Wolf Hood and Downdraft Problems
| Reads like | Actually is |
|---|---|
| A dead motor | A capacitor that can no longer start it |
| A broken switch | A blower at the far end of the duct with no power |
| A house wiring problem | A motor drawing more than it should at full speed |
| A motor stuck on full | A switch bank that has lost its other positions |
| Four failed lamps at once | One driver feeding all of them |
| A fault in the controls | On the models that have one, a heat sensor doing its job |
| A hood that is too small | A duct run the blower cannot push against |
| Something knocked out of place | Filters refitted the wrong way round |
| Something loose in the ceiling | A damper flap with nothing holding it steady |
| A hood that leaks | A drain path that has stopped draining |
| A jammed vent stack | A lift drive that is no longer being told to run |
| Something caught in the slot | A travel limit the control never sees |
Almost nothing on the left-hand side of that table is what it looks like. A hood that sounds dead is usually a capacitor rather than a motor; a hood that seems too small for the cooktop is usually a duct the blower cannot push against. Pick the row that matches your evening and the page under it says what to look at before anyone drives over.
Start from what yours is doing
- Hood Hums but Moves No Air A low electrical hum with no rotation, and nothing moving off the cooktop at any speed.
- Wall Switch Works, Roof Blower Does Nothing Buttons respond, lamps come on, and nothing at all moves at the cooktop on any setting.
- Breaker Trips When the Hood Steps Up Low and medium run all evening; the top setting drops the breaker within seconds.
- Every Button Gives the Same Speed The blower runs at one unchanging speed no matter which button or setting is chosen.
- Hood Lights Flicker or Half Are Dead Some of the lights under the canopy are out, and the ones still lit will not hold steady.
- Hood Starts by Itself The fan starts on its own during cooking, or will not go off again afterwards.
- Smoke Rolls Past the Hood Steam and smoke climb the front lip of the canopy instead of being drawn up into it.
- Louder After the Filters Were Cleaned The hood came back louder and rougher after the filters went through a wash.
- Damper Bangs When the Wind Picks Up A slow knocking from above the hood on windy evenings, with nothing switched on.
- Grease Dripping Back Onto the Cooktop Brown drops landing on the cooktop or the counter from the front lip of the canopy.
- Downdraft Will Not Rise The stack stays in the counter, or rises a few inches and settles back.
- Downdraft Stays Up It goes up when asked, then stands there and will not travel back into the counter.