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Norcold Fridge Won't Ignite - Help Please


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#1 Old Man Grumpus

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Posted 29 June 2008 - 06:40 PM

Hello All,

Fifth week with the brand new Hawk and now the fridge won't light. Originally took 20 presses of the ignitor, then about 70. Thursday night, I gave up after about 2000 presses (not all in one session). Propane not the issue; stove and furnace work just fine. Not thrilled to kick off a three day weekend with a $1000 ice box and no ice. :mad:

I've never been keen on those ignitor switches on gas barbecues for this very reason; seems that I always have to resort to using a match or a butane lighter. But on the Norcold, the burner box is so confined, and the access hole so tiny, that I hate to try inserting a flame in there. Anyway I don't think it would be humanly possible to attempt that while simultaneously pressing the safety valve. :confused:

My friends warned me plenty about the frustrations of RV ownership but I have to admit, between this and other breakdowns that I have discussed with Stan, I didn't expect so many problems in the first month. Guess I was naive. I could really use some guidance from you folks out there. How can I light this thing when the ignitor is useless?? I've got a fridge full of spoiled eggs, ruined marinaded chicken breasts, and warm German beer (well maybe that last item is at least appropriate). ;)

Thanks,
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Old Man Grumpus
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#2 chnlisle

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Posted 29 June 2008 - 08:36 PM

As I've said in previous post if the Hawk didn't come with one it wouldn't have broken my heart. Having said that this one is working knock on wood.
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#3 Jack

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Posted 29 June 2008 - 11:25 PM

Those igniter switches don't last forever, either. The first Norcold in our Eagle lasted two years (absorption chamber). Fortunately, there is a 3yr warranty. But as others have noted, the equipment available to FWC and ATC often leaves a lot to be desired. If the Japanese ever get into RV refrigerators, it's history for Norcold/Dometic.

Enough complaining - I have a practical suggestion. We use one of those butane gas lighters (there's a picture of the back end of one in my post on ShurFlo faucets). The end fits nicely into the burner hole. We leave the lighter in the burner compartment, making it easy to get to for lighting campfires.
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#4 chnlisle

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 12:34 AM

Makes you wonder about Saabs and Volvos.
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#5 Old Man Grumpus

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 01:09 AM

So it's OK to insert a flame into the covered hole on the burner box? But how do you do that and press the safety valve button on the front of the unit at the same time? Is it a team effort, or do you not need to do that when lighting this way?
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#6 Ted

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 02:29 AM

OMG,

My camper and fridge are five years old so may not be the same as FWC is using now. That said, the igniter has never worked well for me. The routine I use to start the fridge is as follows:

Open propane tank valve. Turn fridge setting to gas, turn gas setting to high. Get in camper and open stove gas until I smell gas (essentially I'm priming the gas line) then turn off stove gas. Strike a wooden match. Hold gas button down while inserting match through window into the area where you see the flame when fridge is running.

This usually takes about three matches to ignite the fridge. Sometimes the igniter button works after a couple of matches. Is this frustrating? Yes. Is it efficient? No. But I have always been successful in getting the fridge to light. Best of luck to you.

Ted
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#7 pvstoy

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 04:04 AM

Old Man Grumpus<

When you took the propane tank to get filled for the first time did you have the people there "Purge" the tank??

Purging a new tank will get all the bad crap out of the tank.. If you don't, then any crap that is in there will plug the tiny orfice in the burner on the ref... You will be able to use the stove fine and the heater should work too.

If this is the case for you, then you have to have the tank purged and take the orfice out of the ref and clean and blow out the line.

I say this from my adventure when I was in too much in a hurry to fill the tank and try everything out.

For lighting you can get one of those long BBQ butane matches and use that in the burner area if it will fit in the small hole. Or look up my post on the Auto-Relighter.
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#8 Old Man Grumpus

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 04:08 AM

pvstoy -- do I need to be pressing the red safety valve button while lighting the burner area?

Ted -- thank you, but, as far as I can tell, the flame area for the fridge is only accessible from the outside of the camper, in the burner box behind the side panel.
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#9 pvstoy

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 04:28 AM

http://www.wanderthe...=1&d=1214799597

You should be able to move the selector to Propane. Move the knob on the right to high and hold it down. You will need to release it every 10 to 15 seconds and try it again because if the burner is not lite then the gas valve will close. when it is pressed then either press the red button for the piezzo striker or use a match or some other flame to light the burner.

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#10 Old Man Grumpus

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 04:49 AM

The panel box on mine does not look like this -- except for the burner box and flue tube which are identical but on the opposite end of the box. It has a brass cutoff valve for the gas, but not the power source selector or ignitor button like in this photo. On mine, those are on the front of the fridge itself, inside the camper.
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