Hi!

I was working on replacing a burner switch on my electric stove top. After I replaced the switch, plugged in the unit, and turned the knob to Low, there were lots of sparks! So I quickly turned the knob to Off and unplugged the unit.

I thought maybe I had connected the wires incorrectly,but I noticed that I had kept my metal pliers inside the metal cover that houses the burner switches. I removed the metal pliers and connected the unit again. I turned the knob to Low position and everything worked fine.

Can someone explain the science behind the sparks because of the metal pliers coming in contact with the metal cover? I'm guessing that's what was the reason for the sparks and not because of any incorrect wiring connections because the stove top has been working fine after that.

Please answer.

You most likely had one end of the pliers touching a hot wire and, since the stove is grounded, when you turned on the stove it shorted. Maybe not enough to trip the breaker but still shorted. I bet there are burn marks on the pliers.