What FC LR Means
Electric (radiant smoothtop) Cooktop, and on the page KitchenAid publishes jointly for Electric and Induction Cooktops: the published sentence for FC LR is that there may be a problem with the left front hotplate - KitchenAid's term covers the cooking surface, burner or element - or the associated wiring. This is one of the position-coded faults, where the letters after FC identify which cooking area the control is complaining about rather than what went wrong with it. KitchenAid's published sentence for FC LR also reads left front, which does not match the LR position label on the code itself. That wording is reproduced here rather than corrected, because what KitchenAid actually publishes is what an owner will find - but it means the element position should be confirmed on the appliance rather than assumed from either the code or the sentence.
Common Causes of FC LR
- A heating element at that position failed open or short
- The wiring or connector serving that element loose, burnt or corroded
- A switching circuit no longer controlling that position correctly
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Let the glass cool first. A radiant or induction surface stays hot enough to burn well after the heat is off, which is why these cooktops carry a residual-heat indicator at all. Turn every control off, take the pans off and power the cooktop down by switching off its circuit breakers for one minute, power it back up, then watch the panel for one minute to be sure the code does not come back and verify the cooktop operates. While the cooktop is off, note how the named cooking area actually behaves: whether it fails to heat at all, heats when it was not asked to, or heats unevenly. An element that runs when the panel says off is the one case where the cooktop should be left off at the breaker rather than used while you wait.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- An element circuit that has failed closed keeps heat in the glass regardless of what the panel displays, which is a burn and a fire risk rather than an inconvenience.
- Element terminals under a cooktop carry the full supply current, and a connection remade poorly there becomes a hot joint that degrades further every time the ring is used.
- Reaching any of it means taking a bonded glass top out of a sealed countertop cut-out, which is how tops crack and counter edges chip.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.