Gas hob switches won't turn or ignite after cleaning

hubb

My wife was cleaning our old Ariston gas hob. She took all the knobs off and cleaned them. She says she didn't use any liquid, just a damp cloth. When she tried to ignite using the electric spark, there was a banging sound and it stopped working. The knobs had also stopped springing back up after pressing for ignition. They seemed stiff and hard to turn. Checked everything and nothing out of line. Even pliers won't turn the metal shaft inside the knob. All we can now use are 2 as they other 2 will not turn and I don't want to force them in case I break the gas connections. What has caused the knobs to stop working ? They were ok the day it happened but slowly got worse.

Now we are stuck with an old Ariston that you can only operate 2 of the 4 hobs (of course the working 2 are the smallest) and I have no idea how to fix this.

Anyone else have this problem and know what to do thanks ?

JohnB47

Wierd. Your missus may have softened/dislodged some old food wate/dirt and the resultant sludge has found it's way onto the shafts of the controls. Also, the banging may have been caused by the spark shorting to the wrong place, again because of the sludge. Although, if she cleaned only the knobs whilst they were off, I can't see how this could have happened. Time for the Spanish Inquisition:p

Unless it's possible to get at the controls and completely dismantle and clean them, all I can suggest is wait for a few days and try turning the shafts gently with pliers to try to break through the dried crud.

hubb

I think it's more than dried crud as they are so stiff. this happened nearly 3 weeks ago and hasn't improved yet.

JohnB47

Are you saying that the two that don't turn are stuck down? Perhaps pushing the knobs back on has forced the shafts in somehow and jammed them. Have you tried pulling on them with pliers? Also, what's the situation with the spark? If those two are stuck down, presumably the spark generater doesn't work now at all?

hubb

No, the spark doesn't work and even with pliers pulling the shaft up makes no difference to the stiffness.

hubb

Anyone please ?

SailorSam

Isn't there a battery ? Could your wife have dislodged a wire ?
I gave the hob a good clean and all the knobs are stiff, they still work but i've been going to spray with WD40, i thought that may help.