--- title: "Cooktops" description: "GE cooktops: drop-in cooktops in all three technologies. The most common call is a single burner or zone that stopped, and the most common surprise is that a…" url: "https://gemiami.support/appliances/cooktop/" date_modified: "2026-08-31" Appliance type: "Cooktops" --- # GE cooktops ### Three technologies, three failure patterns Radiant elements burn out and switches stick. Gas burners clog and igniters weaken. Induction fails in its electronics, zone by zone, and protects itself by switching off. Knowing which one is under the glass changes the first question we ask. ### The pan is part of the appliance On radiant and induction surfaces the cookware is not an accessory, it is half the heat transfer. GE publishes guidance on this because the complaint reaches them constantly, and a fair share of cooktop service calls end with a demonstration rather than a part. ### What we bring Elements, switches, igniters and spark modules travel with us. Coil electronics on induction are ordered against the model, which is why the model number on the first call shortens the whole job. ### Cracked glass is where we stop A cracked ceramic surface is an electrical safety issue the moment anything spills through it, and on induction it also exposes the coils beneath. This is the one cooktop symptom we will not advise living with, and the one where the honest answer is often a surface replacement rather than a repair. ### What a single dead zone tells us Good news, usually. A failed control normally takes more than one zone with it, so one zone out while the rest work points at that zone’s element, switch or coil — all of which are ordinary parts. It is the appliances where everything stops at once that need the more expensive conversation. Electric radiant · gas · induction Cooktop repair Radiant, gas and induction A single dead zone is usually not the whole board Cracked glass is a safety stop, not a wait-and-see Three technologies, three failure patterns Radiant elements burn out and switches stick. Gas burners clog and igniters weaken. Induction fails in its electronics, zone by zone, and protects itself by switching off. Knowing which one is under the glass changes the first question we ask. The pan is part of the appliance On radiant and induction surfaces the cookware is not an accessory, it is half the heat transfer. GE publishes guidance on this because the complaint reaches them constantly, and a fair share of cooktop service calls end with a demonstration rather than a part. What we bring Elements, switches, igniters and spark modules travel with us. Coil electronics on induction are ordered against the model, which is why the model number on the first call shortens the whole job. Cracked glass is where we stop A cracked ceramic surface is an electrical safety issue the moment anything spills through it, and on induction it also exposes the coils beneath. This is the one cooktop symptom we will not advise living with, and the one where the honest answer is often a surface replacement rather than a repair. What a single dead zone tells us Good news, usually. A failed control normally takes more than one zone with it, so one zone out while the rest work points at that zone’s element, switch or coil — all of which are ordinary parts. It is the appliances where everything stops at once that need the more expensive conversation. ### One zone stopped working and the rest are fine. On a radiant top that is usually the element or its switch rather than the control, which is good news on price. On induction it is more often the coil's own electronics. Either way, a single zone failing alone points away from the board — a failed control usually takes more than one zone with it. ### It heats unevenly and food cooks in a ring. Before anybody replaces anything, GE's own guidance is about the pan: radiant glass needs flat, medium or heavy-weight cookware, because the heat crosses by contact. A warped or light pan touches the glass in a ring and cooks in one. This is the cheapest answer we ever give and it is right often enough to always check first. ### The glass is cracked but it still works. Stop using it. A cracked ceramic surface is an electrical safety issue once anything spills through it, and on induction it also exposes the coils beneath. This is the one cooktop symptom we will not advise living with. ### My induction top turns itself off during cooking. Usually protection working correctly: an overheated coil, a blocked vent underneath, or a pan the surface no longer detects. Induction cooktops shut a zone down rather than damage themselves, so a top that cuts out repeatedly is reporting something rather than failing at random. --- **[Read full article: Cooktops](https://gemiami.support/appliances/cooktop/)**