Range hoods are incredibly useful tools to have in your kitchen. They are high-quality filtration systems that can improve your home’s environment by reducing smoke, odors, steam, or any other unwanted gas or fumes.
Where they are so helpful, consumers have also complained of the lights flickering too much. And honestly, that can be annoying. Imagine trying to cook with lights constantly flashing above you.
You will not be able to concentrate or even see correctly. So if you, too, are a victim of this, try out these solutions to fix the issue.
Range Hood Lights Flickering
1. Check the Wiring
The most common reason behind the flashing of a range hood’s lights is the wiring. Not all of us have a detailed wiring plan for our houses, so it is difficult to pinpoint precisely where the problem lies.
However, the range hood itself is a good place to start. And most often, it is there where the wiring problems are. You will have to unplug the range hood and then open it to see if there are any problems with its wiring.
Carefully check if anything is broken or damaged. In case there is anything damaged, and you don’t know how to fix it, call in an electrician to fix it for you.
If there are no visible signs of damage, then there is still something you can do: clean the wires. Disconnect all the cables and clean them with rubbing alcohol, along with the bulbs.
Wait for a while until you are entirely confident that all the rubbing alcohol has evaporated, and then plug everything back in its place. This should fix the flickering of lights.
2. Check the Bulb
If you have checked the wiring and there is nothing wrong with it, the next possible culprit is the bulb itself.
Sometimes dirt or other particles manage to enter the bulb’s fixture and damage it. Therefore, you will have to examine it. If you find this suspicion accurate, you will have to clean the fixture and replace the bulbs.
If replacing the bulbs with fresh ones and cleaning out the fixtures does not help, then the problem may not be with the bulbs but with the fixtures. If your fixtures are faulty, then the only solution is to get them replaced.
3. Inspect the Soldered Joints
Soldered joints are those where two items are joined by putting in a filling metal. Sometimes this filling metal may be damaged or somehow removed from its place. So you will have to check the soldered joints and see if you see anything out of place.
If you do, then you will obviously have to fix these joints. If this is the only cause of lights flickering in your range hood, then simply correcting the joints will fix this problem for you.
4. Replace the Circuit Board
Whether or not your range hood has a circuit board depends on the design and model. If you want to check, circuit boards are usually located underneath the range hood or behind it. A circuit board will be a small box with wires and switches.
If you have tried everything else, then replacing the circuit board is an easy solution.
Get yourself a new circuit board; they usually come with instructions on how they should be installed. Take the old board out and replace it with the new one, and your lights will stop flickering!
If you cannot understand the instructions clearly, you can enlist the help of someone who does know how to change the circuit board. You can also watch a tutorial online.
5. Clear Moisture
As the range hood is located directly above the stove tops, it tends to collect a lot of heat and moisture. This can interfere with the range hood working properly and make the lights flicker.
So it is a good idea to clean the range hood regularly. Remove any moisture, dirt, or oil that might have been collected. Dry the range hood and clear it of moisture. This practice should lessen or completely eliminate your problem of lights flickering.
6. Replace the Controller
A possible reason behind the lights of the range hood flickering is a faulty controller. You can easily find a controller at hardware stores, and replacing it is not difficult at all.
You will need only the essential tools, and you can easily change your controller. It is suggested to replace your controller every five years to prevent chances of more considerable damage.
7. Inspect the Switch Assembly
Lights going on and off on the range hood may have something to do with the switch assembly. If your switch assembly has been damaged, you will want to replace it with a new one.
You can reach out to a technician to help you with it. Or, if you are confident enough, you can replace the switch assembly yourself.
8. Use a Delay Circuit
Delay circuits are most commonly used to control flashing lights, and we believe they can be of help here too. It prevents bulbs from flashing by stopping one of the bulbs from coming on too quickly after another has lit up.
But this will only work if your bulbs are burning out or flickering way too much. If that is the case, then replacing them is the better option.
The Bottom Line
Lights flickering anywhere can be problematic, even more so if they are flashing when you are cooking. We hope these fixes are of help to you and that the flickering lights are fixed.
If they are not resolved even after trying all these troubleshooting methods, then we suggest you get the help of someone who is experienced to work out the reason behind the lights flashing and then correct it too.