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A homeowner in the Altamont neighbourhood of West Vancouver contacted TechVill because every burner on their Wolf CG365T/S 36-inch gas cooktop was sparking but not igniting. On the face of it, “all burners failing” sounds like a multi-burner ignition system problem — multiple spark modules, multiple igniters, a scope of work that would have run into a serious parts quote on a pro-style cooktop. The diagnosis went a different direction.
TechVill technician Shahid started with a cleaning, not a parts order. Inspection of the cooktop showed several burner ports clogged with cooking residue and one burner not responding at all. Before assuming electronic failure on any of the burners, Shahid cleaned the burner ports. The result told the rest of the story.
After cleaning, four of the five burners worked properly. The “spark but no ignite” symptom on most of the cooktop was the burner ports being physically blocked — the spark was firing across its intended air gap, but the gas could not flow cleanly to where the spark would catch it. The fix on those four burners was zero parts and the labour to clean them. With cleaning ruling out the others, the remaining failure was localized to one burner only.
On the remaining failed burner, Shahid accessed the igniter and spark module. The findings: the spark module was burnt (electrical failure — overheating or voltage stress had damaged the module’s output stage), and the igniter ceramic was cracked (mechanical failure — the insulator was physically broken, so the spark was arcing through the crack rather than across the intended air gap). Those are not independent failures. A cracked igniter produces abnormal arcing patterns that stress the module; a failing module delivers inconsistent voltage that accelerates igniter degradation. Both components had to be replaced together — replacing one would put the new component into the same failure-inducing environment that destroyed the original.
Components ordered for the install visit (failed burner only):
- Wolf igniter (part #808135) — produces the spark across the air gap at the burner; the failed unit had a cracked ceramic insulator that diverted the arc and prevented proper ignition
- Wolf spark module (part #829016) — delivers high-voltage pulses to the igniter and reads the flame sensor feedback; the failed unit’s output stage had been damaged by the abnormal arcing pattern of the cracked igniter
The total quoted: $1,064.70 ($1,014 + 5% GST, includes service call). 50% deposit $532.35 CAD was collected on this visit — exact half, math reconciles cleanly. Balance due on install: $532.35.
The shape of the work matters as much as the parts. Cleaning before replacing is a diagnostic discipline that costs the technician a few minutes of labour and saves the customer from a parts list they did not need. Quoting “multi-burner ignition system failure” would have been a defensible call from the symptom description alone — and it would have been wrong on four of the five burners. The cleaning step let the parts diagnosis anchor in what was still broken after the cheap fix was in, not in everything that was complaining at the start of the visit.
Altamont is the third documented West Vancouver case in TechVill’s portfolio, following Caulfeild (Viking refrigerator) and British Properties (Miele downdraft). All three sit among the most affluent residential neighbourhoods on the North Shore. The brand match — Wolf, Viking, Miele across three top-tier West Van addresses — reflects the kitchen specifications that come standard in those communities.
Book online to schedule a Wolf cooktop diagnostic with our team.