Your hob is one of the hardest-working appliances in the kitchen. It boils the morning kettle pan, simmers the Sunday roast gravy, and sears whatever you've grabbed from the fishmonger down at Poole Quay. So when it starts misbehaving — a burner that won't light, an induction zone that flashes an error code, or a ceramic top that's stopped heating evenly — it's more than a minor inconvenience.
I'm Alex, the local engineer for Go Assist Bournemouth, and hobs are one of the most common callouts I get. Some faults are genuinely DIY-friendly. Others need a qualified engineer, both for safety reasons and because the diagnostics need proper test equipment. In this guide, I'll walk you through the faults I see most often across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and the surrounding villages — and tell you honestly when you can sort it yourself and when to pick up the phone.
Gas Hob Faults: From Clicking Ignitions to Weak Flames
Gas hobs are still the most popular option in older properties around Westbourne, Southbourne and the Victorian terraces near the town centre. They're reliable, but when something goes wrong, you need to take it seriously — gas is not something to be casual about.
The igniter clicks but won't light
This is probably the most common gas hob complaint I get. You turn the knob, hear that familiar clicking sound, but no flame appears. Nine times out of ten, the cause is a dirty or wet burner cap. After a spill, moisture and food debris collect around the igniter electrode and stop the spark from reaching the gas.
Lift the burner cap and the brass crown beneath it. Give them a wipe with a dry cloth, then use an old toothbrush to clear any crusted bits out of the small holes around the rim. Let everything dry completely — at least an hour — before trying again. If it still won't light, the electrode itself may be cracked, or the spark module behind the panel could be failing. Both are engineer jobs.
Weak or yellow flames
A healthy gas flame should be sharp, blue and stable. If your flames are yellow, lazy, or lifting away from the burner, that's a sign of incomplete combustion. Common causes include blocked burner ports, an incorrect gas-to-air mix, or — more worryingly — a partial gas supply restriction.
Yellow flames produce carbon monoxide. If you've noticed this alongside headaches, drowsiness or condensation on the windows when you cook, stop using the hob immediately and call a Gas Safe registered engineer. This isn't a job to put off until next week.
Smell of gas
If you ever smell gas around your hob, don't try to diagnose it yourself. Turn off the appliance, open windows, don't touch any electrical switches, and call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. Once the immediate risk is dealt with, our team can come and look at the appliance itself. Find out more about our cooker and hob repair service.
Electric and Ceramic Hob Faults
Electric hobs — both the older solid-plate style and the more common ceramic glass-tops — make up a big chunk of the work I do in newer-build estates around Canford Heath and Creekmoor. They're generally simpler than gas, but they have their own quirks.
One or more zones not heating
If a single zone has stopped working but the others are fine, you're usually looking at one of three culprits: a failed radiant element under the glass, a faulty energy regulator (the dial mechanism), or a broken connection in the wiring loom. A multimeter test will tell you which one — but unless you're confident pulling the hob out of the worktop and accessing live mains terminals, this is one to leave to an engineer.
If all zones have stopped, the problem is usually upstream: a tripped breaker, a loose connection at the cooker isolator switch, or a failed main control board. Always check your consumer unit first before assuming the worst.
Cracked ceramic glass
This one comes up a lot. A dropped pan, a heavy chopping board, even thermal shock from a cold wet cloth on a hot zone — and suddenly there's a spider-web crack across your hob. Sadly, this isn't a repair job. Cracked ceramic glass can let liquid through to the elements below and creates a genuine electrocution risk. The whole glass top needs replacing, and depending on the model and age of the hob, it's sometimes more economical to replace the whole appliance.
If you're not sure whether to repair or replace, give us a call. I'll quote you honestly — repairs from £69 — and tell you straight if it's not worth the spend.
Indicator lights staying on
Most ceramic hobs have a residual heat indicator that stays lit until the surface cools. If yours never goes off (even when the hob is stone cold), the temperature sensor or the control board is misreading. It's not dangerous, but it's annoying, and it'll drain a small amount of standby power. A relatively quick fix once you know what to swap.
Induction Hob Faults: Error Codes and Pan Detection
Induction hobs have taken over kitchens across Bournemouth in the last decade — and for good reason. They're fast, efficient and easy to clean. But they're also the most electronically complex of the three types, which means when something goes wrong, the fault codes can be cryptic.
"E" error codes and what they mean
Every manufacturer uses slightly different codes, but the common ones are similar across brands like Bosch, Neff, Siemens and AEG. Here's a quick translation:
- E0 or F0: No pan detected, or wrong pan type
- E1 / E2: Overheating — the internal coils are too hot, usually because of poor ventilation
- E3: Voltage problem — could be a wiring issue or a power surge
- E4 / E5: Sensor fault — the temperature probe is reading incorrectly
- E6: Communication error between the touch panel and the main board
For E0, check your cookware. Induction needs ferrous (magnetic) pans — if a fridge magnet sticks to the base, it'll work. Anything else won't. For all the other codes, you're into engineer territory. Don't keep restarting the hob hoping it'll clear; you risk damaging the inverter board, which is the most expensive component to replace.
Touch controls not responding
This is almost always one of two things: moisture or grease. Wipe the panel completely dry with a clean microfibre, paying attention to the gap around each touch point. If it's still unresponsive, check whether the child lock has been accidentally activated — easy to do when you're cleaning.
If neither of those fixes it, the touch sensor membrane itself may have failed. It's a sealed unit and needs replacing as a complete part. Engineer job, but usually a quick one.
Buzzing or humming during use
A small amount of hum from an induction hob is normal — you're hearing the electromagnetic field interacting with the pan. But loud buzzing, especially at higher power levels, often points to a poor-quality or warped pan. Try a different one. If the noise persists across all your pans, the cooling fan inside the hob may be on its way out, and ignoring it will eventually cause an E1 overheat fault. Better to get it looked at sooner. Our Premium Home Membership includes priority callouts and a 1-year guarantee on repairs for Premium Members, which is worth considering if your hob has been throwing the odd code already.
When to Call an Engineer (and How to Make the Most of the Visit)
I've covered a lot of ground above, so here's a simple rule of thumb: if the fault involves gas, exposed mains wiring, internal electronics, or sealed components, it's an engineer's job. If it involves cleaning, drying, or swapping a pan, you can probably handle it.
The cost-versus-replace question
Hobs aren't cheap to replace. A decent induction model can run £400–£800 fitted, plus the worktop disturbance. A repair, in most cases, comes in well below that. As a rough guide, if the repair quote is more than 50% of the cost of a like-for-like replacement, and the appliance is over 10 years old, replacement is usually the better call. Under those thresholds, repair almost always wins.
I always give an honest steer on this when I'm out on a job — there's no point fixing something that's about to fail elsewhere. If you're weighing it up, our transparent pricing page gives you a baseline so you're not going in blind.
What to have ready when you book
To make the diagnosis faster (and the visit cheaper), have a few details to hand when you call:
- Make and model number (usually on a sticker under the hob or in the manual)
- Age of the appliance, roughly
- The fault — what happens, when, and any error codes
- Whether the issue is on one zone or all zones
- For gas hobs: when it was last serviced
If you can send a quick phone photo of the model sticker before I arrive, even better — it lets me bring the right parts on the first visit, which often turns a two-call job into a one-call fix.
Coverage across the area
We cover the whole BH postcode area — from Poole and Hamworthy across to Christchurch and Highcliffe, plus the inland villages towards Wimborne and Ferndown. Same-day appointments are often available, especially for hob and oven faults where families need their kitchens working. And every repair comes with our standard workmanship guarantee — extended to a full 1-year parts-and-labour cover for Premium Members.
Hobs are one of those appliances you don't think about until they stop working — and then you really think about them. The good news is that most faults are diagnosable in under an hour and fixable within a single visit. The trick is knowing what's a clean-up job and what needs a qualified pair of hands. If you're not sure, give me a ring. I'd rather have a five-minute phone chat and tell you to wipe the burner cap than turn up to charge for something you could've sorted yourself.
Stay safe in the kitchen — and if the hob's playing up, you know where we are.