--- title: "Common problems — Grill Guides | BBQGrillRepair.center" description: "What a grill means when the igniter clicks without a flame, the burners stay low after a tank swap, the flame turns yellow, one end of the grate never gets hot…" url: "https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/common-problems/" --- What the flame is telling you # Common problems guides. What a grill means when the igniter clicks without a flame, the burners stay low after a tank swap, the flame turns yellow, one end of the grate never gets hot or the grease flares every time the lid opens. ## Common problems, guide by guide. Each guide here begins with something you noticed at the grill and traces it back to its causes. A burner that clicks and never catches, flames that went tall and orange over the winter, a hood that stalls at a few hundred degrees, a stripe of grate that never marks the steak: each comes from a handful of causes, and the guides list the free fixes before the ones that cost a part. [All 18 guides](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [Grill won't light? Silent igniter, dry burner or a tank that never opened](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-a-grill-will-not-light/) Silence, a snap with no rush of gas, or both and still no flame. How each points to the igniter, the fuel or the burner, the five-minute wait, and the pellet grill that never gets past startup. 5-minute read ### [Yellow flames on a gas grill, and low ones: air, webs and a throttled regulator](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-the-flame-burns-low-or-yellow/) Lazy orange flames lack air, small blue ones lack gas. Reading the flame with the grates lifted, the nest in the venturi, bypass after a tank swap and the sear burner that glows in patches. 5-minute read ### [A grill heating unevenly: one cold stripe, a weak burner or a tilted cart](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-one-side-runs-cold/) Toast a grate full of bread and read the map. A burner giving less, grease-packed heat plates, foil, a cart out of level and wind across the hood, in the order they usually turn up. ## What the flame is telling you. Grills fail in their own ways. Spiders spin webs inside venturi tubes while the cover is on, grease packs the heat plates and drips into the tray until it lights, rain soaks an electrode, and a tank opened in a hurry throttles its own regulator. Many of those end with a brush, a dry afternoon or a slower hand on the cylinder valve rather than a part. The guides cover every kind of grill we repair: a built-in head set into an island, a cart grill on a portable cylinder, an infrared or sear burner, and pellet and hybrid grills with a hopper and a controller. Where the same symptom means something different on one of them, the guide says so, and whenever a manufacturer publishes a number or a waiting time, the guide quotes it and names the manual. Each one also draws the line past which an owner should not go. Valves, orifices and fittings past the tank coupling, the wiring behind the control panel and the inside of a hot firepot are a technician's side, and a gas smell, fire behind the knobs or a knob that will not shut off puts safety ahead of any diagnosis: gas shut, everyone back. [Not sure where to start?](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Grill won't light? Silent igniter, dry burner or a tank that never opened When a grill won't light, sort what you notice first. ### The short answer Yellow flames on a gas grill, and low ones: air, webs and a throttled regulator Yellow flames on a gas grill mean the burner is short of air: a web or nest in the venturi tube, an air shutter out of position, or grease and dust in the air around it, with a gas smell making it urgent. ### The short answer A grill heating unevenly: one cold stripe, a weak burner or a tilted cart A grill heating unevenly usually has one burner giving less than the others, from spider webs, rusted ports or a burner off its seat, or something between the fire and the food: grease-packed heat plates, a plate put back wrong or foil. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 The gas and the grill, checked first 2. 02 What failed, and what it costs 3. 03 Parts on the truck 4. 04 Lit before we leave ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Gas Grill Won't Light: Knob On, Clicking, No Flame 7 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Grill Igniter Not Sparking or Clicking Weakly 7 causes, cheapest first Gas or fire at the grill ### Grill Gas Smell at the Burners or the Tank: What to Do Now 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Pellet Grill Not Feeding: Full Hopper, Starving Fire 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about common problems. ### Where should I begin if I am not sure? Pick the guide closest to what is happening in front of you. If nothing lights, start with the lighting guide; if it lights but the flame looks wrong or the grill stays cool, read the one on low and yellow flames. ### Do these guides apply to pellet grills? Partly. A pellet grill has no burner valves or regulator, so the lighting guide gives it a section of its own, and the uneven heat guide explains how its firepot shapes the heat. ### Will a new part fix most of these? Less often than people expect. A good share of the evenings we hear about end at an empty cylinder, a regulator in bypass, a web in a burner tube or a full grease tray. ### What if what I see matches none of the guides? Send us a note of the sounds, smells and flames you noticed, plus a photo of the rating label, and book a diagnostic visit. Urgent cases such as a gas odor or burning grease have their own problem pages here. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/) Safe checks with the gas closed ### [Troubleshooting](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Grill troubleshooting in fifteen minutes, with every knob at off](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/grill-checks-before-booking/) - [How to reset the propane regulator when the grill stays lukewarm](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/resetting-the-propane-regulator/) - [The grill rating label: under the drip tray, inside the cart or behind the knobs](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/find-the-grill-rating-label/) Habits that keep a grill lighting clean ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning Grill Burners and Venturi Tubes with the Gas Off and the Grill Cold](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/cleaning-burners-and-venturi-tubes/) - [Heat Shields, Flavorizer Bars and Briquettes: Cleaning Them and Knowing When They Are Done](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/heat-shields-flavorizer-bars-and-briquettes/) - [Caring for a Pellet Grill: Dry Pellets, a Clear Firepot and a Full Cooldown](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/caring-for-a-pellet-grill/) Gas, flame, grease and safe temperatures ### [Gas, fire and food at the grill](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [A Grease Fire in the Grill: Burners Off, Gas Closed, Lid Down If It Is Safe, Never Water](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/a-grease-fire-in-the-grill/) - [Flashback Behind the Grill Knobs: Flame at the Wrong End of the Burner](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/flashback-behind-the-knobs/) - [Safe Temperatures for Grilled Food: 145°F, 160°F, 165°F and a Food Thermometer](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safe-temperatures-for-grilled-food/) Built-in or cart, infrared or tube, fix or retire ### [Choosing and comparing](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Built-In or Cart Grill: The Island, the Patio and the Day It Needs Service](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/built-in-or-cart-grill/) - [Infrared or Standard Grill Burners: Searing Heat, Preheat and Care](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/infrared-or-standard-burners/) - [Repair or Replace a Grill: Firebox, Manifold and the Parts Still Worth Buying](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-grill/) Clearances, gas type and where it may stand ### [Installation and setup](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Clearances Around a Grill: Siding, Eaves, Railings and the Built-In Cutout](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/clearances-around-a-grill/) - [Converting a Grill From Propane to Natural Gas: The Maker's Kit and the Gas Technician](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/converting-propane-to-natural-gas/) - [Grills on Balconies and Decks: Fire Codes, Building Rules and Clearances](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/grills-on-balconies-and-decks/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Common problems — Grill Guides | BBQGrillRepair.center](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/common-problems/)** **[Book a visit with BBQGrillRepair.center](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/schedule/)**