Dropped a paper towel down the center vent into fan

Finally I found the meaning of FE 31.
FE31 means "control panel is dirty" or "some object is on the control panel"
When error code FE31 appear on the control panel, clean the control panel area with clean wet paper towel or remove any object on the control panel.
If you do not trust me, turn on the cooktop and put small piece of paper towel on control panel. You cannot see FE31 error code soon. Turn off the cooktop and remove the piece of paper towel, the error code EF31 will disappear.

Hi,
Some units have a dead man switch, which means that if the filters are not in place correctly the blowers will not operate. Its a safety thing to prevent little ones from dropping toys into a running blower. Double check the filters placement, if the filters are in the proper location than I would look at the power to the blower unit. The vent has two jobs, (1) to raise and lower, (2) to turn on the blower unit once in the full up position. If this is not the case, the upper switch in the vent system has failed. If you already confused, you will need to call a Viking expert to correct this problem. Its not difficult but can be time consuming.
I hope this helps
I have seen this problem twice and found the filters were the problem, rarely replace blower motors..

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gere_bf68e6055dd61249

I put a tea towel over the vent surface, also a piece of bubble wrap does the trick if used as insulation, and both can be removed quickly to use the surface.

I just finished researching the same issue for my 36" downdraft. It appears that the ost common problem is the little up/down switch.

Most folks on-line were being told that they had to buy the whole top unit for $500.00 plus labor. But an electrical engineerpointed out that allvikingparts.com sold a switch for about $60.00 delivered.

It seems that if one holds the switch for an extended period of time it can heat up and burn a connector - might be a coincidence, but my unit stopped working just after my 4 year old grandson visited for two weeks - I made the mistake of showing him how pushing the button would make the vent go up and down. So the switch probably got mre use in a week than it had in the eight years since it was installed.

You can simply peel your switch off with your finger nail ( it will stick right back). On mine I noticed that the center "wire" hade a dark line through it which probably indicates that it is "burned"

My part is on the way.

Hope this helps - $57.00 is much easier to swallow than $595.00

I had similar problem.Solved by Miele tech by placing rice grain sized wad of paper towel inside knob so it sits slightly higher on the valve shaft.

Hi, I assume we are talking about a flat glass top. First the bad news. using any abrasives will permanently scratch the glass hence the dull spot. You can however make it look a little better. Grease spots and the like can be removed with a flat razor blade scraper which needs to be held flat to avoid the corners making scratches. Use any good glass/ceramic cooktop cleaner ( which is the ONLY cleaner you should ever use ) (available in your local grocery diy store and some hardware stores). The cleaner is a thick liquid, put about a dime size drop on each burner area and use a paper towel to buff out the finish like waxing a car. Once it looks clean flip your paper towel over and shine the top to like new. Good Luck!

Someone suggested the flapper needs replacing.
Thanks for your help.

I just had a similar problem. The switch knob, and backer for the blower got jambed in the housing. After pulling it all apart I called the parts center at Thermador and ordered a new switch. If you can hear the motor the raises the unit run, then that could be your problem.

sounds like yo u have a faulty home switch. when dropped to lowest setting it should switch off electric. however if switch is bad never senses its down adn thenwants to open back up. there should be an acces panel in lower right corner of unit along witha wire diargam

whats you model number as does it sound like fan is running and what do you mean by not pulling test card down did you just install it or had it for awhile i will try to help