Date:         Mon, 2 May 2005 06:59:20 -0700
Reply-To:     Paul Guzyk <paullist@GUZYK.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Paul Guzyk <paullist@GUZYK.COM>
Subject:      Re: stupid refig. question-newbie on the frig
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2005050209194107@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

>The manual says "look for the pilot light " on the bottom left, is it
>saying the LED light, or am I suppose to see a flame on the bottom left of
>the frig
>
>The LED light never came on.

The Westy fridges are notoriously hard to light on propane if they
have been sitting a long time.
Sometimes you need to light the stove, flip the fridge switches back
and forth, rock the van (or drive it a bit on bumpy roads) before you
can get the fridge going.  After it's been running it's much easier
to relight.

--------
Both the flame window in the bottom of the fridge and the factory LED
are near useless.
--------

To see the flame, you have to have the left bottom inside part of the
fridge clear and there should be no strong outside light....a sure
way is to use a paper towel tube (or two joined together) and modify
the end to flatten against the small piece of glass in the corner of
the fridge.  You'll see a tiny blue flame when the fridge is burning
propane.  It's really hard to see this on a sunny day without the
paper towel tube (or a blanket draped over you and the fridge).  You
can also try and light the fridge at night, then you can see the
flame (and the igniter sparking as you try to get it lit).

----

Once you see the flame, check the LED panel, the LED is probably on
but it's very dim.  Cover the panel with your hands to see if the
fridge LED is on by comparing it to the other ones.  If the LED does
not work, check the wiring to the panel and even the fuses behind the
drivers seat in the little black box.

I always upgrade the fridge LED in the LED panel with an extra bright
"Blue" LED from Radio Shack, part number 276-316, about $4 or $5.
With the BRIGHT BLUE LED you can even see it on sunny days and makes
lighting the fridge much easier. The Blue color looks very cool and
it represents propane better than a green LED in my opinion.  Just
make sure you install the LED with the correct polarity (compare it
to the others when replacing) since it will only work one way.