- “Minimum pan base: 4¾ in front left, 5½ in rear, 8¼ in center”
- “The pan-missing symbol is an indicator, not a problem”
- “One dead zone with the others fine is a coil or a sensor”
Symptom
La Cornue induction zone not heating
Before this is a problem it is worth ruling out the two things that are not: a pan that is not induction-compatible, and a pan whose base is smaller than the minimum for that zone. La Cornue publishes those minimums, and a small pan on a large zone will not couple at all — the cooktop is behaving exactly as designed.
- From $95 diagnostic, credited to the repair
- 59 cities and neighborhoods covered
- OEM parts available on order
- In writing the price, before anything is opened
Five ordinary causes
What this usually turns out to be
Cheapest and commonest first, which is also the order we check them in. They sit hundreds of dollars apart, and only the unit settles which one is yours.
-
An unsuitable or undersized pan
The commonest cause of this call and no repair required. Magnet test, then diameter.
Diagnostic visit from $95 -
A failed coil
One zone dead with the rest working. Measured, then replaced.
Induction hob repair from $325 -
A pan-detection sensor problem
The zone works but never believes there is a pan on it.
Induction hob repair from $325 -
A generator board channel
One channel of a multi-zone generator gone. An Er code often accompanies it.
Induction hob repair from $325 -
Heat protection cutting in
If it works from cold and drops out later, read the E2 page instead — this is ventilation.
Induction hob repair from $325
In five minutes
Before you call anybody
None of it needs tools, and all of it makes the visit shorter.
-
01
Magnet test the pan
A fridge magnet should grip the base firmly. Weak grip means weak coupling.
-
02
Measure the base
Against the minimum for that zone. This single check ends a good share of these calls.
-
03
Watch the display
Pan-missing symbol, an H, or a code. Three completely different meanings.
-
04
Try every zone
One dead zone is local. All of them is supply, connection or the generator.
How it shows up
What people describe when they call
Two shortcuts
Narrow it down before anybody arrives
A description of the behaviour leaves a few possible causes. A code names the subsystem, and the model number says which parts to bring. Either one shortens the visit; both together usually settle it.
If the display is showing something
- Er an internal problem that needs a technician
- E2 the hob electronics are too hot and have shut down
Photograph it before it clears — codes do not wait. Search the full code list
In more detail
About La Cornue induction zone not heating
Two free checks, in this order
Put a different pan on it — heavy, flat, and magnetic enough that a fridge magnet sticks firmly to its base. Then check the base diameter against the zone: 4¾ inches at the front left, 5½ at the rear zones, 8¼ in the center. If the display is showing the pan-missing symbol, the cooktop is telling you it cannot see a suitable pan, and that is information rather than a problem. If a good pan on the right zone still does nothing while other zones work, book it.
What it usually means, by the kind of La Cornue appliance
La Cornue sells one appliance in several forms, and the same behavior points at different things on each of them. A built-in side-by-side and an integrated column are not the same service situation, and a dual-fuel range and an induction range fail in different halves.
- All-induction Château — Five zones on the 150 and 120, four on the 90 and 60. When this cooktop was specified the ovens are electric too, which matters if more than the top is affected.
- CornuFé 90 and 110 induction — Five zones on a factory-built generator. Parts are more standardised than a Château's.
- Ceramic induction module in a gas Château — Two identical 2,100 W zones, 3,700 W on boost, fitted into an otherwise gas top. The rest of the range tells you nothing about them.
Indicators are not problems, and this display has more of the first than the second
La Cornue's induction guide lists what the cooktop display shows: the pan detector symbol, H for residual heat above 140 °F, A for automatic heat-up, L for child lock, L1 and L2 for the low and simmer settings, and P for power boost. None of those is a problem. Exactly three things on that display are — E2, U400 and Er with a number. A great many calls about induction cooktops across this industry are about an L that somebody's child switched on. Reading the display properly is free and it is the first thing we do.
When it is genuinely the appliance
A single dead zone with a proper pan on it is a coil, a sensor or one channel of the generator, and the three are separated with a meter rather than by substitution. The parts are specific to this make; there is no generic induction coil that belongs in a La Cornue. Where an Er number is showing we quote the board with its lead time up front, because on a hand-built appliance a control can come from France and that is a conversation to have before the order rather than after.
This article is based on:
- Official manufacturer documentation
- Internal repair procedures
- Technician repair history
- Company quality standards
Before you book
Questions about La Cornue induction zone not heating
It works on high but not on low.
That is a real problem and a specific one — it usually means the zone is cycling rather than modulating, which points at the coil's temperature sensor or the generator channel driving it, not at the pan. Worth distinguishing from normal behavior though: induction at a low setting does pulse, and on a light pan you can hear and see it. If a heavy pan of water will not hold a gentle simmer without either boiling or going cold, book it.
There is a buzzing from the pan. Is the cooktop failing?
Almost certainly not. The manual says as much: noise from the pan is normal on induction, most noticeable at high power settings or with several pans running, and the type of pan contributes. Cheap multi-ply bases buzz; heavy single-piece bases usually do not. What is not normal is a buzz or hum from inside the cooktop itself that continues with no pan on it, or a fan that runs on loudly after everything is off — that is worth a look.
Where we do it
Across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
Same terms everywhere we go: an on-site diagnostic first, the price agreed in writing, and the exact figure confirmed once we have seen the unit.
Neighborhoods people ask for by name