Dometic propane re-light issue

[Boondocker]

last night I ran out of propane and noticed the reigniter light was going as it attempted to relight. Rather than deal with the issue at 4 am I switched the fuel selector from gas to off. Today when I attempt to re-light on propane, the reigniter doesn't hit. Any ideas?

[HowieE]

If it was out of gas long enough for the line pressure to drop to 0 there may be air in the line and the pilot valve on the ref. is small and will take quite a while to purge the air and deliver gas. If you are in a hurry crack the gas line at the ref. till you smell gas and try again.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by HowieE

If it was out of gas long enough for the line pressure to drop to 0 there may be air in the line and the pilot valve on the ref. is small and will take quite a while to purge the air and deliver gas. If you are in a hurry crack the gas line at the ref. till you smell gas and try again.

Better and safer, light the stove and let in run for a couple of minutes.

Then retry the reefer ignition.

Andy

[Boondocker]

Would air in the lines keep the automatic igniter from firing? It seems like it should work anyway since its flashing and clicking were what made me realize I was out of propane. Also, I have cooked breakfast this morning already so that should have done most of what Andy suggested. I wonder if a switch didnt break....

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Better and safer, light the stove and let in run for a couple of minutes.

Then retry the reefer ignition.

Andy

That will work if your stove is down stream on the gas line from the ref. If not there will still be air between the stove and the ref. If you have ever done any plumbing work and had the water off you will realize what I am describing. Now in my case the hot water heater is past the ref. and is an easy way to purge the line since the my hot water heater doesn't have a pilot and delivers full gas flow on start up.

You will be out side if you open the gas line and I assume you will put your cigarette down before you open the line.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Would air in the lines keep the automatic igniter from firing? It seems like it should work anyway since its flashing and clicking were what made me realize I was out of propane. Also, I have cooked breakfast this morning already so that should have done most of what Andy suggested. I wonder if a switch didnt break....

You already got the air out when you cooked breakfast.

Problem now might be the PC board in the reefer.

They do, sometimes, die in strange ways.

Andy

[Boondocker]

I just fired up the generator and switched the refer over to electric to see if it works that way. I didn't notice an additional load sound when I turned the refer on so we will have to wait and see. I sure hope there is an easy and inexpensive fix for this.

[HowieE]

Before you spend a ton of money make sure you have gas at the ref. Then remove the cover from the burner and while looking at the burner have someone turn the ref. of from inside the trailer. You should see the igniter sparking. If there is no sparking turn the ref. off for a minute and as they turn the ref. on again hold a lite match at the burner. If the burner lights with a match your igniter may be bad if nothing happens the board may be bad.

But I am still betting on air in the line so prove that first.

[Sixty3TW4US]

Rodney, I can't help you with the refer., however I am impressed with your photography page. Nice photos !!

[Aerowood]

Why don't you try the old standby. Remove the 12VDC from the fridge and let it, As they say "reboot" it's self and then try again after about 30 seconds. When I say remove I mean to remove the 12VDC power from the fridge either by disconnecting the wires from the back, or removing the fuse.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

Why don't you try the old standby. Remove the 12VDC from the fridge and let it, As they say "reboot" it's self and then try again after about 30 seconds. When I say remove I mean to remove the 12VDC power from the fridge either by disconnecting the wires from the back, or removing the fuse.

Thats not a bad next idea. I have her on electric now and it doesnt seem to be working so maybe I will give it a whirl....

Originally Posted by Sixty3TW4US

Rodney, I can't help you with the refer., however I am impressed with your photography page. Nice photos !!

Thanks, comments always appreciated (well usually)

[Aerowood]

I forgot one other thing. If you donot have the 12VDC, nothing will work, so you might also put a meter on the terminals to make sure. I can't remember the exact minimum voltage it needs, but 9.6 VDC comes to mind for some reason.

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

I forgot one other thing. If you donot have the 12VDC, nothing will work, so you might also put a meter on the terminals to make sure. I can't remember the exact minimum voltage it needs, but 9.6 VDC comes to mind for some reason.

Interest and good point. Check for power.

9.6 is a common threshold for computers driven things to drop out.

[Boondocker]

As indicated in my former posts, I switched over to electric to see if that worked. It did. Interestingly, after a couple hours of operating off of the generator, I was able to get the spark ignition to function again. I can only speculate that the heat from the refer dried out what ever may have gotten moist in there (again, speculation that that was the issue). In any event, the refer is humming along. Thanks everyone who weighed in on this for me.

[kimbal88s]

Good luck I have a frig problem also- only my elec ign is trying. Seeing your buffalo reminds me of 35 years ago in the army -- all the guys had pictures of their cars and girlfriends while the fellow from OK had a pic of his horse! He was a great guy.

[bamboobob]

we live offgrid in hawaii and have a dometic ra 1302 propane/electric frig. it wouldn't ignite after 10+ years of use. my son coconutchris pulled the frig out from the wall and cleared the propane line. then he lit the pilot light/burner with a match and it caught. while i hit the striker/igniter switch on the front he saw the spark but noticed it was very weak. we got out an old colgate toothbrush and cleaned up the corrosion. whammo! good as new. good luck and i hope if you experience this problem you'll find this posting and it'll help you out. aloha