Aftermarket Replacement for Kenmore Gas Oven Range Ignitor Igniter Norton-501a

My daughter's stove in the house she rents is very old, if I remember correctly, around 1998, the igniter out of her's didn't have any writing on it, so I had to try and find the right one by cross referencing, which wasn't easy because the model number of her stove is so old it was hard to find, but after a bit of researching, I finally was confident I found the right one at the right price, it's been a few weeks and all us good, the igniter works perfectly, and the old stove is back to working as it should. Take your time, if you do it yourself, and take pictures if you need to, before you take the okd one out, it's a fairly simple job. Just be sure you do it correctly, after all you are replacing something that makes fire, if you have any doubts, get someone who can be trusted with this kind of job, if you have to call a professional, but it probably won't be cheap and remember they make mistakes too, so for this kind of job make sure they're reputable. I would recommend the part, I really don't care if it lasts only a year, the job is easy enough that I wouldn't mind doing it again, but only time will tell how long it lasts, for the price, I'm not concerned, just look at any of the appliance websites, their prices are astronomical in comparison, then you have to pay for shipping.

After our stove wouldn't heat past 179 I researched the problem on the internet and everything pointed at the igniter being the culprit. After watching several you tube videos I was confident I could repair it. I have a Kenmore model 790.78853606 freestanding range. It is actually made by Frigidaire. I was in sticker shock when I priced the OEM igniter. I didn't want to spend a 100 and find out my skills were not what I thought. So for less than 20 dollars I took a chance on this igniter. Installation should have taken 20 minutes but I dropped a screw and had to take a lot more of the oven apart to find it. 45 minutes later and a lot of cursing I found the screw and finished the installation. It involved splicing the wiring with the included wire nuts and I also had to bend the bottom mounting tab because the original didn't have one and the space was too tight for it to fit correctly. The stove now works perfectly. So to save 80 dollars I had to bend a tab and splice two wires. Well worth the savings. I proudly showed my wife the now working stove and mentioned my virtues as a manly man. I asked for a cake as payment. After all, I deserved it. I had saved a ton of cash repairing the stove myself. I got a no way. sigh

Fixed a friends oven a year ago, a year later I am fixing it again same issue. Burnt out hot surface igniter. now before I start in here let me just say seller (partshousesupply) and manufacturer (norton) both get 5 stars. I am making my review 5 stars because all the things that are about to follow aren't their fault and I would not feel it right to detract from them. Now manufacturers.... (I am looking at you Kenmore, maytag, armana, GE, etc.) The fact that silicon carbide hot surface igniters are still used in consumer ovens is remarkable (and not in a good way). As a matter of fact, as far as I can tell from a quick look, that is the only offering in ovens that use hot surface igniter ignition. Now, just some information here for folks that don't know. Nearly all gas furnace (HVAC) manufacturers have moved on to silicon nitride hot surface igniters. They are pretty much same size as the silicon carbide counterparts, operate the same way and can be produced for relatively near the same cost. There are a couple of key differences though. Silicon Nitride has a much longer duty cycle / lifespan (I'll be conservative and say twice that of silicon carbide). A HVAC furnace has to stop and start pretty often and I think most manufacturers figured out that having a silicon carbide igniter that needs replaced every season probably doesn't lead to a lot of brand loyalty and or repeat buyers. | The other key difference is that silicon nitride igniters have less resistance and therefore are more energy efficient. Sure energy efficacy is great, but it is also the very thing that is preventing you from buying a silicon nitride surface igniter and slapping it on your gas oven. See the gas safety valve in your oven uses bimetal strips for the opening and closing of that valve. Those strips need about 3.2-3.6 amps of current draw to allow that safety valve to open, letting gas flow and lighting your oven. The principal here is not to allow gas to flow to a burnt out igniter as this results in a lot less explosions and fires. So, all you need to do is go find a silicon nitride igniter igniter of the same voltage with enough resistance to cross that 3.6 amp threshold and you are golden. Let me save you some leg work, you won't. All the furnace offerings generally fall at about half that amp draw. Your valve will never open. IT'S ALMOST AS IF IT WERE ENGINEERED SO THAT CONSUMERS CAN'T REPLACE THAT INFERIOR IGNITER. Add to this that the manufacturer makes about $10-20 by placing a norton or supco igniter in a kenmore box and labeling it with their logo and part number. I's a good rub. Now draw your own conclusions here but the only conclusion I come to is that manufacturers are willfully preventing (or doing their best to prevent) customers from installing a better (more longivity) product in the name of profits through questionably unethical, immoral or just plain underhanded practices... depending on your view. As a matter of fact I wouldn't be surprised if the manufactures tell folks like roland and supco "produce a silicon nitride stove igniter and you'll never sell us another one." In short, silicon carbide surface igniters should not be used in stoves while their silicon nitride hvac counterparts serve dutifully for years. Don't take my word for it, go look at forums or discussion groups like reddit and read the lament of people who have replaced these things 6 times or more over the life of their gas ovens... Maybe I have it all wrong but if I do, someone please provide me with a logical and reasonable explanation as to why I can't search for "universal silicon nitride stove igniter" here on amazon and find offerings from companies like norton and supco. Go ahead, I'll wait. But don't tell me "they can't make a lower resistance safety valve to match the silicon nitride ignitors or they can't increase igniter resistance enough to work with 3.6 amp safety valves. It's planned obsolescence and another glaring example of how America let six figure corporate clowns destroy a vibrant manufacturing base known for quality goods in the name of "adding shareholder value". Brought to you by the same folks that brought about the global financial crisis and ultimately the rapid and painful inflation we are dealing with now (all that money had to go somewhere, covid was just a convenient excuse). Perhaps it's the end result of telling children they'll be nothing in life if they end up working on a production line and placing folks who get rich through unethical and immoral decisions on a pedestal.

My oven (Kenmore 790.72809012) was taking a long time for the gas to come on when pre-heating for a few months (10 minutes in some cases) even though the igniter was glowing. Then I noticed that it was having trouble coming back on when it needed to get up to temperature. A couple of times food was noticeably undercooked or taking longer to cook. About 2 weeks later, we turned on the oven to make dinner, and it wouldn't light at all even though the igniter was o. Definitely a dead igniter and this part was what I needed for a good price. I'd never installed an igniter or taken apart an oven before, so it was a bit of a learning experience, but it was not difficult to do. Basic wirecutting/wirestripping tools are needed in addition to the tools to remove the parts that are in your way. Once I figured out which parts to remove and had the right screwdrivers, etc, it took probably about 1 hour. If you are more familiar with the process, you could do it in 15 minutes. When I installed this, I had a very difficult time in getting the wire nuts to grip the wire well enough to stay on. I was able to install the part though, and it worked very well for about 4 days. My oven would light in well under a minute of the igniter receiving power. After four days, disaster struck. One of the wire nuts ended up falling off at some point in those first four days (maybe the heat from them being too close to the burner?, maybe it got jostled?) and that caused a big problem. As the oven turned back on to get up to temperature, I heard a loud pop and there was a smell of burnt out electronics. The igniter immediately lost power and the gas turned off. The wire must have touched something because it ended up shorting out the control board. I had to replace the control board and ended up purchasing another identical item to this. It is working well again, but the repair ended up being a lot more expensive than necessary, and I was without an oven for about a week. Long story short, this part works, but make sure the wire nuts are staying in place. When I installed one of these the second time, I made sure they were attached as well as I could and I pulled the extra wire down through the cavity in the bottom of the oven as much as possible. Hoping that keeping the wire nuts further away from the heat will keep them on longer. Good luck with your repairs!

It repaired my oven. It lights the way it’s supposed to work. I’ve replaced this part every three years or so. I hope I got one that lasts longer.

Bought it June 2021. It just started failing April 2026. Imma do it again and see if I get the same results

Al principio no sabía como ponerlo pues nunca lo había hecho pero me puse a ver videos y rapidito lo armé y funcionó rapido

I have emailed the company with the photo today I am waiting on their reply. Warranty or not this is completely unacceptable; defective. I purchased this oven ignitor for my 11-year-old Kenmore model #790.77489805 (first time needing replacement) at $17.50 far below the OEM price tag of $120 and now I believe the photo demonstrates as to why. OHM showed OL then upon visual inspection it is clear: frayed wire insulation and melted plastic. These are not difficult to install but save yourself the time and money of having to do it twice. Just go to the appliance store and buy OEM in the first place. Will update with company response. Update 12/30/2021: 13 days ago the last communication I got from the seller was: they wanted to know what is the oven ignitor I purchased from them and what oven model I installed it in. So I sent them a copy of the amazon purchase showing all the info plus the oven model. I haven't heard back since. Will have to buy oem from a reliable source. $$$ but better than dealing with crappy companies like this one who don't respond to a faulty product complaint. 2nd update: 1/16/22: No more contact from company. Added a second photo: I remove the igniter from the metal casing and you can see where it melted and one wire pulled out just by handling it. Clearly not a well made product. I purchased and installed an OEM igniter for $112 from an actual appliance store installed it yesterday and is working great. Ignited so much faster and has a much brighter glow. Go OEM on this one. Shipping took longer but that is no surprise these days.

Worked fantastic. Save yourself a service call charge. Easy to install, instructions are clear.

Was exactly as described.

Parfait

I measured the resistance between the two wires and it was 135 ohms. The broken igniter measured infinity i.e. open circuit so it was obviously broken. Installed the new one and fired the oven to 350 Degs. and reached temperature. Everything is working now. Wife is happy to get her oven back.

Poele au gaz