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4.5
So far the igniter is working well. Installation was simple and while the unit it was replacing only has one tab for installation on the right side of the burner, the ERP IG9998 has mounting tabs on both sides. Depending on the oven, the unused tab may get in the way of installation, in which case, you can simply bend the unused tab out of the way.Installation is quite simple:First unplug the oven; most Kenmore and other similar ovens connect a relay to the neutral line instead of the hot line, thus even when not heating, one line going to the igniter is live at all times when the oven is plugged in.On the old igniter that you want to replace, cut the wire close to the old igniter. After that strip the insulation of the wire about 7mm. On the ERP IG9998, if the pre-stripped wire is not stripped enough (my unit only had around 4mm of the wire stripped), then strip off some additional insulation.After the wires for both ends are properly stripped, twist them together (clockwise), and then twist on the ceramic wire nut as well. Once you have confirmed that it is on firmly, repeat the same process with the other wire.After that, tuck all excess wire below the heating platform, the area near the gas safety valve of the oven remains cool during normal use, thus is a good place to fold all excess wire near.Igniters fail over time, and the failure mode is a gradually increasing resistance. Due to the way that gas safety valves are designed, an igniter that is perfectly capable of lighting a flame, as even when drawing 2 amps instead of 3.6 amps, it gets more than hot enough to ignite the gas. The problem is that the gas safety valve uses a winding of nichrome wire where when 3.3-3.6 amps flows through it, it gets hot enough to change shape enough to open a gas valve. If the resistance of the igniter increases enough that the amperage draw falls below 3.1 amps, then the nichrome wire never gets hot enough to open the gas valve fully. Gas safety values use this design because it ensures that if an electronically controlled oven loses power while running, then the valve automatically closes. Igniters would last far longer if they could make the gas safety valves to work with a minimum of 2.5 amps instead of 3.1 amps.This is also why you will notice where a failing igniter will cause your oven to take a very long time to preheat.PS, if an igniter fails to a short, it will destroy the gas safety valve, since the nichrome wires used will have a very low resistance, often 1 ohm or less, and there are no additional current limiters on the power rail, the igniter itself is effectively the current limiter, thus a short in the igniter will immediately burn out the nichrome wire.Anyway, the igniter works well for restoring normal oven functioning as well as normal preheating speed.
