fridge problem

[Tweety]

Tried to light the fridge this morning...no luck. Did the usual lighting the stove first. Heard the click but the "check" light stayed on. Got Mr Tweety who went outside and determined that the capezio electric igniter isn't working. He lit the fridge with a match and it's working fine. I really don't want to have to take this to Stoltzfus to be fixed. Is this fixable? worth fixing? or should be just use a match? (which was the decision with the stove)

[264SRinPA]

Hi Pam,
I think you would want to have it fixed. I think once the fridge is cooled down the burner shuts off until it's needed again. So if it has no ignition it won't relight on its own. It should work fine as long as you are plugged into electric.

[JohnB]

Tweety

Mike is correct. The igniter goes on and off with the gas valve. Each time the gas valve shuts down when the fridge is satisfied in temperature. When it calls for cool, the gas valve turns on and then igniter starts clicking. It stops clicking when heat is sensed on the electrode.

So unless Mr Tweety wants to be running back and forth with a match, need to get the igniter fixed. Ha Ha…. This is not a gas pilot operated gas setup like he may be thinking.

However here are a few things that might help.

The igniter is wired in parallel with the gas valve. When the gas valve get’s the signal to turn on so does the igniter. The good news is since he lit it with the match and it stays on, the flame sensor is working and the PC boards is OK and so is the gas valve.

Have him check the yellow and black wire feeding the igniter that is it not corroded and not making contact. Make sure the 12 volts is off to the TT. No shore power, no battery on. The wires may be loose or the ground black wire is corroded. Basically just checking that it is actually getting 12 volts.

Down at the electrode there is a gap that the spark has to jump. The distance should be in your Dometic manual. I do not have access to mine here. If the gap is right well it is not that unless the ceramic insulator is cracked and grounded out the electrode

Those where the easy things. After this it may be to change parts. A new igniter. It is the black box next to the control board with a black, yellow and high voltage wire coming out of it. Not hard to change. Just make sure the 12 volts is off in case it fires the spark signal. 10,000 volts jumps and inch. It is high voltage output.

Good luck and have him report back. Here are some pic’s I had of the area.

The electrode area.


The entire setup, The igniter is the black box under the gray cooling unit tank


Here you can see the yellow wire running to the gas valve that powers the igniter

And here is the igniter

Hope this helps

John

[Tweety]

Steve said to tell you both that is all very helpful and he will check it on sunday when we get back. Thanks Off for some camping in the rain

[264SRinPA]

Pam,
Your bad luck rubbed off on us. Went to turn on the fridge this morning and it would not ignite. Tried it several times with no luck, so I just did what Steve did and used a match. Will have to deal with it when we get back. Did you get the problem with yours fixed?

[Tweety]

Steve checked the wiring with the multi tester, and checked for corrosion and all looks good. The fridge ran fine in the driveway for 5 hours once he got it lit with a match. No problem at all. We then drove to the campground and had an electric hookup for the weekend. Since we had ice cream in the freezer I wanted the fridge on for the trip home. I switched it over to gas and it lit fine and stayed running for the drive home and in camp driveway while I unloaded. So, he's not going to fix what ain't broken. We'll wait and see. Maybe yours will majically fix itself too The good news is that the part that he thought needed replacing was only $37.