I used the timer on my hob and since yesterday after turning it off at the power it keeps coming back on and bleeping I turned it off at the mains last night and this morning went to use the hob and it still keeps bleeping and showing '56' and flashing and I cannot turn the hob on to use any of the hotplates. Does anyone have any idea how to solve this before I have to call in someone from stoves? Would be really grateful if anyone had experienced this or has any help. Many thanks

Elizabeth, July 2006

Has anyone thought about chasing the makers for a fault that clearly is down to the manufacturer? I had a similar fault with my car and low & behold over 270 other people had the same issue. The car
manufacturer admitted liability & fixed problem for all!

colin, February 2014

Excellent solution. I had this problem intermittently over a few years but today I woke up to a beep that would not go away.
Popped down to Maplin bought the electrolytic capacitor literally just gently twisted and pulled the old capacitor away leaving one leg still soldered and one completely removed. Soldered on the new one after scratching the terminals with a nail file to get a good soldering joint base, + and -ve are marked on the pc board but also you will see polarity on the old capacitor (mine was marked as black).
Fired up and then got my breakfast.
What a wonderful place the internet is and many thanks to lasersmile you saved me cash,

Caution: Use a suitable soldering iron (small) and try to complete the soldering quickly; adjacent connected components can be damaged if exposed to excessive prolonged heat.

alan pedder, November 2012

Thanks for this brilliant bit of advice, problem fixed by replacing capacitor C17 as stated. Also thanks to Maplin for selling individual capacitors (48p!) - allowing you to fix things in a world that would rather you replace the entire hob.

Grateful Reader, August 2012

Tried this and still getting error 56. Took off the old capaitor in C17.Got one of my computer friends to solder the capacitor, checked it is the right way round.
Nothing, any more suggetions please.

Peter5586, July 2012

Had exactly the same problem, came home from holiday to find the hob beeping it's head off. Headed down to maplins bought the capacitor for 64p and followed lasersmiles instructions. Works a treat, never used a soldering iron before in my life, 20 mins DONE.

Thanks a lot for the info !!!!

Faithless, October 2011

Thanks for everyone's help with this one. I too have a 600CTH hob that experienced the continuous beeping and "5b" or "Sb" error that was resolved with the replacement of the capacitor suggested. :-)

Andrew Chick, August 2011

I too experienced the same flashing fault code 56. So tried the advice posted here, and all now seems well. A biy fiddly to remove the old component in order to get to something that could be soldered to, but well worth the effort. Thanks for the advice

Paul, May 2011

Nick, it is the surface mounted c17. I changed the c18 cap which is a higher voltage 10uf 400v cap with no change, the change c17 with the 1000uf 16v lot more fiddlier and hey presto what do you know :) Cheers Flash the missis has been on my back for weeks with the hob rested on the worktop,brownie points for me!!!!

MilliMax, March 2011

Just come home to find our hob bleeping and flashing code 56 . Luckily found this site and an hour later the hob is working fine, complete with new capacitor.

Just one point, I used a very large capacitor and fitted it by soldering a couple of wires around 4" long between the board and the capacitor and then there is space at the side of the board where the capacitor can lie (suitably insulated of course.

Paul., December 2010

Yep, Maplins supplied the new 1000uf cap (80p now) they ony had 35V one. Hob works a treat. Thanks

Andy, November 2010

i had the same problem a few years ago with the 600cth and followed flash and lasersmiles advice , to this day i still tell people the story of an £175 repair fee costing 50p from maplins , thats the wonder of the internet. only trouble is mine has started flashing 56 again although not like last time where the wife had to stand for upto 30 minutes pressing the hob for it to come on and listening to the iritating bleep for half an hour.
i would like to thank flash and lasersmile for that very cheap but priceless advice

mr Lockey (leeds), November 2010

I too encountered the same problem (flashing '56' - apparently is 'Sb' ie Standby). Really glad I was able to access, and learn from, this website. Followed suggestion from 'Flash' in Sept 2007, and 'Lasersmile' in May 2008. Bought a new capacitor, the one suggested by Lasersmile, from Maplins for 56p. Broke of the old one easy enough but, not being much good at soldering, found fitting the new one a bit fiddly, but eventually managed it, and the hob is now working OK and hopefully will continue to do so (fingers crossed!). Many thanks to Flash and Lasersmile for the good advice.

Alana, October 2010

i repaired my hob yesterday it worked a treat. thanks for the advice craig

Craig Stephenson, May 2010

I Had Exactly The Same Problem. Came Downstairs To Find The Hob Just Beeping At Me. I Tried Turnung It On & Off As Usually Suggested By "Technical" Experts. So Much For That....Still Beeping. I Used The Oven And Put Up With The Beeping And After About 20-30Mins It Stopped And The Hob Is Now Working Perfectly Fine Again.
If It Goes Again I Will Be Using Flashs Knowledge And Fitting The New Capacitor.

Squirrel, December 2009

the problem isnt with stoves , its the manufacurers of the pcb making them as cheap as possable lol , i emailed them awhile ago about this problem , but no reply

flash, June 2009

C17 looks like a surface mount component?? Or are we talking about C18??

Nick, April 2009

Has anyone got photos of this PCB to confirm which capacitor it is?

Nick, April 2009

Tried this on my 700CTH with the same problem. Worked a treat

Flash you are my hero

A., January 2009

I had the same problem but...
I still needed to use the oven so I just left in beeping for around 20-30mins, while my food was cooking, it then stopped and re-set itself, and everything was fine. X

lucky, August 2008

Very many thanks to Flash-pcs@blueyonder. I have just repaired my Stoves 600CTH using his suggestion.

The capacitor cost £0.50p from Maplins part number VH50 PC Elect 1000uf 16V 0169G and took about 20 mins to fit. I am not an electronics expert by any means but found the repair relatively straight forward. Capacitor C17 can be found on the underside of the control panel toward the top right hand side - a small silver cylinder. I broke it off using pliers, but I'm sure unsoldering it would be more professional. The replacement is about 3 times the size but so long as the legs are cut short it will still fit when the panel is replaced. Remember to fit the capacitor the right way round. One leg is marked with a series of '-' signs on the side of the capacitor and if you look carefully at the PCB both terminals are marked with their polarity (the '-' is on the left).

Once again many thanks to Flash he has just saved me several hundred pounds and ear ache from the wife. It's a pity Stoves can't offer a cheap (or free) repair for this inherant fault with their equipment.

lasersmile, May 2008

In answer to your problem it is the pcb control board that is faulty , I've had the same problem , a new one would cost in the region of £175 ouch thats to me and I work for stoves , plus a call out charge but there is a fix for this , if you know someone with good soldering skills and electronic knowledge it is easy to fix by replacing a fauly capacitor C17 on the pcb , with a bigger one eg 1000uf 16v , hope this helps .
Flash flash-pcs@blueyonder.co.uk

Flash, September 2007