Range Hood Light Not Working? 6 Causes and How to Fix Them

When a range hood light stops working but the fan still runs, the bulb is the cause most of the time: it has burned out, worked loose, or it’s the wrong type for the fixture. If a correct new bulb doesn’t fix it, the fault is in the socket, the light switch, or the transformer or LED driver that powers the lights.

If the fan doesn’t work either, the hood isn’t getting power at all. Check the breaker and see range hood not turning on instead.

Quick diagnosis

Safety before you start

Turn off power at the breaker, not only at the hood’s switch, before you remove a light cover or change a bulb. Halogen bulbs run hot enough to burn skin; let them cool for at least 10 minutes. Handle new halogen bulbs with a clean cloth or cotton gloves, because skin oils create hot spots that shorten their life.

1. Burned-out or loose bulb

Bulbs in range hoods live a hard life: heat from the cooktop, grease and constant vibration from the fan. They burn out faster than bulbs elsewhere in the house, and they can loosen until they lose contact.

How to check

1. Turn off power at the breaker, not only at the hood’s switch, and let the bulbs cool.
2. Remove the light cover or lens. Most pop off with a flat screwdriver at a notch, slide out, or unscrew.
3. Gently tighten the bulb. If it was loose, restore power and test.
4. Look at the bulb. A dark or cloudy glass, a broken filament or a blackened LED base means it has failed.
5. If your hood has two lights and one works, swap the bulbs between sockets. If the dead bulb stays dead in the good socket, it’s the bulb.

How to fix

1. Replace the bulb with the same type (see the next section).
2. Clean grease off the lens with warm soapy water before reinstalling it. A greasy lens can make a good light look dim.

2. Wrong bulb type

Hoods use several bulb types that look alike but aren’t interchangeable. A mismatched bulb may not fit fully, may not light, or may burn out fast.

How to check

Read the markings on the old bulb’s base or glass, or check the manual. You’re looking for three things:

1. Base type. Common ones are candelabra screw base (E12), medium screw base (E26), twist-lock (GU10), and two-pin bases (G4 or GU5.3).
2. Voltage. Two-pin halogen bulbs are often 12 volts and run through a transformer; screw-base and twist-lock bulbs are usually 120 volts. A 12-volt bulb on a 120-volt socket fails instantly.
3. Wattage. Don’t exceed the wattage printed on the socket or in the manual. Higher wattage adds heat that damages sockets and wiring.

How to fix

1. Buy a bulb matching all three.
2. If you’re switching to LED, choose one rated for enclosed fixtures. On 12-volt halogen systems, pick an LED labeled as compatible with electronic transformers; some low-wattage LEDs don’t draw enough power for the transformer to run steadily, which causes flicker or no light.
3. If an LED retrofit misbehaves, go back to the bulb type the manual lists and test again. That tells you whether the problem is the bulb or the hood.

3. Dirty, corroded or damaged socket

Grease and heat can coat socket contacts, and the small contact tab at the bottom of a screw-in socket can flatten so it no longer touches the bulb.

How to check

1. Turn off power at the breaker, not only at the hood’s switch.
2. Shine a flashlight into the socket. Look for grease, dark scorch marks, melted plastic or corrosion.
3. On screw-in sockets, check the brass tab at the bottom. It should angle slightly upward.
4. On two-pin sockets, check that the pin holes aren’t loose or discolored.

How to fix

1. With power off, wipe greasy contacts with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol and let it dry fully.
2. Gently pry a flattened center tab up about ⅛ inch with a small flat screwdriver.
3. Replace a socket that’s melted, cracked or scorched. Sockets are often sold as parts by model number and connect with push-in or spade terminals. Photograph the wiring first.

Scorch marks usually mean a bulb was over the rated wattage or the connection was loose for a long time. Fix the cause, or the new socket will fail too.

4. Light switch or control board

If all the lights are out with new, correct bulbs and the fan works, the light switch may have failed. On mechanical controls, it’s a separate switch; on touch controls, it’s a relay or circuit on the control board.

How to check

1. Press the light button a few times and listen. On touch controls, a click with no light points past the board to the transformer or bulbs; no click may mean the board.
2. Check the manual for a light-dimming or night-light mode that might have been switched on at its lowest setting.
3. On mechanical switches, turn off power at the breaker, not only at the hood’s switch, then remove the control panel. With the wires disconnected, test the switch for continuity with a multimeter in the on position.

How to fix

1. Replace a failed switch with the part for your model number.
2. If the whole panel acts oddly, with buttons unresponsive or working intermittently, see control panel not responding.

5. Failed transformer or LED driver

Hoods with 12-volt halogen lights have a small transformer, and hoods with built-in LEDs have an LED driver. When either fails, all the lights go out at once while the fan keeps running. A failing one may buzz, dim or cause flicker before it quits.

How to check

1. Look for the transformer or driver inside the hood near the lights or control board. It’s usually a small box with wires to each light.
2. Listen for buzzing when the light is switched on.
3. Look for a swollen or discolored case, or a burnt smell.

How to fix

1. Turn off power at the breaker, not only at the hood’s switch.
2. Note the output rating on the label (volts and watts for a transformer; volts or current for an LED driver).
3. Replace it with a part matching the rating, ideally the one listed for your model. Photograph and label the wiring before disconnecting it.
4. If your hood has a built-in LED module and a new driver doesn’t restore it, the module itself has failed and needs replacement.

If you’ve been noticing a hum from the hood with the fan off, our humming noise guide covers electrical hum from lights and controls.

6. Bulbs that keep burning out

If you’re replacing bulbs every few weeks, something is shortening their life.

1. Confirm the wattage doesn’t exceed the rating.
2. Check that sockets aren’t loose, since arcing at a poor contact burns out bulbs.
3. Handle halogen bulbs only with a cloth or gloves.
4. Cooking heat is a factor too. Run the fan whenever you cook so hot air doesn’t sit around the lights, and choose bulbs rated for high-heat or appliance use.

When to call a pro

Call an appliance technician or electrician when:

• You find melted plastic, scorched wiring or a burnt smell around the lights.
• The breaker trips when you turn on the light.
• New bulbs, a new socket and a new switch haven’t fixed it, and you’d need to trace wiring.
• The wiring inside the hood or the supply connection looks damaged or brittle.

If the hood is older and the parts are hard to find, weigh repair or replace. Most replacement hoods now use long-life LEDs, and our CFM calculator will help you size a new one.

The bottom line

Start with a known-good bulb of the exact same base, voltage and wattage. That fixes most dead hood lights in ten minutes. If new bulbs don’t light and the fan works, check the socket, then the switch, then the transformer or driver.