Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 20:04:17 -0800
Reply-To: David Vickery <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Vickery <david_vickery@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: refrigerator failure, '91 VW Vanagon GL Campmobile
In-Reply-To: <20120202221617.1R7NX.334303.imail@eastrmwml214>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
You are going to have to pull it out. I remembered I posted this on samba about another guy an electronic ignition problem, that you may find helpful. I think the spark may be grounding.
From http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/Mandiag.pdf which is a great resource.
The igniter reigniter, used on certain Dometic
model refrigerators, operates on 12 volt current.
On gas operation the igniter senses the resistance
through the flame between the electrode
and burner. When there is no flame at the
burner, the resistance is high and the igniter
begins sparking to light the burner. As soon as
the flame is lit, the resistance between the
electrode and burner drops and the igniter
stops sparking. The resistance is monitored by
the igniter, and, if for any reason the flame
goes out, the igniter begins sparking until the
burner is lit. This insures that the flame will
always be lit when desired. Each time the
igniter reigniter system sparks, a light will
illuminate on the lower left front corner of the
refrigerator.
If the electrode does not spark first, make sure
the igniter is receiving 12 volts. If the igniter is
receiving 12 volts and produces no spark, it
must be checked for operation.
(61)
Turn the refrigerator off and remove the wire
between the electrode and igniter. Now turn the
refrigerator to the gas mode. If no internal
clicking sound is heard the igniter is defective.
It is important to remove the high voltage wire
that goes to the electrode from the igniter when
you are checking the igniter for operation. The
high voltage wire and the electrode can be
shorted to ground causing the igniter reigniter
to think that the flame is lit, resulting in no
spark on gas operation.
(62)
The distance between the tip of the electrode
and the burner, known as the spark gap,
should be 3/16 of an inch. A greater distance
will create a slow spark causing the light to
blink. A lesser distance will create a fast spark
that may not light the burner.
--- On Thu, 2/2/12, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET> wrote:
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: refrigerator failure, '91 VW Vanagon GL Campmobile
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 8:16 PM
I have been smug all this time about my dometic refrigerator operating well, cooling effectively, and being easy to light. Well, it won't light, now.
When I push the switch for propane (the propane one of the three push switches at the right of the refrigerator control panel) and go through all the proper machinations, it does not light. Another symptom is that the orange lamp that should flash to indicate that the propane switch is working does not flash. When I push the switch, the lamp just comes on and glows with a steady orange light.
I am following the lighting protocol correctly. this is the first time I've ever had trouble with lighting the thing, and it has me exasperated. Usually, I run the refrigerator on A.C. for a few hours. When the box is good and cold, I know that the heater box is good and warm. Then I just open the propane valve at the tank, open the refrigerator, pump the pump a few times, push the propane switch, the lamp begins flashing, I make sure the propane valve on the control panel is turned to on, turn the thermostat to maximum, hold the safety button down, and pump a few times. The refrigerator fires up. So, if the lamp glows steadily rather than flashing, what does that indicate?
When I first got the beast, I pulled the refrigerator and cleaned thoroughly. It really wasn't that dirty. That was three years ago. The refrigerator has worked great ever since, until now. It has probably sat for longer without being operated in a couple of recent spells (about two months two different times) than any time in the three years I've had it. Are there things that go bad in that time?
Any help appreciated.
mcneely
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