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Smoke hanging under a wall-mount range hood in an empty kitchen, the fan clearly not pulling it.

Start with the symptom

Range hood
problems,
symptom first.

Every symptom we are called out for, traced to the causes that actually explain it — cheapest first. Start from what you are seeing rather than from what you think is broken.

(844) 398-3217

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • 17 symptoms
  • 5 need a visit now
  • Causes in cost order

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Needs a visit now

Five situations come before everything else on this site, because what they put at risk is the person at the burners and the house around them, not the evening meal. A grease fire in a pan: turn the burner off, slide a lid or a flat baking sheet over the pan and leave it there until it is cold, and never throw water on it. If the flames climb into the hood, the filters or the cabinet above, get everyone out, close the door behind you and call 911 from outside. Sparks from the blower or the lights, or a smell of hot plastic and wiring, mean the breaker for the hood goes off at the panel and stays off. A hood that tips, sags or pulls away from the wall or the ceiling means nobody stands under it and nobody cooks under it, and nobody tries to push it back up. In every one of these cases the chimney cover and the blower housing stay closed until a technician arrives.

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Stop cooking under it

Grease Fire Under or Inside a Range Hood

A range hood grease fire begins as a pan of oil that flares on the burner, then flame licks up toward the filters, or a glow and thick smoke appear behind the mesh where years of cooking fat have built up.

Causes, cheapest first

  1. Oil in the pan overheated and caughtno repair
  2. Grease-soaked filters took the flamelow
  3. Grease built up inside the canopy and blowerlow to moderate
All 6 causes and what to check
Stop cooking under it

Hot Electrical or Burning Smell at the Range Hood

A range hood burning smell comes as hot plastic, singed dust or scorched oil near the canopy, often a few minutes after the blower or the lights come on, and sometimes it lingers after everything is switched off.

Causes, cheapest first

  1. Grease on the filters heated by a big panno repair
  2. A light socket or bulb cooking in greaselow
  3. An LED driver or transformer running hotlow to moderate
All 6 causes and what to check
Stop cooking under it

Sparks From a Range Hood Blower or Lights

A range hood sparking shows as bright flashes behind the filters or at a light socket, a snapping or crackling sound over the blower, sometimes a whiff of ozone and a light that blinks out at the same time.

Causes, cheapest first

  1. A reflection mistaken for a sparkno repair
  2. A loose or cracked bulb arcing in its socketlow
  3. Grease inside a light socketlow to moderate
All 6 causes and what to check
Stop cooking under it

Range Hood Keeps Tripping Its Breaker

A range hood tripping breaker cuts power the moment the blower starts, when the lights come on, or after a few minutes of running, and it can also take out a GFCI outlet that the hood shares with the counter.

Causes, cheapest first

  1. Kettle, toaster and hood sharing one circuitno repair
  2. Moisture in a socket or on the boardlow
  3. An LED driver or light that shortedlow to moderate
All 6 causes and what to check
Stop cooking under it

Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling

A range hood pulling away from wall or ceiling shows as a gap opening along the top edge, a canopy that tilts forward, a chimney cover that has slipped out of line, or a hood that shifts and creaks when the blower starts.

Causes, cheapest first

  1. A chimney cover that slid out of linelowest
  2. Screws set into drywall instead of studslow to moderate
  3. A cabinet floor giving way under the hoodmoderate
All 6 causes and what to check

Everything else we are called out for

Nothing here puts anyone in danger. The fan may be slow to clear the steam, a bulb may stay dark, the filters may drip a little grease or the hood may hum louder than it used to, and a regular appointment covers all of it. Each page lists the checks worth making on the ground, with both feet on the floor, before anyone drives out.

The repairs behind them

Range Hood Fan Not Working at Any Speed

A range hood fan not working stays silent on every setting, or hums for a second without spinning, while the lights may still turn on, and smoke from the pans drifts up into the kitchen instead of into the canopy. 6 causes

Range Hood Runs but Barely Pulls Smoke

Range hood weak suction shows as a fan that sounds busy while smoke and steam spill past the canopy edge, cooking smells that fill the house, grease settling on nearby cabinets, and windows that fog when the burners run. 7 causes

Range Hood Too Loud: Roar, Whine or Grinding

A range hood loud noise can be a roar that drowns conversation on every speed, a high whine that grows with age, a grinding or scraping from the blower, or a whistle that appears only on the top setting. 6 causes

Range Hood Rattles or Shakes While It Runs

Range hood rattling sounds like metal ticking or buzzing against metal while the fan runs, and the canopy, the chimney cover or the cabinet above may hum or visibly shake, especially on the higher speeds. 6 causes

Range Hood Lights Out or Flickering

Range hood lights not working may mean one lamp dark while the others glow, every light out while the fan still runs, a flicker that comes and goes, or LEDs that dim to a faint glow after a few minutes. 6 causes

Range Hood Fan Won't Turn Off

A range hood fan won't turn off when its button is pressed, keeps running long after cooking ends, starts on its own when a burner gets hot, or stays on high no matter which setting is chosen. 6 causes

Range Hood Buttons or Keypad Not Responding

Range hood controls not working may leave a keypad lit but deaf to every touch, buttons that need several presses, a slide switch that moves without effect, or a remote or app that no longer reaches the hood. 6 causes

Grease or Oily Water Dripping From the Range Hood

Range hood dripping grease shows as brown or amber drops falling from the filters or the canopy edge onto the burners, a sticky trail down the chimney cover, or oily water beading under the hood after long boiling. 6 causes

Cold Draft or a Flapping Damper Through the Range Hood

A range hood cold air draft is felt as chill air falling from the canopy onto the burners with the fan off, a flapping or tapping from the duct on windy days, or a smell of the outdoors in the kitchen. 6 causes

Range Hood Fan Stuck on One Speed

A range hood stuck on one speed runs only on high, or only on low, or ignores the speed buttons after it starts, and sometimes jumps to full power by itself when the burners are on. 6 causes

Pop-Up Downdraft Vent Not Rising

A downdraft vent not rising stays flush with the counter when its button is pressed, stops partway up, hums without moving, or rises crooked and jams, while its fan may still run with the vent closed. 6 causes

Reading a Range Hood Error Code or Blinking Light

A range hood error code may appear as letters and numbers on a display, a light that blinks in a pattern, a filter reminder that will not clear, or a beep with the fan refusing to start. 7 causes

Not every range hood
breaks the same way.

A wall-mount chimney hood hangs against the tile with its duct hidden in a tall cover, an under-cabinet hood tucks beneath the upper cabinets, an island hood drops from the ceiling over burners set into an island, and an insert is the working heart hidden inside a custom wood or plaster hood. Which one hangs over your burners?

All range hood types
A stainless steel wall-mount chimney range hood fixed to a white subway tile wall in a US home kitchen, the range hood's rectangular chimney cover rising straight to the ceiling, soft steam rising from a pot into the canopy, the range hood filling the upper half of the frame, the cooking surface below cropped and out of focus at the bottom edge.

Wall-mount range hood

The chimney hood fixed to a bare stretch of wall above the burners, its canopy catching the rising smoke while a telescoping cover hides the duct that climbs to the ceiling.

 A slim stainless under-cabinet range hood mounted beneath white shaker wall cabinets in a US home kitchen, the range hood's two lamps glowing onto steam rising from a simmering pot, the range hood and the cabinets above it filling the upper half of the frame, the cooking surface below cropped and out of focus.

Under-cabinet range hood

The slim hood screwed to the bottom of the wall cabinet over the burners, venting up through that cabinet or back through the wall, or cleaning the air and returning it to the room.

 A large stainless island range hood hanging from the ceiling on its four-sided chimney over a kitchen island with a white stone top in a US home, steam rising from a pan into the range hood's canopy, the range hood centered in the upper half of the frame, the burners on the island below cropped and out of focus.

Island range hood

The hood that hangs from the ceiling over burners set into a kitchen island, open on all four sides, with its duct and wiring hidden inside a chimney that drops from above.

 A custom white plaster range hood with a curved front over a kitchen's burners in a US home, seen from slightly below so the stainless range hood insert with its baffle filters and two glowing lamps shows inside the plaster shell, steam rising into it, the range hood in the upper half of the frame, the cooking surface below cropped and out of focus.

Range hood insert

The working core of a custom hood: a steel liner or power pack carrying the blower, filters, lights and controls, fitted inside a hood built of wood, plaster or metal by a cabinetmaker.

 Every kind we service

All range hoods, side by side

The archive puts the 4 types against each other: how to tell which you own, what fails on each, and which manufacturers build them.

How to tell yoursWhat fails on eachWho makes them Open the type archive

Familiar brands. Expert care.

For the brands
in your kitchen.

Independent repair service. Not affiliated with, authorized or endorsed by any manufacturer. Brand names and model numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification only, to describe the appliances we service.

All 29 brands

The repairs behind the symptoms

Most people arrive knowing what they are seeing, not what is wrong. These are the jobs a visit usually turns out to be.

All 10 repairs
diagnostic

Range hood diagnostic visit

A visit that runs the hood through every speed and light, tests the draw at the filters and follows the air outside until one part is named.
moderate to highest

Range hood blower motor repair

Testing and renewing the fan that moves a hood's air, in the canopy, the duct or on the roof: its capacitor, bearings, wheel or the motor itself.
low to moderate

Range hood fan switch and control repair

Repairing the part the cook touches: rocker switches, push keys or a glass touch strip, and the harness that carries their signal to the blower.
moderate

Range hood control board repair

Testing and replacing the board behind a keypad or touch strip: the relays for each speed and the lights, the timers and the power supply.
low

Range hood light repair

Bringing back the lamps over the burners: halogen and LED lamps, their sockets and covers, and the transformer or driver that powers them.
lowest

Range hood filter and baffle service

Cleaning or replacing what catches grease and odor: mesh and baffle filters, charcoal pads on recirculating hoods, and the grease channel.
low to moderate

Range hood damper and duct repair

Getting the air out of the house: the backdraft damper, the duct and its joints, the wall or roof cap, and make-up air in a tight house.
low to moderate

Range hood noise and vibration repair

Finding what makes a hood roar, rattle or shake, from a grease-heavy wheel or loose screws to a flapping damper, and quieting it at the source.
moderate

Downdraft vent lift repair

Repairing the pop-up vent that rises behind the burners: its lift motor and gears, the limit switches, the blower below and its controls.
low

Range hood heat sensor repair

Testing the sensor that starts the fan by itself when the burners get hot, so the hood starts when it should and stops when the heat is gone.
A family cooking together under a stainless range hood in a bright kitchen.
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
the problems.

My range hood trouble is not on this list. Can I still book?
Yes. These pages follow the complaints we hear most, and anything else is just as easy to book. Put a line in the notes about the sound, the smell, the flicker or the draft and we pick it up from there.
It rattles and pulls weakly too. Which page should I read?
Begin with whatever you noticed first. A blower with a loose wheel or dry bearings often gets noisy for weeks before its pull fades, and the earliest sign usually leads closest to the part that failed. Related problems are linked at the bottom of every page.
Which range hood problems cannot wait for a regular slot?
Five of them: a grease fire in the pan or the hood, sparks from the blower or the lights, a hot electrical or burning smell, a breaker that trips when the hood starts, and a hood that is sagging or coming away from its mount. Each problem page shows its own urgency; a slow fan, a dark bulb or a dripping filter can wait for the booked day.
Is cooking safe while the hood fan is not working?
For most meals, yes, with some care. Use the back burners, open a window, keep lids on the pots and hold off on high-heat searing or deep frying until the hood is fixed; on a gas cooking surface, fresh air matters even more, since the EPA points to burners as a source of nitrogen dioxide indoors. If the trouble came with sparks or a burning smell, keep the hood's breaker off meanwhile.

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your range hood working again.

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Schedule a repair Call (844) 398-3217
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