The igniter and the gas safety valve sit on one circuit. The valve only opens once enough current has passed through the igniter, so the igniter has two jobs: glow hot enough to light the gas, and carry enough current to tell the valve to release it. An igniter can weaken to the point where it still glows but no longer pulls the current the valve needs, and that mismatch is exactly what “glows but won’t light” looks like.

A healthy igniter draws 3.2 to 3.6 amps, according to Robertshaw’s 41-200 series sell sheet, and at that draw the valve opens and the burner lights in under 60 seconds. Timing the ignition is the free check to run before you order anything: turn the oven on and watch a clock. Past 90 seconds with no flame, the igniter is the likely cause, though a new one isn’t a guaranteed fix, since the valve and the control board downstream of it can cause this same symptom on their own.

One technician in the reviews offered a color read: a dark red glow is a bad sign. That’s the only guidance the research gives on glow color, and it isn’t a test you can lean on by itself.

The number that actually settles it is the current draw, and reading that means working on a live circuit, a job for someone comfortable with live electrical work. What the reading tells you, if someone takes it: inside the 3.2 to 3.6 amp range, the igniter holds spec. Below it, the igniter is the likely point of failure.

Rule Out the Valve and the Board First

The gas safety valve and the control board are the two parts people replace an igniter for by mistake. Both sit downstream of the igniter on the same circuit, and either can produce the identical symptom: the igniter glows, the valve never opens.

In one documented case, a buyer ordered both a new valve and a new igniter. They installed the valve first, and that alone fixed the oven. The igniter went back in the box. It’s one case, not a pattern, but it’s reason enough to rule out the valve and the board before spending on an igniter that may hold spec perfectly well.

Flat and Round Aren’t Interchangeable

Flat and round igniters mount differently and sit at a different distance from the burner. A round igniter won’t bolt into a flat mount, and a flat one won’t reach where a round one belongs.

Across about 135 individual customer reports at AppliancePartsPros, PartSelect and eBay, not one buyer reported ordering the wrong shape. That reassurance covers those three specialist retailers; Amazon blocks automated review fetching, and Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart render review text only in the browser, so none of those marketplace review bodies could be read for this guide.

On Robertshaw’s own sell sheet, the code “501A” marks a connector type that shows up on both flat and round parts in that lineup, and only the part printed with the word “Flat” is actually flat. That’s a fact about Robertshaw’s catalog specifically, not a rule that only a printed word reveals an igniter’s shape elsewhere. The specialist retailer listings simply state flat or round in the product description.

Match the Part to Your Model, Not Your Brand

Match on your exact model number, because the same part number can be the bake igniter on one oven and the broil igniter on another from the same maker. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) means the part was made by or for the oven’s original manufacturer, as opposed to an aftermarket copy. The “AP” and “PS” codes attached to the numbers below are retailer catalog numbers, used by AppliancePartsPros and PartSelect to tag their own listings. “Glow bar” and “igniter” name the same part.

GE’s flat WB13K21 is the bake igniter on a JGBS30DEK3WW, but the broil igniter on a JGB918BEK7BB, where WB13X25261 is the bake part instead. On a JGBP28DED1CT, one round igniter serves both bake and broil. Listed at $57.65 to $59.47 as of the research date.

GE’s round WB2X9154 is listed at $94.95 to $95.01.

The Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid flat kit is 12400035 (AP4012072, W10125528, W10127324), listed at $50.56. It ships as a kit: the igniter, ceramic wire nuts, an insulation pad, a metal mounting bracket, plug ends and instructions. It cross-lists into the Frigidaire 5303935066 flat family, meaning the same kit number turns up in listings for both brands.

W10918546 (AP6037202, PS11770066) is the current number replacing two legacy numbers, W10140611 and WP98005652. If either older number is listed for your model, W10918546 is what you’d order instead.

Frigidaire’s flat igniter is 5303935066 (AP2150412, 316030600, 316428600, 5304515072), listed at $45.30 to $47.25.

A separate Frigidaire entry covers 5304509706, current, and 316489402, the same part under an older number; fit there was researched at the brand level only.

Samsung’s DG94-00520A (AP5577941) fits the NX58H5600SS, NX58F5500SS, NX58J5600SG and NX58M9420SS, listed at $215.56. It does not fit an NX60T8511SS, which takes DG94-01441A, and it does not fit an NX58M6630SS or an NX58K9500WG, both of which take DG94-01012A, now discontinued. One buyer installed DG94-00520A in an NX60T8511SS and the gas would not release. Some aftermarket listings stack other brands’ part numbers onto Samsung igniters as though they fit.

LG’s MEE61841401 (AP5214765, MEE62306201, MEE63084901) fits the LRG3095ST, LRG3061ST and LSG4513ST, listed at $188.36.

Samsung’s and LG’s listed prices run well above every other part named here, which tops out at $94.95. The research doesn’t explain that gap in terms of what the part does differently, and I won’t guess at one.

What Goes Wrong During Install

Before you take anything apart, unplug the range or switch off its breaker, and shut off the gas supply.

The most repeated problem is the connector. A replacement plug can look identical to the original and still not mate with it, or the part can ship with bare leads and no plug at all. One buyer found the new part’s pins were female where the original’s had been male, and cut both connectors off to crimp new ones; others soldered the leads instead.

The ceramic wire nuts some kits include cause their own trouble, missing from the box in some reports and too flimsy in others; the correct technique is to seat the wires in contact, not twist them. The ceramic igniter itself is fragile, both in shipping and during the swap. Mounting screws strip, shear, or go missing during the job.

A buyer used the Frigidaire flat igniter, at $39.60 as that buyer paid, in a Thermador oven in place of the Bosch OEM part at $107.84, because the Bosch leads ran too short. That’s a substitution one buyer made, not a fit this guide recommends.

No review evidence supports the idea that cheap aftermarket igniters fail early. That claim rests on one field report, an aftermarket igniter that failed twice in three months, and on one technician’s opinion. Reported OEM lifespans in the reviews run 6 to 9 years. A listing with no readable track record can be judged on one thing: whether it states its electrical spec, 3.2 to 3.6 amps at 120 volts. No marketplace listing checked for this guide stated that spec.

Access time varies more than the part itself does. The fastest job in the reviews ran 15 minutes, on one GE model. The slowest ran past two hours, with screws that needed penetrating oil to free.

FAQ

How long does a replacement igniter usually last?

Reported lifespans in the reviews run 6 to 9 years.

The igniter is replaced and the oven still won’t light. What’s left?

The valve and the board can cause the same symptom; in the one documented case where a buyer bought both, the valve alone turned out to be the fix.

Are cheap aftermarket igniters worth buying?

Unknown, since their review text sits on marketplaces that couldn’t be read for this research.

Is the bake igniter the same part as the broil igniter on my oven?

It depends on the model, the way a single GE part number can serve bake on one oven and broil on another.

Can I install an oven igniter myself?

Buyers in the reviews praised the how-to videos and the price against a service call, with one 71-year-old first-timer completing the swap from a video alone, though the research has no service-call price to weigh that against.

Sources and Citations

Research checked 31 August 2026.