We just bought an older house with a jenn air cook top but the pilots are out. How do we light them?
First, you need to look below the cooktop to find the gasline. There is supposed to be a shutoff valve on this gasline. Turn the handle so it is parallel with the gasline (perpendicular is closed) to open it. Before lighting anything, smell around high and low around the cooktop and make sure you do not smell any gas. You can also spray soapy water on all the gasline fittings to detect leaks by looking for bubbles that form. If all is safe, using a long butane lighter, light the pilots for the cooktop. There should be 1 pilot for every 2 burners. You will probably have to remove the grates and metal spill covers to light the pilots. The pilot should be approx 3/8" tall or less. Test each burner individually to make sure they light off the pilot. If they do not, you may need to clean the vertical holes on the side of the burner (where the lighting tunnel connects) by poking them clean with a needle. If the horizontal burner holes are clogged, clean them as well. If there is also a built-in wall gas oven, be sure to light that pilot on that as well. Good luck. Douglas
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