KitchenAid cooktop error codes: a flashing pan, a Hot that outlasts the cooking, and a lock.

Not a fault. The glass over that element is still hot enough to burn, and the word (or the HOT light on a knob cooktop, or an H on some induction tops) stays until it has cooled — 20–30 minutes after a long boil is normal.

1. Wait. The indicator goes out on its own; nothing on the panel clears it early.

Nothing to fix. A Hot that never leaves an element that has sat cold for an hour, or never shows after heavy use, is that element's temperature sensor — a technician's part.

The induction element's setting flashes (some models show a small pan symbol) because it found no pan it can heat — no pan, a pan that is not magnetic, one too small for the element, or one sitting off center.

1. A magnet grips the bottom of the pan; aluminum, copper, glass and some stainless never register on induction.
2. The pan covers most of the element ring and sits centered on it.
3. The pan's bottom is flat — a warped base rocks and the element loses it; slide the pan a half inch and watch the setting steady.
4. Try the same pan on another element; one element that flashes with a pan that works everywhere else is the fault.

A flat, magnetic, right-sized pan steadies the setting and the element heats. One element that flashes with a known-good pan is that element's coil or its board; every element flashing with a good pan is the induction generator — a service call, and on a machine under warranty a warranty service call.

Not a fault. The cooktop beeps and shuts every element off when a pan, a spill or a cloth sits on the touch controls for more than a few seconds — it is protecting against an element turned on by accident.

1. Move whatever is on the controls and wipe the glass over them dry.
2. A pan handle hanging over the control area counts — turn the pan.
3. A pot that boiled over onto the keys: wipe it, then wait a minute for the glass to dry before pressing anything.

Clear the controls, dry the glass and press the element key again; the beeping stops as soon as the controls are clear. A cooktop that beeps with nothing on a dry panel has a key shorted in the control — a technician's part.