Gas range spark igniter not igniting

[Mike Hartigan]

I have a Thermador range with the star burners. It works very well for the most part but it seems that the spark igniters often have trouble lighting the burners. They appear to be sparking just fine, but it frequently takes 10 to 15 sparks before the burners ignite. There is a strong odor of gas when it does this, so it doesn't appear that it's being starved. When lit, the flame appears to be adjusted correctly - no yellow flame tips or any other symptoms of misadjustment. The flame envelops the igniter, so the spark is certainly in the right place. This problem is not unique to one burner - all four have the same problem. This is particularly disturbing when using the X-Lo setting (the burner switches on and off on a 1-minute cycle) when typically no one is standing at the stove to turn it off if there's a problem. What might be the problem and how might I go about fixing this?

-Mike

[CJT]

The burners are probably dirty (the holes in them are clogged). Clear them with a piece of wire.

[Mike Hartigan]

No - the burners are the type where the holes, such as they are, are channels (for lack of a better word) cast into the bottom portion of the burner, with a cap on top of that. So there are no holes, as such, and the 'channels' are as clean as a whistle. As I said, the igniter is bathed in flame when it's lit, so there's no problem getting the spark and the gas together.