT413.00A

The replacement was E.G.O W10116108

I have a 2013 Capital Range and replaced OEM SKG Model AT413.00A with E.G.O W10116108. This is for the front middle burner of a six burner range. I have the constant clicking issue. I did all the appropriate cleaning as recommended by various posts in Houzz. Only thing I can think of is that my connections are incorrect. I matched the N (2 white wires) and L (black wire) connections with the N and L1 on the EGO module. I connected the connector (orange wire) from the old module and hooked it up to the connector on the end opposite of the N/L connectors. There is a C-shaped connector by the N/L connectors. No more wires left to connect so left it bare.

This is frustrating. Gregg, with I could email you with a discussion but not possible with Houzz. Hope you see this.

Looking at this photo:

https://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-Part-Number-W10116108-REIGNITOR/dp/B003UGUQ5A

There is a depiction of a C-shaped connector labelled "Earth". This should be connected to the chassis of the range so that it is at the same electrical potential (voltage) as the destination of the spark (the burner?).

Be very careful. You are dealing with potentially deadly voltages and explosive gas. If you do not have experience with this type of work, you should hire someone who does.