A gas burner lights when the spark from its igniter meets gas leaving the burner ports in the right mixture. Take away the spark, the gas or the geometry and the burner clicks without lighting, or lights on one side only, or lights and goes out. On Samsung’s NX and NSG ranges the parts involved are the burner cap, the burner head, the igniter electrode beside it, the spark module behind the control panel and the valve under the knob. Most sparking-without-lighting complaints are solved at the first two.
If You Smell Gas, Stop Reading and Do This
A burner that has been sparking with the knob open has been releasing unburned gas. If you can smell it, do not turn the knob, do not touch any switch or light, do not use a phone inside the room, open a door or window if one is right beside you, get everyone out of the building and, once outside, call your gas utility or the emergency number. Come back to the checks below only after the gas company has confirmed the supply is safe. A faint whiff that clears within a minute of a failed light is the residue of that attempt; a smell that persists with every knob off is not, and it is a leak.
The Cap and the Head
With every knob off and the cooktop cool, lift the burner cap off the head. A cap that was put back after cleaning slightly rotated, or resting on a crumb, leaves a gap that sends gas where the spark is not. Dry the cap and the head with a cloth, wipe the ports in the head with a soft brush so none is blocked by a boil-over, and set the cap back so it sits flat and its locating tabs drop into the head. Lift and reseat it once more to be sure. Try the burner. This solves most cases where the burner was cleaned or a pan boiled over shortly before the problem.
The Igniter
The igniter is the small white ceramic post beside the burner with a metal tip. Water from cleaning, grease, or a boil-over on it shorts the spark to ground and it clicks weakly or not at all. With the knobs off, let it dry, or dab it with a dry cloth, and clean the tip gently with a soft toothbrush; do not scrape it with anything metal. If the burner then lights, keep the igniter dry in future by wiping rather than pouring when you clean. An igniter whose ceramic is cracked, or which sparks visibly but never lights a dry, correctly capped burner, has failed or is out of position relative to the ports, and it is replaced from beneath the cooktop with the gas supply shut and the range isolated.
Continuous Clicking After Lighting
A burner that lights but keeps clicking, or a range on which every igniter clicks when one knob is turned, has either moisture in one of the igniter switches under the knobs, which dries out over a day with the knobs off, or a spark module or switch that has failed. The switches and the module carry mains voltage and sit behind the panel; that is a visit, and the range is not used on that burner until then, because a switch stuck on keeps sparking with the gas off and wears the module out.
The Oven Side
A gas oven that will not light works differently: a hot-surface igniter glows for a period before the safety valve opens, and an igniter that glows but never draws enough current never opens the valve. Signs are a glow with no flame, or an oven that lights late and smells of gas at ignition. That is a part, and it is replaced with the gas supply shut and confirmed shut. Book a Samsung range repair, say which burner or the oven is affected, and tell us if there was any smell of gas so we know what to check first.