The fan changed speed by itself
We get this call a lot, and often nothing is broken. Viking puts a heat sensor in its 5 Series hoods. When the air under the hood gets very hot, the sensor pushes the blower to a higher speed. Sear a steak and the fan ramps up. It drops back once things cool.
It is a fault if the fan races with a cold cooktop. Then the sensor or the control has failed. It is also a fault if the fan never reacts to heat at all. We test the sensor with a heat source and a meter.
Viking hoods by type
- 5 Series wall hoods. They come 10, 12 or 18 inches tall and 30 to 60 inches wide.
- 5 Series chimney wall hoods, 30 to 60 inches wide.
- Tuscany wall hoods in 36, 48 and 66 inch widths, made to match the Tuscany range.
- 3 Series chimney hoods, sold with the blower already inside.
- RVL ceiling hoods. These mount flat in the ceiling and work by touch, remote or phone.
Here is a detail that matters for repairs. On many 5 Series hoods, the blower is sold as a separate kit. The installer picked a size and put it in the hood, in the duct or on the roof. So two hoods that look alike can have very different motors. This page covers the hood and a blower inside it. Remote blowers, downdrafts and liners are on our Viking ventilation repair page.
Fan is dead, weak or loud
A blower that will not start has three likely causes. The motor has burned out. The capacitor that kicks it over has failed. Or the control is not sending power. A hum with no spin is usually the capacitor or a seized bearing.
Weak pull with a motor that sounds fine is an airflow problem. Grease filters plug up. The damper flap in the duct collar sticks shut with old grease. We check both before we blame the motor.
Rattles and roars come from a loose blower wheel or grease caked on one side of it. A wheel out of balance shakes the whole hood. We clean it or replace it.
Knobs, lights and heat lamps
5 Series hoods use backlit knobs that extend when in use and pull back in when off. Grease and steam get into that mechanism. A knob can stick out, stick in, or turn with no result. Sometimes a careful cleaning fixes it. Sometimes the control behind it needs to be replaced.
The lights are dimmable LEDs, and Viking says owners can change the bulbs. If a new bulb does not help, the dimmer control or the LED driver has failed. Flicker at low settings is a classic driver fault.
Some hoods have heat lamps to keep plates warm. Viking does not ship the bulbs, so they are bought locally. The wrong bulb type overheats the socket. A scorched socket has to be replaced.
On RVL ceiling hoods, the fan shuts off by itself after three hours. That is a built-in safety stop, not a fault. If the remote stops working, try a new battery before you call.
What you can do yourself
- Wash the grease filters. Do it monthly if you fry often.
- Check the breaker and any wall switch that feeds the hood.
- Hold a tissue to the filters with the fan on high. It should pull tight.
- Go outside and see that the wall or roof cap flap opens.
Visit cost and scheduling
A home hood diagnostic runs $79 and that fee is waived with an approved repair. Before a single filter comes out, you will hold a fixed hood quote with labor and parts both in it. Most hood calls can be seen the same day. We book visits from 6 AM through 9 PM, weekends too. No hood tech goes out unlicensed or uninsured, and we run a background check before hire. The truck holds capacitors, knob controls and a few common motors. The hood repair is covered by our 30-day repair warranty, and our site takes bookings.
A+ is owned by one family and remains independent of hood makers.
Repairing beats replacing on most hoods
A hood is a steel shell with a motor, a control and lights. All of those can be replaced. The shell was sized to your range and tied into your duct. Swapping the whole hood means new duct work and maybe new tile. So we fix the part that failed. The only time we suggest a new hood is when parts for a very old model cannot be found.
We service hoods in the Houston area through our Texas appliance repair team, with more crews in Chicago, Los Angeles, D.C. and the Virginia suburbs. See the Viking brand page or our vent hood repair page. Before we come, note the width of the hood and how high it hangs. We may need a taller ladder for a chimney model.