Cooktop eye will not light with ignitor

[m.hony]

I tried the cooktop for the first time today.
Left rear eye lights fine.
Right rear eye lights fine.
Front center eye will not light with ignitor.
Why have I never tried before?
Why didn't I try back in October 2012 at the dealer on the day of purchase?
Why didn't I try before the warranty ran out or while I was at Jackson Center getting other work done?
Why won't the one eye light with the ignitor? It lights if I turn on the gas and hold a match to it.


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[AWCHIEF]

Dirty?

[m.hony]

Somewhat new still in excellent condition trailer-
Dirty where?
Stove has never been used.
How would it get dirty?


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[Tim A.]

As mentioned in another thread (http://www.airforums.com/forums/f426...er-135685.html), it is very possible that the ignitor wire on the burner that is not lighting has come loose. Figure out how to lift the stovetop (varies with the stove model) and check on the wire.

Tim

[cwf]

Are you getting "gas" at that location?

The "orifice" can be blocked with manufacturing trash. Or a bug of some kind.

Just to be clear.... Are you talking about the "burner" eye? The place where all the fire comes out of? When you turn on the gas, can you "hear" It flowing? When you turn the "igniter" Do you see a spark?

[m.hony]

Yes. The burner lights with a match.
It just won't light with the ignitor.
I thought I said all that in the first post.
The back 2 burners light with the ignitor. The front burner will not light with the burner.
Maybe the term "eye" for burner was confusing? Maybe we only say that in the south?
I was just trying it because I never had in 2 years and 9 months of having the trailer.
I just got to thinking, although we don't like the idea of cooking in the trailer (odors, stains, grease, etc.), we might at least boil water or cook something on the stove instead of a Crock Pot. Then my next thoughts were "Does it work?" and "How do I light it", thus my discovery on a random hot July Saturday night at a campground in central Mississippi.
Just like I occasionally light the gas space heater at home just to see if it works. We have never used it in 9 years and 4 months of living there, but it is good to know it works if we ever have a power outage in the winter- i. e. an ice storm-


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[overlander63]

I have seen this on brand new trailers. Either the connection has come loose from the burner or ignitor, or the connection has some corrosion on it, preventing it from working. When you spin the ignitor, do you see a spark on the edge of the burner that won't light?
Most of the newer stoves have burners you can remove without having to remove the stovetop. Simply remove the grate over the center burner, and twist it about an eighth of a turn counterclockwise, and gently lift it off. You should see the wire coming from the electrode on the burner. Unplug it, and plug it back in, then replace the burner. Try lighting it.

[richinny]

does anyone know if there are air gap specifications on the air gap for the spark. i have to vary the gas on my front burner and set it near the low setting to get it to light.

[barrettjl]

Sometimes one of our burners won't light with the igniter if it is slightly off-center. You could try re-seating that burner. I'm not at the trailer, but as I recall, they sort of sit flush with the top and then turn slightly to lock in place.

We've had burners that would light before, and then won't after we've towed the trailer; re-seating the ones that won't light has fixed the problem for us.

[Nomad518]

As Tim said, lift the top of the stove and check the wire leading to that igniter. I had the same problem on one of our burners and the wire was disconnected. Probably happened as I was towing the trailer down a bumpy road. My stove top is hinged at the back. Just grab it in front and lift. It was a two minute fix that required no tools, just good eyesight to see the wire that had become unplugged.

[amaier7771]

My right rear burner also would not light with the igniter, (after a long ride on a bumpy road!!!), but would work fine when lit with a match. Using a plastic-putty knife on the front left and right corners of the cook top, it popped up easily, the igniter wire had become disconnected, I just pushed it on, and now all works fine. A 2 minute fix. Hopefully, this will fix you situation also.

AL

[m.hony]

All of those are good, reasonable suggestions. We are back at the house and it is just too hot to ho to the trailer and check it out.
I'll try some of these suggestions next time out- maybe August 14 if not before. Next weekend we are staying home.


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[m.hony]

That sentence made no sense-
It is too hot to go into the trailer-


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[CDONA]

I have been fighting with mine for a while, top off, burners removed.
I tried twisting the burners to get a better ground for the spark, this fix worked intermittently, then failed. I tried to route the ignition wires to keep from grounding along its length.
What I found is the insulation on these wires to be extremely thin to the point of grounding out. Grounding out is where the electricity leaks out from the insulation and grounds out on the metal surface it's lying on before it gets to the sparking terminals on the burner head. Best way to see this is top cover off, at night and look for the blue spark anywhere along the wire.
My final fix, is still called a "fix" in that it still works after three months. Cover each wire individually with better insulation from the igniter knob to the burner head. I used some clear tubing that I had left over, specifically, air hose for fish tanks. I tried to bundle the wires, and use less tubing but I found it still was grounding out between the wires. So back for more tubing at a pet store, 25' @ $7.00 enough to do maybe three cook tops.

[JCWDCW]

You should be able to see the spark on each burner when twisting the ignitor. Lift the top and spin the ignitor without opening the gas and look for the spark. If you don't find a missing or disconnected wire then the spark gap is possibly too big. About 1/16th inch should be enough. If you see a spark then maybe the spark location is wrong or maybe the burner gas flow is too high. I have had burners that won't light unless I reduced the gas flow a bit....just turn the burner control a bit past the "lighting" position.
JCW

[warmrain]

Originally Posted by amaier7771

My right rear burner also would not light with the igniter, (after a long ride on a bumpy road!!!), but would work fine when lit with a match. Using a plastic-putty knife on the front left and right corners of the cook top, it popped up easily, the igniter wire had become disconnected, I just pushed it on, and now all works fine. A 2 minute fix. Hopefully, this will fix you situation also.

AL

On my Atwood stove top (2013 Flying Cloud 23D) You press the cooktop rearward (away from you) against springs and the front eventually unlatches (after you remove the burners). I found a wire had fallen off the back of the igniter. I also see the insulation is so thin as to allow the spark to find ground early. Reassembly: just lay the cooktop down and then use your thumbs on the rear edge by the oven vent to push back against the springs, the stove top falls into place and should latch when you release the pressure.

I didn't understand this at first, the let side was always loose from the factory and I bent the right latch by simply pulling up. I straightened the right sheet metal latches and then had to open up the left side so they'd grab.

All good now.

Thanks for all the help.

[la nomade]

this is all very interesting....one of my burners will not light,have to put a match to it...reading all this gives me a good idea as to what to check out and how,thank you...M.V.

[Racheli]

Mine has never worked either. Another lovely Airstream flaw. Sorry I’ve become disenchanted with my Airstream. I’ll try the suggestions. Thanks!

[sheriff1]

Each burner has its own igniter and a common generator. If any work the generator is good. In every case I had like this the igniter spring to burner contact was corroded. Remove the offending burner with a quarter twist, where the black wire attaches is the igniter, spring is obvious. When you get the connection clean you will be able to see the spark jump across the gap