Range Hood Fan Not Working

Checks you can do safely before you call

Turn off every burner and let the cooktop and hood cool first. Stand on a sturdy step stool to reach the hood, never on the cooktop or the counter edge.

1. Check the breaker. Find the breaker for the hood or the kitchen in your electrical panel. If it has tripped, push the handle all the way to off and then back to on, one time only. A breaker that trips a second time stays off until the hood is checked.
2. Check the plug, if your hood has one. Some hoods plug into an outlet inside the cabinet above. Switch off the breaker first, then open the cabinet and press the plug firmly into the outlet.
3. Clean the grease filters. Switch off the hood's breaker, or leave it off from step 2, and let the filters cool. Unclip them and wash them in hot, soapy water, or in the dishwasher if the manual allows it, then refit them before you restore power. A filter packed with grease can cut the airflow so much that a running fan feels dead at the filter.
4. Reset the controls. Leave the breaker off for about a minute, then turn it back on. Electronic controls can lock up after a power flicker, and a reset can clear them.
5. Try every speed. With the filters back in place and your hands clear of the blower opening, try each speed and listen. Silence, a hum, or only one working speed tells the technician where to start.

When to call a technician

• The breaker trips again as soon as the fan starts.
• The fan hums, buzzes or smells hot but doesn't turn.
• Only one speed works, or the fan runs at the same speed whichever button you press.
• The fan shuts itself off partway through cooking.
• You see scorch marks, melted plastic or loose wires near the controls.

If the fan runs but moves little air, see range hood weak suction. If it runs with a grinding or rattling sound, see range hood loud noise.

What happens at the diagnostic visit

The technician confirms power at the hood, then tests the speed switch or control board, the capacitor on motors that have one, and the motor windings. The blower wheel is turned by hand to check for a seized bearing or a wheel slipping on its shaft. On hoods with a separate in-line or remote blower, the technician first works out whether the fault sits in the hood's controls or at the blower itself.

The diagnostic visit is $89 for a standard residential appliance and $129 for a built-in unit or commercial equipment; a premium brand on its own doesn't make an appliance built-in. You get the price of the range hood fan repair before any work starts. Our range hood repair page lists the hood styles we work on, from wall and island hoods to cabinet inserts and downdrafts.

Brand and model notes

• Wolf and Viking: professional-style hoods from both brands can run with a blower inside the hood or with a separate in-line or remote blower, so a dead fan can mean a fault some distance from the hood itself. See Wolf and Viking.
• Thermador and Bosch: controls range from push buttons to touch panels depending on the series, so note the model number before you call. On many hoods the rating label sits inside the canopy, behind the grease filters. See Thermador and Bosch. If a Thermador range or cooktop under the hood needs attention too, see Thermador range, oven and cooktop repair.
• GE and KitchenAid: under-cabinet and wall-mount hoods from both brands use mechanical or electronic speed controls, and switch contacts can wear from heat and grease. See GE and KitchenAid.
• Broan, NuTone and Zephyr: we service these hood brands too. Their hoods range from simple rocker or slide switches to electronic push-button controls, so note which kind yours has, and its model number, before you call.