What component is likely faulty if the spark ignition continues to spark, but the burner goes out after 60 seconds?

What component is likely faulty if the spark ignition continues to spark, but the burner goes out after 60 seconds?

• A. Flame sensor
• B. Ignition board
• C. Gas valve
• D. Thermocouple

Answer: (B)

The ignition board controls the operation of the ignition system in a gas appliance, including initiating the spark to ignite the burner and monitoring the flame once it is lit. If the spark ignition continues to operate but the burner extinguishes after a short period, this often indicates a problem with the ignition board. It may not be properly recognizing that the burner has ignited, causing it to keep sparking in an attempt to ignite the gas again. In this scenario, a functioning flame sensor would detect the presence of the flame and signal the ignition board to stop sparking, which suggests that the flame sensor is not the issue. The gas valve is responsible for supplying gas to the burner; if it were faulty, you would likely see a different symptom, such as the burner not igniting at all. Similarly, the thermocouple is primarily responsible for shutting off the gas supply if it does not detect a flame, so if it were the cause, the flame would likely stay lit as long as the ignition was active until the gas was cut off. Thus, the behavior observed points towards a malfunction of the ignition board.

The ignition board controls the operation of the ignition system in a gas appliance, including initiating the spark to ignite the burner and monitoring the flame once it is lit. If the spark ignition continues to operate but the burner extinguishes after a short period, this often indicates a problem with the ignition board. It may not be properly recognizing that the burner has ignited, causing it to keep sparking in an attempt to ignite the gas again.

In this scenario, a functioning flame sensor would detect the presence of the flame and signal the ignition board to stop sparking, which suggests that the flame sensor is not the issue. The gas valve is responsible for supplying gas to the burner; if it were faulty, you would likely see a different symptom, such as the burner not igniting at all. Similarly, the thermocouple is primarily responsible for shutting off the gas supply if it does not detect a flame, so if it were the cause, the flame would likely stay lit as long as the ignition was active until the gas was cut off. Thus, the behavior observed points towards a malfunction of the ignition board.