refer igniter will not fire

[Tileman]

Dometic, Americana. Dinosaur control.
Replaced igniter and reigniter but igniter still will not fire.

[YC1]

Use a 12 volt test light on the wire to the ignitor board. Use a voltmeter at the same time. If your voltage holds good then place the voltmeter and test light on the ground wire. Have someone cycle the refer on and off during this test if possible. Slowy of course.

[Tileman]

Originally Posted by YC1

Use a 12 volt test light on the wire to the ignitor board. Use a voltmeter at the same time. If your voltage holds good then place the voltmeter and test light on the ground wire. Have someone cycle the refer on and off during this test if possible. Slowy of course.

!2 volts are coming into the reigniter, but nothing is comming out.

[YC1]

Tile man, measuring 12 volts with a digital voltmeter can trick you. The load the ignitior tries to take could drop the voltage so fast the voltmeter does not respond and you can miss a weak supply voltage or ground. Using the test light will put enough of a load to keep from getting burned. No pun.

I would assume you have cleaned the ignitor end and the gas orofice so the spark can jump. I suppose the ignitor wire/lead could short out as well.

[Tileman]

Originally Posted by YC1

Tile man, measuring 12 volts with a digital voltmeter can trick you. The load the ignitior tries to take could drop the voltage so fast the voltmeter does not respond and you can miss a weak supply voltage or ground. Using the test light will put enough of a load to keep from getting burned. No pun.

I would assume you have cleaned the ignitor end and the gas orofice so the spark can jump. I suppose the ignitor wire/lead could short out as well.

I replaced the igniter and the wire to it. The gas is fine. I can light it by hand. I didn't use a test light. I'll go over the voltage again. I think your thinking is correct. It's probably a voltage problem.

Thanks for the input.

[YC1]

Originally Posted by Tileman

I replaced the igniter and the wire to it. The gas is fine. I can light it by hand. I didn't use a test light. I'll go over the voltage again. I think your thinking is correct. It's probably a voltage problem.

Thanks for the input.

Another method is to run a long wire from the battery outside the rv. Do put a fuse on the battery end for safety. Just substitute the wire. You probably have a little terminal strip nearby.

Did your ignitor come with the sparky probe thingy too? Some circuit boards get tripped and have to be reset. I know you replaced yours but if the original one was not really bad, just needed a reset, then you may have a different issue. In any case, the voltage and ground must be good first.

[Tileman]

YC1, Thank you for taking the time to try and help me. I think I should start from the beginning. The refer wouldn't switch to gas. I pulled the cover to check it out. When it tried to switch to propane, I could see the ignitor wire arcking to the Solenoid valve. A high voltage short. I replaced the ignitor which came with a new better insolated lead wire. It didn't fix the problem. I replaced the preignitor. Didn't fix the problem.

I decided to check the burner. I hand lite it with a long BBQ butane lighter. The burner fired right up. As i withdrew the BBQ lighter, the solenoid valve burst into flames, bad propane leak. Now I will be replacing the solenoid valve. I was very lucky I didn't blow up the entire RV and myself.

Here's another question. When I replaced the preignitor, I didn't mark the wires when I took them off. The bottom terminal of the preignitor is marked "+", the obvious black ground wire was on that terminal. Was that hooked up wrong?

Well, only 2 more items I can replace, solenoid valve and Micro P-711 Dinosaur.

Anything you can pass on would be appriciated.

Thanks

[YC1]

Thanks for getting back. Glad you survived the incident. I can relate. I cleared all of the spider webs out of the back of mine one day.

DO NOT make assumptions in RV wiring about polarity. Black can easily be positive. I think it may come from AC wiring using the Black as the hot lead.

Shame on you for not sharing all the facts at first. This is why I will tell someone that they may hear the same question three of four times. Often it will ellicit some tid bit of information that resolves the issue. However, letting the smoke out is pretty important.

You should get a nice snap snap snap if the ignitor is working as you discovered. While you have the thing apart blow some air into the chimney to clear any debris. They actually have a heat spreader shaped like an S inside suspended from the top. Very hard to reach in some cases. Your mileage may vary but check out your manual for maintenance tips.