Customer Questions and Answers for Burner Switch (Surface Element Control) by Whirlpool

Hello Joe, There are only four components in the ignition system. The spark module 12001596, the ignitor WP3412D024-09, the start switch WP7403P367-60, and the harness. The first thing I would look for is a dropped ground. It is a common problem for a spill to cause a poor connection to ground as the ground wire is generally connected to a steel plate and it's connected to another, until you finally get to the chassis. Loosen and retighten all of the screws you can get to as this will many times clear the problem. When you turn on one of the burners they will all "click". If none of the ignitors are firing when you try any of the burners, you probably have a bad spark module. If they all work unless you try the one, it's probably a switch on the valve or a bad ignitor or wiring (ground). Remember, you have multiple parts so you can try a switch from a neighboring burner and if it works then, you have a bad switch. To try a different ignitor, you can temporarily swap the wires to the inoperative one to the one that works. This will enable you to try all parts until you have narrowed the problem down to the one that's defective. Let us know if we can assist you any further.