I cleaned the electric stove and replaced the drip pans. It’s a Hotpoint with the hinged burner elements that plug in.
Oddly, one burner element won’t sit flat in the drip pan. It sticks up about a quarter inch. A heavy pan will push it down. The burner element fits perfectly in the drip pan notch. But, the element pops up after the pan is removed.
Any Dopers have a fix?
Should I try bending the element where it plugs in? Or maybe adjust the plug/hinge the burner element uses.
Seems like there’s an easy fix. Right now, I’m out of ideas.
Try moving them around and see if your burners are not different sizes. There is also a notch in the circle part that must line up so they go down and stay down. Good luck!
I couldn’t fix mine so I got a new stove. 
You may have popped the plug connector out of it’s mount. This is easy to do when pulling the burner out to clean (I’ve done it before). Lift the stove top up and check to see if it’s properly seated. The connector shouldn’t have any bare wires to touch (they’re basically extension cords) so they should be safe to handle (there won’t be any electricity going to it unless you’ve turned on the burner).
I’ll take a fresh look at the problem today.
Many Thanks!
I’ve had this problem with one of my burners ever since we moved into our house. I’ll have to check out Magiver’s solution. I’ve just kinda come to accept it… but it really bugs me.